Ok. If you've not read this fic before then don't worry. Should be easy to flow with it....at least I think so XD Not an action chapter. Managed to sneak a tiny bit in though. Hope you enjoy. I'm trying to work on my dialogue and I'd really really like some feedback. And it might be just a tad longer than my usual stuff so bear with me.
Itachi was roused from his sleep by the gentle chirps of the birds nested in the old oak tree which has stood in the Uchiha compound for several decades. A cool breeze swept into his room from his half opened window, which unsettled his hair and caressed his face as he lifted himself from his bed. The boy was dressed in a faded red V-neck T-shirt and dark shorts.
Dimmed dark eyes shifted to the clock on his dresser which read 6 AM. Itachi’s brows furrowed as he wondered which his alarm hadn’t rang at 5:30. As the boy shuffled towards the bathroom, he surmised that his mother had turned it off when he was asleep. She probably wanted him to rest after his ‘big important ANBU mission’ as she put it.
The only thing that really fatigued him was having to chase a flustered Sasuke all the way home and explain to him what exactly had transpired between himself and Mitsuki on the ledge at the Naka River. He didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to her. Sasuke took the lecture about kissing really well and even promised not to mention it at the dinner table.
In about thirty minutes, he had brushed his teeth, taken a hot shower and gotten dressed. Itachi sported a long sleeved high collared shirt and tight grey pants along with dark sandals. Strapping his shuriken holster tightly to his bandaged right thigh and hanging his kunai pouch on his lower back, the Uchiha set out towards the forest.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Several shuriken embedded themselves in the bulls eye of six round targets hanging off several branches in the thick forest. It was said amongst the Uchiha that Shisui had the quickest feet and Itachi possessed the fastest hand and together, they were an unbeatable duo. Clearly the rumors were true. Itachi stared blankly at the results of his lightning fingers and beyond deadly accuracy.
“Wow, you’re amazing.”
Itachi turned to investigate the source of the voice. There was a rustle of leaves, the sharp crack of a twig and a brown haired young man emerged from between two towering tree trunks behind Itachi. Hoji was dressed in a sleeveless green robe with shuriken designs and tight knee-length shorts along with simple dull yellow slippers. Hanging from the inner elbow of his left hand was a small weave basket sparsely filled with leaves of a variety of colors and in his right hand was a magnifying glass. Hoji’s normally spiky brown hair was now bundled in a tiny low ponytail, few feathery locks hanging before his eyes, and his face was brightened by a warm smile.
“Good morning Hoji-san.” greeted Itachi.
“Hey, Itachi-kun. Now, I know why they let you in the ANBU so early!” Hoji exclaimed.
“Thank you.” responded Itachi. He was used to praise and adoration. An awkward silence stole over the two of them. Although Itachi had been in the ANBU for nearly two years, his reclusive nature and typically quiet demeanor had prevented him from socializing with any of his fellow operatives. He stayed away from after-mission celebrations and never lingered for long at the ANBU headquarters. In fact, the only people who knew the Uchiha heir even had some semblance of a personality were Mitsuki, Sasuke and the now deceased Shisui.
“Let’s get a move on, Hoji! You know I’ve gotta-Oh, hey Itachi.” Sato had stumbled out of the forest, dressed in a loose grey long sleeve robe which fell to his ankles along with brown slippers, his normally blank white eyes bloodshot with pronounced bags under them, long hair an unkempt mess which fell in tangled bushels about his face. “I so did not want to get up this early.” he grumbled to the brown haired medic.
“C’mon man, you promised you’d help me find them with your Byakugan.” whined Hoji.
“Do you have to gathers these herbs so freaking early in the morning?!” hollered Sato. “I mean, it’s not even 7AM yet!”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” responded Hoji. “Early mornings are the prime time.”
“You medic ninja are weird. Weird and annoying!” shrieked Sato.
“Itachi’s up too so maybe you’re the weird one for sleeping in. Aren’t ninja supposed to be disciplined?” retorted Hoji, a deep scowl twisted on his face.
“Yeah, but he’s training. You, on the other hand, I mean, a guy gathering herbs….it’s so-”
“Shut up!” shot Hoji, looking positively livid. He seemed about ready to hurl his magnifying glass at the dishevelled Sato who was now grinning, pleased that he had struck a nerve.
Itachi was unable to stifle a chuckle. As he watched this comic display, he recalled how his father had impressed upon him the seriousness, composure and strict self control that was required of an ANBU operative when he had first joined the organisation. If only the Uchiha clan leader could see these two now.
