Crossover Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ K a z o k u ❯ The Lost Episodes ( Chapter 5 )

To Whom It May Concern: Sorry for the late chapter. I promise (or hope!) the next chapter will be better. This is just a silly short chapter that I had to get out or else it wouldn't leave me alone.

 

Chapter Five: The Lost Episodes

 

Mikoto smiled at the ten year old who showed up unannounced on her doorstep. This was a normal occurrence; the child was almost a part of her family, the daughter that she never had. Obsidian eyes took note of the puffed out cheeks and stiffness of those little shoulders signifying annoyance and ushered her in without having to be asked.

 

Fugaku was still at work. He would be pleased to find out that their surrogate daughter paid them a visit today.

 

“Itachi is in his room sleeping,” Mikoto answered before she was even asked. As mentioned before, this was a normal routine in their household so she was familiar with the inner workings of the chibi's mind. “You can go and -” the mother of two didn't have a chance to finish her sentence when the chibi bowed and thanked her enthusiastically then happily sprinted off to the direction of her eldest son's room, all traces of her earlier annoyance gone.

 

The Uchiha chuckled to herself and went to her kitchen to check if she had enough ingredients to cook the chibi her favorite meal later, adding three more to their family of four. Her husband was sure to be happy at dinner time.

 

“Tachi?” The chibi whispered and knocked softly, knowing from experience that if he was awake he would hear it however quiet it was. At the absence of a reply she opened the door and peeked inquiring eyes inside.

 

Itachi was lying on his side fast asleep in the middle of his bed with his low ponytail undone.

 

He is so pretty, Kagome thought, tiptoeing quietly towards him after closing the door. The bed barely dipped under her weight as she crawled towards the sleeping Uchiha. He looked so vulnerable in his sleep, almost as if he was begging to be hugged or have his hair braided. Fingers longed to trace the lines on his face but refrained, afraid of waking him up.

 

Two hours later, the Uchiha household had another visitor.

 

“Coming!” Mikoto cheerfully called out to the person knocking on her doorstep. Wet hands were wiped on her apron and moved to open the door. She beamed at the unexpected guest. “Hokage-sama!”

 

Arashi smiled at the charming Uchiha matriarch. “I told you not to call me that, Mikoto-san. With all the trouble my twins put you through you're more than welcome to call me Arashi.”

 

Mikoto smiled brightly and led him inside. “Sorry, it's the robes. They make it hard to call you just Arashi. Come in, come in. Make yourself at home.”

 

Arashi thanked her and took off his Hokage robes, leaving it on the coat rack in the entrance. “I couldn't find them so...” He started.

 

She understood instantly. “Kagome-chan is in Itachi's room. She came here alone a couple of hours ago, I think the boys left her behind again,” she looked apologetic in behalf of her youngest. “Sasuke's in that stage where he's a little mean to girls. I think he might have convinced Naruto-kun to go along with his plans again.” Those plans often involved convincing Naruto to ditch Kagome and run off to spar somewhere out of the little girl's reach.

 

The Hokage nodded in comprehension, he understood. They went into the kitchen. “No need to apologize, I've been through that stage myself.” He grinned, accepted the tea offered and engaged in pleasant conversation while enjoying the delicious cup. Arashi allowed himself to relax and let his Hokage personality down. Mikoto was really nice to talk to and he could see why his children liked the mother of two so much. She reminded him of his wife, in a sense, and he could even see the similarities in their personalities. Both had a gentle, nurturing instinct and if his wife was alive, he envisioned her to be as loving as Fugaku's wife was to the kids.

 

He watched her as she talked about her children and his children, sharing a conversation she had with Iruka-sensei at a PTA conference at the academy. He attentively listened with half an ear while his thoughts wandered on how she influenced his twins' growth. He didn't know when it happened but somewhere along the way he began to rely on her to fill the role of female guidance where his babies were concerned.

 

He blamed it on Fugaku, he really did.

 

He was still wary and on guard around the man's presence as well as his sons', especially now that they were growing up, but he had no natural defense when it came to the man's kind wife. She was too sweet-natured to suspect and he wasn't heartless enough to treat her with the same cautious attitude as he did her husband.

 

After he emptied his second cup, he couldn't help but notice his daughter's absence. He frowned, thinking that surely they weren't doing anything that warranted the privacy of Itachi's bedroom.

 

“Why don't we go check on the kids?” Mikoto suggested, turning off the stove under her already cooked casserole. The man could be so transparent when it concerned his daughter.

 

Itachi woke up with his senses tingling from an unknown threat. The heavy weight on his chest snuggled deeply into him when he moved and a very stiff Yondaime was the first thing that he saw when he opened his eyes. The man's knuckles were turning white from where they clenched on his bedroom door frame.

 

Ah.

 

He should've known.

