It is time for another chapter! Read and Enjoy!
The following weeks were dull in the most unbearable sense. The weather remained resolutely sunny as was expected from Konoha’s tropical climate. Itachi found himself spending more time with the hyperactive Hoji and the irascible Sato. They even frequented Itachi’s residence, and usually earned disdainful glares and curious stares from the other Uchiha clansmen; even the most chronically indifferent ones were shaken out of their apathy by the presence of the strangers.
Sasuke was shy around the duo while Mikoto was infinitely polite. She seemed to have a special liking for Hoji due to his remarkable expertise with pots and pans. This was another well from which Sato enjoyed drawing new ways to tease and annoy the medic. Fugaku never met them but encouraged the friendship for the purpose of Itachi’s information gathering objective. Before Itachi knew it, he had come to possess a small social life.
It was around noon and today was a special day which showed some promise of excitement because Hoji and Sato would be meeting Mitsuki for the very first time. Although Itachi would never admit it, he did derive some enjoyment from the company of his two new friends. However, Itachi still found their presence in his life an uncomfortable encumbrance and an unwanted encroachment on his free time. This was why he shared no personal information about himself with them, rarely participating in conversation even, and he made every effort, within the bounds of politeness, to avoid them, and to prevent them from finding out about Mitsuki--ever.
This however, ended up a waste of effort when Sasuke blurted out her name during one of their visits. If that wasn’t enough to make Itachi slam his palm into his own face, the boy also mentioning their kiss was. From that moment, Itachi was transformed from that pensive, solitary and mysterious element in their little trio, to a regular guy with a girlfriend- and Hoji and Sato just won’t shut up about it!
It was with an exasperated sigh, and on an emphatic promise of an end to their teasing and mocking him, that Itachi agreed to arrange the meeting. And so, Itachi, Sato and Hoji made their way through the many houses in the Uchiha clan quarters until they reached Mitsuki’s. It was a rather large and traditional building, slightly elevated above ground and supported by various wooden beams, with a broad tiled roof with curved eaves which had worn with age, and smooth wooden walls painted white with the clan symbol emblazoned on it at intervals.
They made their way across the front yard, on which grew several cherry blossom trees whose white leaves, tinged with palest pink, provided the most prominent source of color. There was also a small garden of bright multi-colored flowers as well as an old shishi-odoshi whose trickle of water and periodic rapping of bamboo against rock, broke the silence. Proceeding up a small staircase and stepping onto the veranda, Itachi was the one knocked the wooden sliding door. It slipped open and a short girl with dark eyes, soft and clear, and a charming smile welcomed them inside. Taking off their shoes at the entrance, the trio shuffled through the door and it slid shut.
“What are you telling me Danzo?!” shouted Hiruzen. “You kept this from me for years! So many years after he-”
“You have already proved yourself incapable of dealing with him,” interjected Danzo, his voice remaining as placid as always. “You failed when the opportunity came. Why should I-”
“I am the Hokage! It is MY business to know what threatens my village. It is I, not you Danzo, and it’s high time you made your peace with that fact!” roared Hiruzen.
“Let us all control ourselves.” came the placating voice of Homura Mitokado, a strong and commanding edge to his tone.
There were four elderly individuals standing in the Hokage’s office. First was the Hokage, who was standing at the chair behind his desk, his short, cloaked figure aquiver with anger, and his usual warm brown eyes blazing with fury, as they glared contemptuously at Danzo. The man infamously known as the Darkness of Shinobi, Danzo, maintained his usual reserved and subdued manner as he stood, cane aloft, before Hiruzen on the other side of the table.
Also present was Homura Mitokado, the tall, grey-haired, oblong-faced, strong-jawed and bespectacled figure whose dignified robes, serene expression and stately comportment were a clear indication of his position as a Konoha Councilman. He was on Danzo’s right while his fellow Council member, Koharu Utatane stood on the left. She was in her usual long kimono, with a white sash running from her left shoulder to her right hip. Her face drooping with wrinkles, her hair grey and wrapped in a tight bun, her eyes squinted into invisibility and her expression grave.