“You think this is funny, kid?!” grunted Sato in a threatening tone, narrowing blank eyes, which were tinged with red due to lack of sleep, at the young Uchiha as his pupils dilated and the veins on his face began to throb fiercely. Hoji immediately stepped in front of his companion. “I’ll-”
“You’ll have to excuse my friend here. He really isn’t a morning person.” cut in Hoji, looking over his shoulder at Itachi with a kind smile. He noted that the young Uchiha’s face now wore his usual cold and indifferent expression, and that his Sharingan was activated, those blood red eyes fixing Sato with a steely glare while slender fingers hovered gently over his shuriken holster. Hoji wondered in that brief moment who would win if Sato were to take on Itachi. The Hyuuga certainly had the advantage in size but still…those eyes…
“It’s ok.” said the Uchiha placidly, and his Sharingan vanished.
“Settle down, Sato.” said Hoji sharply and then he turned to Itachi. “Sorry we interrupted your training. Let’s make it up to you, how long till you’re done?”
Itachi was quiet for a moment before he replied, “About an hour.”
“Cool, me and this dunderhead will be done by then too. So, we can all get some breakfast together!” announced Hoji merrily. “I’m an awesome cook.”
“He collects herbs and he cooks, I’m sure you’ll make a great wife someday!” teased Sato with a sour expression on his face.
“Shut up, you *******! Let’s get a move on.” Hoji made for the treetops and vanished into the canopy of leaves. Sato glared at Itachi for a brief moment, muttered something under his breath and leaped after his companion. “See you in a few, Itachi!” Hoji called out distantly.
Itachi blinked in surprise after the two, his thin brows raised and his jaw slightly slacked in an expression of surprise and confusion. They hadn’t waited for his reply.
“So, did they do it?” Sato asked in a even tone which served to mask his curiosity, his blank eyes, Byakugan activated, fixing Itachi with a gaze of indescribable scrutiny.
Itachi stared back with a firm and unblinking half-lidded gaze, a perfectly calm expression on his face. “No, it was not the Uchiha clan that let loose the Kyuubi on Konoha.” There was a tense silence between the two Konoha shinobi, as their eyes remained locked, intense and unflinching.
“I believe you. My Byakugan would have detected the slightest sign of deceit. It’s absolutely impossible to fool these eyes.” said Sato, after a few tense seconds and the throbbing veins on his face vanished as he pupils constricted. “Though it might just be that you don’t know who did it.” He added as his chopsticks brought a generous quantity of broiled fish into his mouth.
Itachi had decided to finish his training early so that he might escape having to hang out with these two. However, as he was meticulously retrieving all the shuriken and kunai he had used, Sato and Hoji landed gracefully before him, the former yawning wildly and the latter informing him that they were done and would wait for him.
Itachi sighed resignedly and allowed himself to be led to Hoji’s apartment. The medic deposited his collected herbs on the table and quickly rushed into the kitchen in order to prepare the promised breakfast, leaving Itachi to enjoy, or rather endure, several minutes of tortuous silence with Sato in the room.
After a while, Itachi’s patience was rewarded with a delectable meal of steamed rice, miso soup along nori, tamagoyaki, broiled fish, tsukemono and finally to Itachi’s great delight, natto sweets which were his favorite food. The Uchiha had to hand it to Hoji, he really was a great cook. As he and the other two sat on Hoji’s bedroom floor, enjoying the tasty meal, the general conversation had somehow drifted from how girly it was that Hoji knew how to cook, to whether or not the Uchiha clan was behind the Kyubi attack on Konoha about seven years prior.
“As the heir of the Uchiha clan,” Hoji cut in, “I think Itachi would know if they were responsible.”
“But why would they tell him?” protested Sato. “He is, after all, still a kid.”
Itachi stared daggers at the Hyuuga. Although the Uchiha was normally never one to let the remarks and comments of others affect him in the slightest, he was really getting tired of Sato calling him a child. However, true to his Uchiha nature, he reacted only with perfect indifference, or at least he tried to until he was overcome by the urge to make a witty comment:
“Or, perhaps my clan really did it and your eyes couldn’t see squat. I mean, they are blank.”
Perhaps Itachi was not as mature as he thought. Maybe Mitsuki's excitable behavior was rubbing off on him. He knew it was only a matter of time.
There was a silence between the three shinobi for a moment. Itachi turned his attention to his food, particularly the natto. Hoji and Sato donned matching expressions of utter shock and disbelief with a gleeful smile slowly creeping onto the medic’s face while the Hyuuga turned livid, his blood boiling in anger.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU BRAT?!” roared Hyuuga Sato, leaping to his feet in an instant, his Byakugan active and his teeth bared. Hoji collapsed on the floor in such uncontrollable laughter that tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. Itachi remained resolutely focused on clearing his plate in the face of Sato’s fury.
