Strength of a Flower•(Itachi fanfic)•editing

Mikoto and Fugaku

Azalea cautiously walked into Itachi's home after taking off her sandals, unsure of whether or not his parents, mainly his otousan, would approve of her.

Itachi noticed this as he took off his own shoes and followed Azalea's steps, leading the anxious kunoichi to the kitchen/dining room, "Calm down, 'zalea. You're fine," he reassured the girl, a slightly amused look in his eyes that did not go unnoticed by Azalea, a rare moment for the boy. The girl was so outgoing that he'd never expect her to be nervous around anyone.

The blue-eyed Uchiha glared at the genius Uchiha, huffing, "Well, fine, but do you really have to laugh at me?" she replied, her more fiery side poking her shyness away, as she crossed her arms, unable to keep a straight face at the same time.

"Well, it is silly to be such a shy little roly poly, curling up into a tiny ball to hide," Itachi teased playfully just as they walked into the designated room they were going to, the dining area.

"Itachi!" Fugaku, a tough man who had the intimidating aura of a ninja used to battles, exclaimed, "you're late for supper!" The chief police was sitting with his legs crossed in indian style, his hands resting on his knees, and his face turning slightly red with both anger and worry. It was as if the man hadn't even noticed the girl beside him.

Azalea squeaked and hid behind Itachi out of surprise, shedding the bravery she had shown at that alley. Fugaku really was an intimidating man, especially when he gave off an aura like he did, and she sure was not expecting that in his home... mainly because he really was not the type to do that kind of stuff, at least, not when he was talking to her and her parents... He always looked happy and smiling when they were talking, sometimes grim, which was a lot of times, but still... it was a strange development to her.

Itachi sighed heavily, unfazed by his otousan's temper, "I realize that, Otousan. I'm sorry, I was hanging out with Azalea and we lost track of time." The two had hung out since Azalea had been checked out of the hospital, which was pretty much the entire day, excluding the time she was in the Academy, the day having flown by for them.

Fugaku blinked in surprise at his normally reclusive son, his anger fading away as his face gave way to a stunned expression. "W-what?" He knew the girl and her parents, her parents was actually some of the people he respected the most. He knew that they were out on a mission, but he didn't think they'd leave her at the house... they usually had her spend the night at the Hyuga compound, despite his warning against it.

"Azalea... I hung out with her. She's actually here with me, she'll come out if you'll just calm down and quit scaring her," the boy answered, daring to give his father a pointed look as he nudged his new friend from behind him. "It's alright, he's not that scary."

An irk mark suddenly appeared on Azalea's forehead at Itachi's attempt at consolation and she wacked him on his back as hard as she could, unable to reach the rather tall 11-year-old's head, and moved from behind him, turning her back towards him. "Hmph, cocky little prodigy, thinking I'd be scared of anyone, much less his parents," she muttered to herself, though everyone else heard her, angrily, a dark aura washing over her as her temper flared. It came off as strange to everyone that was there, the sudden change, but they brushed it off with some laughter. It was amusing(and relieving) to see their normally serious son messing with a girl.

Fugaku had to be honest with himself, he was impressed with this girl. He'd always remembered her as vibrant and charming, not feisty and joking. He chuckled softly at Kaisäko's daughter's reaction. "I like this girl!" he grinned, giving Itachi's back a hard pat, causing him to flinch from the unexpected contact. "Mikoto, what do you think?" he inquired to his wife, his friendly self taking over his usually stern persona.

Mikoto smiled affectionately at her husband and nodded, turning to face Itachi and Azalea, "Yeah, Azalea'll be good for him," she agreed.

Sasuke sat quietly in his seat at the dinner table, growing jealous of Itachi's new girlfriend, he saw her as his girlfriend, even though she was only eight, what else could she be? He spent more time with her than he did with his own little brother. The glowering little boy wanted to storm out more than anything else, but opted to sit and listen to the commotion around him, not wanting to deal with his otousan's admonishing anger for leaving the table without asking for permission.

"Azalea, calm down and eat. I won't help you train if you don't..." Itachi suggested and teased, hoping it would help the angered girl to get over her anger, unable to help the slight smile that came to his face.

She scoffed and turned to him, about to rant against that little taunt when the sound of chopsticks clanging loudly against a bowl followed by a door slamming loudly interrupted her and stopped all activity going on in the room, Itachi being the only one who made a noise.

He sighed heavily and spoke, "I'll go talk to him," and he left towards wherever his little brother went.

Mikoto looked over at Itachi, a sheepish look on her face as she explained to Azalea, Fugaku having excused himself to "go to the restroom," "Sorry about that..." the kind woman apologized for the sudden discord, "Sasuke's been asking Itachi to help him train for a long time now, since before he joined the Academy, actually. Sorry, he's just a bit upset, I'm sure you understand."

Azalea turned her attention over to the mother, becoming angrier with each word she says at Itachi, "Seriously? I'm going to go twist his arm later," she growled, murmuring the last part to herself, Mikoto only hearing the first word. Family's supposed to mean more to you than other people...

Mikoto nodded, "Yes... sooooo," she dragged out the 'o', "why'd Itachi bring you here? He doesn't normally bring anyone here...or..." she giggled a little, her eyes lighting up with delight, "tolerate anyone hitting him, even if they're just playing around."

Azalea raised her eyebrow, what? Why would she be so ecstatic about someone hitting her son??? The blue-eyed Uchiha smiled tentatively, "Well... I don't know..." she replied.

"You must be special, then," the typically featured Uchiha woman said, "I've been worried about him... I was scared he was too far gone..." I'm so confused??

"I-" the young kunoichi laughed a single laugh, "-I don't-" she sighed, looking at the woman, unafraid to make eye contact as she spoke, "I don't think I'd go as far as to say that, he just saw potential in me," she denied, her cheeks tinted a light red out of slight embarrassment, deciding to ignore the earlier comment. She knew Mikoto, no one could not not know her and Fugaku, considering Fugaku's station, and she knew that the woman was a kind and sweet person.

"Haha, well, good luck with your training, Azalea."

"Arigato, I-I'm going to wait for Itachi out there, at the docks, if that's okay?"

"Sure! Go right ahead!"

"Arigato..." Azalea replied awkwardly as she got up after nearly putting her dishes together in one pile to make it easier to clean up before leaving the table.