Homura cleared his throat and began, “This new information which Danzo has brought to light is one of great importance. We absolutely must deal with this potential menace. Yes, he was wrong to act on his own. Root, though disbanded, remains active and there’s nothing we can do about it. The organization remains loyal to Konoha and so their activities have been tolerated. The very fact that Danzo’s agents were unable to deal with the issue simply stresses the importance of it. Hiruzen, we must take action.”
Hiruzen was now considerably calmer and he took a drag of his pipe before he spoke, “A team must be sent.”
“We cannot use ordinary squadrons,” came the hoarse voice of Koharu, “It must be the elite ANBU.”
The Hokage assented with a nod.
“We must send our best.” said Danzo.
“Indeed.” said Hiruzen, wreaths of smoke curling upwards from his pipe. “I will put the team together.”
The living room in Mitsuki’s house was very capacious and demarcated from the other rooms by a broad paper wall. The floor was of smooth and polished wood and covered with large tatami mats bearing intricate designs. The walls were pierced by two large windows and decorated with a few portraits. Daylight flooded in from the open windows, providing illumination for Mitsuki and her guests who were seated at roughly the center of the room, each upon a cushion laid on the mat. Itachi was seated next to Mitsuki, both directly opposite Hoji and Sato. In front of each was a plate of steaming hot ramen. The air was ripe with conversation, though Itachi and Sato were not part of it.
Hoji was absolutely in his element. Within a few short minutes, Mitsuki had come to adore the medic for his sagely knowledge in possibly all matters of the human body. With insatiable curiosity and fiery enthusiasm, she bombarded him with questions ranging from the best diets and exercise regimes that would best ‘bring out her figure,’ (“What figure? She's thirteen!” Itachi thought, bewildered) to treatments and lotions for smooth skin and bright complexion. Hoji provided fully detailed answers with ease. Itachi and Sato were silenced into utter insignificance in the presence of the guru. It made them vaguely wonder if Mitsuki was the only girl in their midst as they quietly slurped their noodles.
“So, I use lemons, coconut butter, shea butter, lime and egg white?” Mitsuki asked, her eyes widened.
“Yes,” replied Hoji with a smile, “but don’t forget the exact proportions. I also have a small draught of my own creation which also adds to the effectiveness of the mix. It speeds up the exfoliation process, leaving a brighter shade of skin behind. With my little secret formula, you’ll be radiant in no time, and no adverse effects too.”
“Wow!” Mitsuki’s eyes sparkled. “You’re simply amazing!”
Hoji flushed. “Why thank you, Mitsuki-chan. Actually most of this stuff I learned from my mother. She was a medic whose expertise was beyond treating the wounded on the battlefield. Her dream was to enhance all aspects of human living. ”
“That’s incredible.”
“Yeah, sadly she met her end during the Kyubi’s attack on Konoha.” Hoji’s expression became very grave and his eyes drifted towards the smooth mat on the floor. “I was only eight years old.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry.” said Mitsuki.
Hoji beamed with a smile. “Oh, don’t be! It was a long time ago. She’d be happy to know that someone is deriving benefit from the things she left behind. I don’t have much use for them myself--being a boy and all.”
Mitsuki grinned. “Well, I-”
Her sentence was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door. All eyes turned towards the entrance where a silhouette could be seen through the paper panels of the door. Itachi jumped to his feet, perhaps a little too eagerly. “I’ll get it,” he said and hurried off. It was almost like he was trying to escape Hoji and Mitsuki’s conversation.
“Who is it?” demanded Itachi in a placid tone.
“ANBU messenger directly from the Hokage.” came a gruff, slightly muffled voice from the other side of the door.
Itachi’s brows furrowed as he slid the door open.
Their visitor was tall but thin, clad in the yellow, long sleeved, ankle length robe typical of ANBU with his head covered by the hood of his robe and his face hidden behind a porcelain dog mask.
“What says Hokage-sama?” asked the young Uchiha.
“Uchiha Itachi, Hyuuga Sato and Senju Hoji, you three are to report at the Hokage’s office immediately.”
Today was really going to be interesting.