That was until Sato moved to attack with the Gentle Fist.
Itachi’s Sharingan instantly swirled into view even as he quickly edged to the right, evading the incoming palm, extracting a kunai from his weapons pouch and placing the cold steel against Sato’s neck in the selfsame moment. Hoji gasped in shock. “Control yourself,” said Itachi placidly, “you’re acting like a child.”
“You’ll end up dead if you keep running that mouth of yours.” warned Sato gravely and his eyes focused on the hand which Itachi had dodged even and his lips quirked into a smile. Itachi traced his gaze with his own eyes and saw that said the fingers of the evaded arm were now curved inwards like a claw and the palm was facing the left side of Itachi’s body. “You evaded my Gentle Fist but can you avoid my Empty Palm?”
Itachi remembered the technique well. It was the one Sato had used to push Tenkaku towards Itachi’s shuriken at one point during their battle. If Sato used the technique at such close range…
“The force would shatter your ribs before you can blink.” growled Sato with a dark smile. “When it comes to taijutsu, the Hyuuga is best in Konoha.” He added as he slowly returned to his seat, took up his chopsticks and resumed eating. Itachi did the same.
A very tense silence fell on the three shinobi. Itachi and Sato resumed their meals while Hoji looked warily from one to the other, a worried expression on his face. “C’mon guys,” said the medic, forcing a genial smile as he patted his two companions on the shoulder in an effort to relieve the tension, “we’re just kidding around here. I mean, if an Uchiha like Itachi can eat a meal with a Senju like myself, I don’t see why a Hyuuga can’t join in.”
Itachi’s brows shot up in surprise and he turned to Hoji. “You’re Senju?”
“Yup. My mum was anyway,” the medic replied excitedly, “And I’m gonna be even greater than Hashirama Senju!”
Sato snorted.
“Hey! I could do it!” shrieked the medic, his tone defensive. “Then, I’ll be Hokage.”
At this the Hyuuga broke into laughter, annoying Hoji all the more. The two fell into another bout of childish bickering as Itachi watched, picking at his meal with a small smile on his face. Perhaps, making friends in the ANBU might not be such a bad thing. Though, he didn’t like Sato much.
To Be Continued.
Itachi was roused from his sleep by the gentle chirps of the birds nested in the old oak tree which has stood in the Uchiha compound for several decades. A cool breeze swept into his room from his half opened window, which unsettled his hair and caressed his face as he lifted himself from his bed. The boy was dressed in a faded red V-neck T-shirt and dark shorts.
Dimmed dark eyes shifted to the clock on his dresser which read 6 AM. Itachi’s brows furrowed as he wondered which his alarm hadn’t rang at 5:30. As the boy shuffled towards the bathroom, he surmised that his mother had turned it off when he was asleep. She probably wanted him to rest after his ‘big important ANBU mission’ as she put it.
The only thing that really fatigued him was having to chase a flustered Sasuke all the way home and explain to him what exactly had transpired between himself and Mitsuki on the ledge at the Naka River. He didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to her. Sasuke took the lecture about kissing really well and even promised not to mention it at the dinner table.
In about thirty minutes, he had brushed his teeth, taken a hot shower and gotten dressed. Itachi sported a long sleeved high collared shirt and tight grey pants along with dark sandals. Strapping his shuriken holster tightly to his bandaged right thigh and hanging his kunai pouch on his lower back, the Uchiha set out towards the forest.
00000
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Several shuriken embedded themselves in the bulls eye of six round targets hanging off several branches in the thick forest. It was said amongst the Uchiha that Shisui had the quickest feet and Itachi possessed the fastest hand and together, they were an unbeatable duo. Clearly the rumors were true. Itachi stared blankly at the results of his lightning fingers and beyond deadly accuracy.
“Wow, you’re amazing.”
Itachi turned to investigate the source of the voice. There was a rustle of leaves, the sharp crack of a twig and a brown haired young man emerged from between two towering tree trunks behind Itachi. Hoji was dressed in a sleeveless green robe with shuriken designs and tight knee-length shorts along with simple dull yellow slippers. Hanging from the inner elbow of his left hand was a small weave basket sparsely filled with leaves of a variety of colors and in his right hand was a magnifying glass. Hoji’s normally spiky brown hair was now bundled in a tiny low ponytail, few feathery locks hanging before his eyes, and his face was brightened by a warm smile.
