𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 | itachi/sasuke uchiha

chapter nine

Tonight, Mikoto's forced you into this yukata, insisting that the purple flowers would bring out your weird eye more. You groan as she fixes your obi. Thank god you'd come early today, so Itachi didn't have to help you again. Shiver.

"That's exactly the opposite of what I try to do," you complain. Today you wear the same comb kanzashi from last night and the diamond necklace from Itachi, and you'd failed in your attempt to convince your aunty to let your fringe hang loose so it can at least cover your eye.

"Well, not everyone has eyes like yours, so you should appreciate it," she scolds, finishing the tying of your obi. When she's done, she steps back to admire you. You roll your eyes.

"Exactly."

"Well, now, Tekka and Yakumi should be here soon, and since you're ready, you can go and greet them at the door!" beams Mikoto, leaving the room. You grimace and sit on the bed, staring at the mirror. Your normal (colour) eye looked fine, average, really, but when you looked into the amethyst one, you couldn't help but shiver at the feeling of malice you received just by looking at it. You shake your head, and get to your feet.

Sure enough, there's a knock at the door, and you open it to reveal five people: two men, a woman, and two little kids, who look like they're probably Academy age.

"Well, if it isn't the birthday girl herself!" says the man with the black dot on his forehead, carrying a steel brief-case looking box. You recognise him as Tekka.

You smile.

"Come in, come in!" He walks in first, followed by Yakumi, then his wife Hiroko and their two children, a girl with her long, black hair in two pigtails, and a boy who looks like the younger version his father, minus the dot. You crouch down to face them, smiling. They both gasp.

"Well hello there," you say in a friendly voice. "I'm (name), what are your names?" The girl straightens up and puts a hand on her chest.

"My name is Matsuri, ma'am! Matsuri Uchiha! This is my younger brother, Akihiro Uchiha!" You laugh lightly.

"It's nice to meet you, Matsuri and Akihiro."

After a bit of casual talking in the living room, you guys are finally called for dinner by Mikoto. Today's meal isn't as loud or nerve wracking as yesterday's had been; instead, it's rather peaceful today, and you're grateful to the two men (and Hiroko) for not inquiring about your thoughts on marriage. The only noise being made was the sound of you talking to Matsuri and giving her advice on how to pass the Academy exams. Since there aren't enough seats at the table, Mikoto and Sasuke wait patiently in the living room for their turn to eat.

"So, how did you pull off your transformation jutsu?" she asks, literally clinging onto every word you say. You swallow your mouthful of food and look at her.

"Well, uh..." You scratch your head, and her eyes widen.

"No way! You... you didn't fail, did you?" she whispers. You look down at her.

"Eh? What, of course I didn't fail! I passed, thank you very much!" you snap, insulted by the fact that she'd thought you failed. Ha.

"She did more than pass, you know," you hear Itachi say from the other side of the table. He points his hashi at Matsuri. "She transformed and created a legion of look-a-likes of Iruka that filled the entire class. He nearly passed out in shock." You laugh as Itachi brings back how your transformation jutsu went. Ah, the memories.

"And she was only eight," he adds with a wink. You smile at him, then go back to talking to Matsuri.

"Well, Itachi was seven himself when he graduated, but anyway..."

When dinner's done and dusted, you go to the living room with Tekka, Yakumi, Fugaku and Itachi, while Hiroko and the kids stay back at the table to join Mikoto and Sasuke while they eat.

"As you know, (name)-chan, your birthday is coming up very soon, and as an early gift, we thought we'd get these for you..." says Tekka, pulling the box he brought out from behind the couch and handing it to you. You sit back down in your seat beside Itachi, the box laying on your lap.

"As you're an accomplished kunoichi in your own right, we decided that these would be of the most utmost use to you on the battlefield," explains Yakumi. You nod, and open the box. Lying there on the black velvet are five dazzling white shuriken and a pair of black gloves.

"Now, those aren't just any ordinary shuriken and gloves," says Tekka. "Those shuriken are infused with chakra, and when used with your fire jutsu, damage can be done ten times as worse." Your eyebrows rise in interest as you examine the gifts.

"Oooh, cool..." you say, carefully picking one up and turning it over in your hands for examination. Tekka and Yakumi nod.

"And the gloves are from me," says Yakumi. "They're infused with chakra as well, and you can use them to heal wounds and major injuries while on the battlefield. Greatly handy if I do say so myself."

You giggle, making the others stare at you.

"Handy, get it?" you laugh, looking at Yakumi. "You never struck me as a joker!"

He cracks a smile.

"The pun wasn't intended, but oh well," he says lightly. You pick up a glove and put it on. It's fingerless on top, but the cloth runs underneath and loops over the ends and covers your nails. You can actually feel the chakra running through it.

"Woah," you breathe, flexing your fingers. Tekka and Yakumi nod, and you look up at them. "Thank you so much!"

"It was no problem, (name)-chan. A good kunoichi needs good gear."