To Be Continued.
The following weeks were dull in the most unbearable sense. The weather remained resolutely sunny as was expected from Konoha’s tropical climate. Itachi found himself spending more time with the hyperactive Hoji and the irascible Sato. They even frequented Itachi’s residence, and usually earned disdainful glares and curious stares from the other Uchiha clansmen; even the most chronically indifferent ones were shaken out of their apathy by the presence of the strangers.
Sasuke was shy around the duo while Mikoto was infinitely polite. She seemed to have a special liking for Hoji due to his remarkable expertise with pots and pans. This was another well from which Sato enjoyed drawing new ways to tease and annoy the medic. Fugaku never met them but encouraged the friendship for the purpose of Itachi’s information gathering objective. Before Itachi knew it, he had come to possess a small social life.
It was around noon and today was a special day which showed some promise of excitement because Hoji and Sato would be meeting Mitsuki for the very first time. Although Itachi would never admit it, he did derive some enjoyment from the company of his two new friends. However, Itachi still found their presence in his life an uncomfortable encumbrance and an unwanted encroachment on his free time. This was why he shared no personal information about himself with them, rarely participating in conversation even, and he made every effort, within the bounds of politeness, to avoid them, and to prevent them from finding out about Mitsuki--ever.
This however, ended up a waste of effort when Sasuke blurted out her name during one of their visits. If that wasn’t enough to make Itachi slam his palm into his own face, the boy also mentioning their kiss was. From that moment, Itachi was transformed from that pensive, solitary and mysterious element in their little trio, to a regular guy with a girlfriend- and Hoji and Sato just won’t shut up about it!
It was with an exasperated sigh, and on an emphatic promise of an end to their teasing and mocking him, that Itachi agreed to arrange the meeting. And so, Itachi, Sato and Hoji made their way through the many houses in the Uchiha clan quarters until they reached Mitsuki’s. It was a rather large and traditional building, slightly elevated above ground and supported by various wooden beams, with a broad tiled roof with curved eaves which had worn with age, and smooth wooden walls painted white with the clan symbol emblazoned on it at intervals.
They made their way across the front yard, on which grew several cherry blossom trees whose white leaves, tinged with palest pink, provided the most prominent source of color. There was also a small garden of bright multi-colored flowers as well as an old shishi-odoshi whose trickle of water and periodic rapping of bamboo against rock, broke the silence. Proceeding up a small staircase and stepping onto the veranda, Itachi was the one knocked the wooden sliding door. It slipped open and a short girl with dark eyes, soft and clear, and a charming smile welcomed them inside. Taking off their shoes at the entrance, the trio shuffled through the door and it slid shut.
00000
“What are you telling me Danzo?!” shouted Hiruzen. “You kept this from me for years! So many years after he-”
“You have already proved yourself incapable of dealing with him,” interjected Danzo, his voice remaining as placid as always. “You failed when the opportunity came. Why should I-”
“I am the Hokage! It is MY business to know what threatens my village. It is I, not you Danzo, and it’s high time you made your peace with that fact!” roared Hiruzen.
“Let us all control ourselves.” came the placating voice of Homura Mitokado, a strong and commanding edge to his tone.
There were four elderly individuals standing in the Hokage’s office. First was the Hokage, who was standing at the chair behind his desk, his short, cloaked figure aquiver with anger, and his usual warm brown eyes blazing with fury, as they glared contemptuously at Danzo. The man infamously known as the Darkness of Shinobi, Danzo, maintained his usual reserved and subdued manner as he stood, cane aloft, before Hiruzen on the other side of the table.
Also present was Homura Mitokado, the tall, grey-haired, oblong-faced, strong-jawed and bespectacled figure whose dignified robes, serene expression and stately comportment were a clear indication of his position as a Konoha Councilman. He was on Danzo’s right while his fellow Council member, Koharu Utatane stood on the left. She was in her usual long kimono, with a white sash running from her left shoulder to her right hip. Her face drooping with wrinkles, her hair grey and wrapped in a tight bun, her eyes squinted into invisibility and her expression grave.