“Good morning Hoji-san.” greeted Itachi.
“Hey, Itachi-kun. Now, I know why they let you in the ANBU so early!” Hoji exclaimed.
“Thank you.” responded Itachi. He was used to praise and adoration. An awkward silence stole over the two of them. Although Itachi had been in the ANBU for nearly two years, his reclusive nature and typically quiet demeanor had prevented him from socializing with any of his fellow operatives. He stayed away from after-mission celebrations and never lingered for long at the ANBU headquarters. In fact, the only people who knew the Uchiha heir even had some semblance of a personality were Mitsuki, Sasuke and the now deceased Shisui.
“Let’s get a move on, Hoji! You know I’ve gotta-Oh, hey Itachi.” Sato had stumbled out of the forest, dressed in a loose grey long sleeve robe which fell to his ankles along with brown slippers, his normally blank white eyes bloodshot with pronounced bags under them, long hair an unkempt mess which fell in tangled bushels about his face. “I so did not want to get up this early.” he grumbled to the brown haired medic.
“C’mon man, you promised you’d help me find them with your Byakugan.” whined Hoji.
“Do you have to gathers these herbs so freaking early in the morning?!” hollered Sato. “I mean, it’s not even 7AM yet!”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” responded Hoji. “Early mornings are the prime time.”
“You medic ninja are weird. Weird and annoying!” shrieked Sato.
“Itachi’s up too so maybe you’re the weird one for sleeping in. Aren’t ninja supposed to be disciplined?” retorted Hoji, a deep scowl twisted on his face.
“Yeah, but he’s training. You, on the other hand, I mean, a guy gathering herbs….it’s so-”
“Shut up!” shot Hoji, looking positively livid. He seemed about ready to hurl his magnifying glass at the dishevelled Sato who was now grinning, pleased that he had struck a nerve.
Itachi was unable to stifle a chuckle. As he watched this comic display, he recalled how his father had impressed upon him the seriousness, composure and strict self control that was required of an ANBU operative when he had first joined the organisation. If only the Uchiha clan leader could see these two now.
“You think this is funny, kid?!” grunted Sato in a threatening tone, narrowing blank eyes, which were tinged with red due to lack of sleep, at the young Uchiha as his pupils dilated and the veins on his face began to throb fiercely. Hoji immediately stepped in front of his companion. “I’ll-”
“You’ll have to excuse my friend here. He really isn’t a morning person.” cut in Hoji, looking over his shoulder at Itachi with a kind smile. He noted that the young Uchiha’s face now wore his usual cold and indifferent expression, and that his Sharingan was activated, those blood red eyes fixing Sato with a steely glare while slender fingers hovered gently over his shuriken holster. Hoji wondered in that brief moment who would win if Sato were to take on Itachi. The Hyuuga certainly had the advantage in size but still…those eyes…
“It’s ok.” said the Uchiha placidly, and his Sharingan vanished.
“Settle down, Sato.” said Hoji sharply and then he turned to Itachi. “Sorry we interrupted your training. Let’s make it up to you, how long till you’re done?”
Itachi was quiet for a moment before he replied, “About an hour.”
“Cool, me and this dunderhead will be done by then too. So, we can all get some breakfast together!” announced Hoji merrily. “I’m an awesome cook.”
“He collects herbs and he cooks, I’m sure you’ll make a great wife someday!” teased Sato with a sour expression on his face.
“Shut up, you *******! Let’s get a move on.” Hoji made for the treetops and vanished into the canopy of leaves. Sato glared at Itachi for a brief moment, muttered something under his breath and leaped after his companion. “See you in a few, Itachi!” Hoji called out distantly.
Itachi blinked in surprise after the two, his thin brows raised and his jaw slightly slacked in an expression of surprise and confusion. They hadn’t waited for his reply.
00000
“So, did they do it?” Sato asked in a even tone which served to mask his curiosity, his blank eyes, Byakugan activated, fixing Itachi with a gaze of indescribable scrutiny.
Itachi stared back with a firm and unblinking half-lidded gaze, a perfectly calm expression on his face. “No, it was not the Uchiha clan that let loose the Kyuubi on Konoha.” There was a tense silence between the two Konoha shinobi, as their eyes remained locked, intense and unflinching.
“I believe you. My Byakugan would have detected the slightest sign of deceit. It’s absolutely impossible to fool these eyes.” said Sato, after a few tense seconds and the throbbing veins on his face vanished as he pupils constricted. “Though it might just be that you don’t know who did it.” He added as his chopsticks brought a generous quantity of broiled fish into his mouth.