 

The chibi never failed to make herself at home on his chest, in his bed or anywhere upon his person, for that matter, as long as he could remember. He was sure her father was aware of that as well but lately, the man showed more and more displeasure each time it happened. The dark haired chibi was too stubborn to listen to her father about not doing that anymore so Itachi had the privilege, please note the sarcasm, of incurring the blond man's disapproving glare.

 

And they worked well together as ninjas, too. He never heard one bad thing from the Hokage when it came to his performance as an ANBU.

 

With help from the blond, Itachi successfully disentangled himself and his hair from the chibi's grip. While the Uchiha tied his hair in a low ponytail, his mother went back to the kitchen and the chibi slowly woke up. She was a little disoriented and surprised to find herself in her papa's arms, quickly searching for her Uchiha pillow. Feeling mellow from her just awakened low blood pressure, she didn't protest when she was carried back to the kitchen.

 

She was still snuggled comfortably on her papa's lap when Sasuke and Naruto finally made their appearance looking disheveled and worn out from training. Sasuke squirmed uncomfortably when his mother told him he should be nicer to girls, Itachi noticed, taking note of how his brother was acting. Naruto was like a puppy begging for forgiveness after being caught chewing on his master's favorite shoe when his father questioned him about leaving his sister behind again. He had that `if I look cute, I hopefully won't get in trouble' attitude down to an art form. The older blond completely fell for the kicked fox cub look, complete with trembling chin and glistening saucer eyes.

 

Itachi rolled his optical devices when even his mother got hooked and gently told Naruto to go clean up with Sasuke before dinner. Apparently, the trio was invited for an evening meal at the Uchihas'. He couldn't help but notice his father's perceptible delight when he found the Yondaime's family at his house when he came home. He also noticed that his old man didn't even shoot him those frigid, suspicious glares he was beginning to get used to ever since news of Shisui's death spread. In his entire life, the only times he saw his father act remotely human was when he was around his mother or the Yondaime's daughter.

 

“It's delicious as usual, Mikoto-san.” Arashi didn't hesitate to go for seconds during their meal. Naruto bobbed his head up and down in agreement, following in his father's footsteps and reaching for more. It was rare for their family to eat a home cooked meal as good as this one in their own home.

 

“I wish papa could cook like you, Mikoto-mama.” Kagome said. Papa's specialty was beef ramen, pork ramen, shrimp ramen and miso ramen... but mostly just ramen. If he attempted to cook anything else, their kitchen severely suffered. Non-explosive concoctions suddenly found themselves mysteriously blowing up for mysterious reasons. Papa had a talent for that.

 

Fugaku looked kindly at the candid child. “You're always welcome in our home, Kagome-chan.”

 

Kagome beamed at him. “Naru and Papa too?”

 

Fugaku nodded, wondering how many times he had to say that to the girl until she remembered. Every time she came to visit or eat diner with them they would have the same conversation. His wife and children had more influence with her, he noticed. It also didn't slip his observation that he was the only one in their family without a personal nickname from her. His eldest was `Tachi', his youngest was `Sasu' and his wife was `Mikoto-mama'. He was `Uchiha-san' or `Fugaku-san' on good days. He wished she would drop the keigo or polite-speak with him, even coaxed her to twice, but she never did. If he wasn't who he was he would've asked her to call him Fugaku-papa to match Mikoto-mama but he was an Uchiha and Uchihas never asked for anything... and Arashi looked possessive of his papa title so Fugaku wasn't even going to touch that with a ten foot kunai.

 

How many more years would it take to earn her trust? And why would Itachi have her faith while he didn't? It boggled his mind.

 

“So tell me how your training went, Sasuke.” Mikoto turned to her youngest. She was slightly disturbed by his current behavior regarding his friend's sister. They got along so well before... was something bothering him? Fugaku had been paying more attention to him lately...

 

Sasuke shrugged into his miso soup.

 

“He could hit four targets successfully now!” Naruto eagerly answered for him. And then almost as an afterthought, “So could I...”

 

Sasuke snorted.

 

Naruto glared at him. “I did! Twice!” He grumbled. He wasn't as good as Sasuke but at least he was trying his best.

 

“Can I come with you next time?” Kagome asked. Naruto hesitantly looked to Sasuke for answers, wishing he'd say yes, who suddenly found the fish very interesting. “Tachi can you help me train with my shuriken?” If they weren't going to let her train with them then she was going to train with someone else.

 

“I'm sure Itachi-kun has a very busy schedule,” Arashi began to explain but Fugaku had other ideas.

 

“Why don't you take her with you, Sasuke?” Sasuke fidgeted slightly, uncomfortable under his father's scrutiny.

 

“Anata,” Mikoto gently intervened “I'm sure Sasuke has his own reasons and Itachi wouldn't mind practicing with Kagome-chan when he has the time.”

 

Itachi inclined his head in agreement. He knew who secretly wore the pants in his parents' marriage. “On a weekend when I don't have any missions,” he promised.

 

“She has really bad aim,” Naruto confided with them, earning him a frown from his sister.