Homura cleared his throat and began, “This new information which Danzo has brought to light is one of great importance. We absolutely must deal with this potential menace. Yes, he was wrong to act on his own. Root, though disbanded, remains active and there’s nothing we can do about it. The organization remains loyal to Konoha and so their activities have been tolerated. The very fact that Danzo’s agents were unable to deal with the issue simply stresses the importance of it. Hiruzen, we must take action.”
Hiruzen was now considerably calmer and he took a drag of his pipe before he spoke, “A team must be sent.”
“We cannot use ordinary squadrons,” came the hoarse voice of Koharu, “It must be the elite ANBU.”
The Hokage assented with a nod.
“We must send our best.” said Danzo.
“Indeed.” said Hiruzen, wreaths of smoke curling upwards from his pipe. “I will put the team together.”
00000
The living room in Mitsuki’s house was very capacious and demarcated from the other rooms by a broad paper wall. The floor was of smooth and polished wood and covered with large tatami mats bearing intricate designs. The walls were pierced by two large windows and decorated with a few portraits. Daylight flooded in from the open windows, providing illumination for Mitsuki and her guests who were seated at roughly the center of the room, each upon a cushion laid on the mat. Itachi was seated next to Mitsuki, both directly opposite Hoji and Sato. In front of each was a plate of steaming hot ramen. The air was ripe with conversation, though Itachi and Sato were not part of it.
Hoji was absolutely in his element. Within a few short minutes, Mitsuki had come to adore the medic for his sagely knowledge in possibly all matters of the human body. With insatiable curiosity and fiery enthusiasm, she bombarded him with questions ranging from the best diets and exercise regimes that would best ‘bring out her figure,’ (“What figure? She's thirteen!” Itachi thought, bewildered) to treatments and lotions for smooth skin and bright complexion. Hoji provided fully detailed answers with ease. Itachi and Sato were silenced into utter insignificance in the presence of the guru. It made them vaguely wonder if Mitsuki was the only girl in their midst as they quietly slurped their noodles.
“So, I use lemons, coconut butter, shea butter, lime and egg white?” Mitsuki asked, her eyes widened.
“Yes,” replied Hoji with a smile, “but don’t forget the exact proportions. I also have a small draught of my own creation which also adds to the effectiveness of the mix. It speeds up the exfoliation process, leaving a brighter shade of skin behind. With my little secret formula, you’ll be radiant in no time, and no adverse effects too.”
“Wow!” Mitsuki’s eyes sparkled. “You’re simply amazing!”
Hoji flushed. “Why thank you, Mitsuki-chan. Actually most of this stuff I learned from my mother. She was a medic whose expertise was beyond treating the wounded on the battlefield. Her dream was to enhance all aspects of human living. ”
“That’s incredible.”
“Yeah, sadly she met her end during the Kyubi’s attack on Konoha.” Hoji’s expression became very grave and his eyes drifted towards the smooth mat on the floor. “I was only eight years old.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry.” said Mitsuki.
Hoji beamed with a smile. “Oh, don’t be! It was a long time ago. She’d be happy to know that someone is deriving benefit from the things she left behind. I don’t have much use for them myself--being a boy and all.”
Mitsuki grinned. “Well, I-”
Her sentence was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door. All eyes turned towards the entrance where a silhouette could be seen through the paper panels of the door. Itachi jumped to his feet, perhaps a little too eagerly. “I’ll get it,” he said and hurried off. It was almost like he was trying to escape Hoji and Mitsuki’s conversation.
“Who is it?” demanded Itachi in a placid tone.
“ANBU messenger directly from the Hokage.” came a gruff, slightly muffled voice from the other side of the door.
Itachi’s brows furrowed as he slid the door open.
Their visitor was tall but thin, clad in the yellow, long sleeved, ankle length robe typical of ANBU with his head covered by the hood of his robe and his face hidden behind a porcelain dog mask.
“What says Hokage-sama?” asked the young Uchiha.
“Uchiha Itachi, Hyuuga Sato and Senju Hoji, you three are to report at the Hokage’s office immediately.”
Today was really going to be interesting.
To Be Continued.
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