Itachi had decided to finish his training early so that he might escape having to hang out with these two. However, as he was meticulously retrieving all the shuriken and kunai he had used, Sato and Hoji landed gracefully before him, the former yawning wildly and the latter informing him that they were done and would wait for him.
Itachi sighed resignedly and allowed himself to be led to Hoji’s apartment. The medic deposited his collected herbs on the table and quickly rushed into the kitchen in order to prepare the promised breakfast, leaving Itachi to enjoy, or rather endure, several minutes of tortuous silence with Sato in the room.
After a while, Itachi’s patience was rewarded with a delectable meal of steamed rice, miso soup along nori, tamagoyaki, broiled fish, tsukemono and finally to Itachi’s great delight, natto sweets which were his favorite food. The Uchiha had to hand it to Hoji, he really was a great cook. As he and the other two sat on Hoji’s bedroom floor, enjoying the tasty meal, the general conversation had somehow drifted from how girly it was that Hoji knew how to cook, to whether or not the Uchiha clan was behind the Kyubi attack on Konoha about seven years prior.
“As the heir of the Uchiha clan,” Hoji cut in, “I think Itachi would know if they were responsible.”
“But why would they tell him?” protested Sato. “He is, after all, still a kid.”
Itachi stared daggers at the Hyuuga. Although the Uchiha was normally never one to let the remarks and comments of others affect him in the slightest, he was really getting tired of Sato calling him a child. However, true to his Uchiha nature, he reacted only with perfect indifference, or at least he tried to until he was overcome by the urge to make a witty comment:
“Or, perhaps my clan really did it and your eyes couldn’t see squat. I mean, they are blank.”
Perhaps Itachi was not as mature as he thought. Maybe Mitsuki's excitable behavior was rubbing off on him. He knew it was only a matter of time.
There was a silence between the three shinobi for a moment. Itachi turned his attention to his food, particularly the natto. Hoji and Sato donned matching expressions of utter shock and disbelief with a gleeful smile slowly creeping onto the medic’s face while the Hyuuga turned livid, his blood boiling in anger.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU BRAT?!” roared Hyuuga Sato, leaping to his feet in an instant, his Byakugan active and his teeth bared. Hoji collapsed on the floor in such uncontrollable laughter that tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. Itachi remained resolutely focused on clearing his plate in the face of Sato’s fury.
That was until Sato moved to attack with the Gentle Fist.
Itachi’s Sharingan instantly swirled into view even as he quickly edged to the right, evading the incoming palm, extracting a kunai from his weapons pouch and placing the cold steel against Sato’s neck in the selfsame moment. Hoji gasped in shock. “Control yourself,” said Itachi placidly, “you’re acting like a child.”
“You’ll end up dead if you keep running that mouth of yours.” warned Sato gravely and his eyes focused on the hand which Itachi had dodged even and his lips quirked into a smile. Itachi traced his gaze with his own eyes and saw that said the fingers of the evaded arm were now curved inwards like a claw and the palm was facing the left side of Itachi’s body. “You evaded my Gentle Fist but can you avoid my Empty Palm?”
Itachi remembered the technique well. It was the one Sato had used to push Tenkaku towards Itachi’s shuriken at one point during their battle. If Sato used the technique at such close range…
“The force would shatter your ribs before you can blink.” growled Sato with a dark smile. “When it comes to taijutsu, the Hyuuga is best in Konoha.” He added as he slowly returned to his seat, took up his chopsticks and resumed eating. Itachi did the same.
A very tense silence fell on the three shinobi. Itachi and Sato resumed their meals while Hoji looked warily from one to the other, a worried expression on his face. “C’mon guys,” said the medic, forcing a genial smile as he patted his two companions on the shoulder in an effort to relieve the tension, “we’re just kidding around here. I mean, if an Uchiha like Itachi can eat a meal with a Senju like myself, I don’t see why a Hyuuga can’t join in.”
Itachi’s brows shot up in surprise and he turned to Hoji. “You’re Senju?”
“Yup. My mum was anyway,” the medic replied excitedly, “And I’m gonna be even greater than Hashirama Senju!”
Sato snorted.
“Hey! I could do it!” shrieked the medic, his tone defensive. “Then, I’ll be Hokage.”
At this the Hyuuga broke into laughter, annoying Hoji all the more. The two fell into another bout of childish bickering as Itachi watched, picking at his meal with a small smile on his face. Perhaps, making friends in the ANBU might not be such a bad thing. Though, he didn’t like Sato much.
To Be Continued.
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