 

The weekend after that, Itachi couldn't make good on his promise so he vowed he'd make it up to her for sure. She waited and waited but soon found out first hand the frustration that Sasuke felt whenever his brother failed to make well on their appointments.

 

Things took a turn for the worse when some members of her friend's official fanclub decided she was in the way of their idol worship and cornered her to give her a piece of their minds...

 

Kagome's chin quivered and her eyes watered but she stood her ground. She asked herself - What would Naruto do? “If you don't leave me alone, I'll -”

 

“What, tell your father?” one of the girls circling her mocked, sniffing her nose down at her.

 

The girl was tall.

 

She was a midget in comparison. “N-no!” She fibbed, hoping they'd buy her Naru-impression. She wasn't a coward, she really wasn't. It was just intimidating to have a circle of burly girls closing in on you from all sides like this. Outnumbered and without a height advantage, she couldn't help but feel unconfident about how she'll stand up to these bullies. “I'll make you feel sorry!”

 

Her voice cracked, ruining the confident aura she was aiming to project.

 

“No you won't,” a girl behind her disagreed with a sharp poke at her back. “You're not strong enough.”

 

Anger was quickly replacing whatever fear and apprehension she felt. “I'll tell Naru -”

 

Another girl tugged on her hair painfully. “That's all you are, a little tattletale. Without your brother you're nothing.”

 

“No I'm not! You'll be sorry! When Sasu finds out - oomf!” The kick out took her off guard. Ouch.

 

Everyone could feel the anger emanating out of the chibi's body now. The circle took an apprehensive step back, unsure about the aura they were experiencing from the chibi picking her body up from the dirt. Those who looked close enough could see the slowly building fire behind those blue eyes.

 

“Maybe this isn't a good idea after all...” one of the bullies hesitated. “If sensei finds out, we might get in trouble. He'll tell the Hokage and -”

 

“NO!” The leader of the pack gathered her bearings. Remembering their goal, she stabbed an angry finger at the chibi's shoulder. “Stay away from Sasuke-kun! He belongs to everyone, not just to you. Quit monopolizing him and stop taking all the attention!”

 

Kagome winced from each painful jab that punctuated those demands but held her ground. “But Sasu is my friend!”

 

“And stop calling him Sasu like you're so familiar with him!”

 

“Yeah!” one of her minions agreed. “Why are you speaking yobisute!” The reminder of Kagome speaking about their beloved Sasuke-kun without any honorifics snapped them out of their hazes.

 

The circle of angry fangirls began to tighten around Kagome once again.

 

“And what's with that `Sasu'? So annoying. He's Sasuke-kun to you or Sasuke-san.”

 

“Or Sasuke-sama,” one of the younger years piped up, doing a little hair flip that should be banned from girls her age.

 

“But I've called him that since as long as I could remember...”

 

“Well starting now you need to stay away from him because it pisses us off!”

 

“He's my friend!” How were they expecting her to not see her friend anymore? “And he's friends with Naru too! You can't make me - ow!” Honestly! Pulling on her hair was really too much! The burning sensation of her scalp made her eyes water involuntarily. The sniffle caught her unawares, a reflex from the hair pulling and her fists tightened along with it. If one more person pulled on her hair she was going to...

 

“What are you doing to Kagome?”

 

There was a collective gasp from the fangirl pack when they turned to confront the voice. “It's a big Sasuke-kun!” One of the fangirls said in awe, unfamiliar with who they were dealing with.

 

Kagome took their relapse to her advantage and made a run for it, hurtling her little body towards her unexpected savior. “Tachi!” At age ten, she was no longer head to leg with the Uchiha; she was head to waist.

 

“Are you alright?” Itachi asked gruffly, patting her hair while contemplating how to deal with the brat pack who was bullying his chibi earlier. He had half a mind to unleash Tsukuyomi on them or acquaint their heads with the sharp end of his kunai.

 

“He looks just like Sasuke-kun.” Apparently, their brain cells weren't in top shape.

 

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the girls looking at him with awe. “If I see any of you bullying Kagome again,” none of them were really paying attention to his threat.

 

“He's also an Uchiha,” one of the girls pointed out the fan on the back of his shirt.

 

“Are you related to Sasuke-kun?” one of the Annoying Ones bravely asked.

 

Kagome frowned at them, not liking the looks in their eyes. It was the same look they had whenever they were around Sasuke. Itachi was hers!

 

At that thought, her grip on his pant leg tightened and all traces of fear or apprehension vanished. In place of those weak emotions, she felt irritated and defensive of how they were ogling what she considered hers. Yes, you heard right. Itachi was hers. He belonged to her, not anyone else.

 

Itachi wasn't alarmed at the sudden change he felt in his chibi but he lifted her on to his arms just in case. In a few years, he figured he wouldn't be able to do this anymore without incurring the Hokage's rasengan through the back of his skull. His chibi was starting to mature and her father was getting more and more (and more and more) overprotective each passing day. Naruto too, sometimes, but he could still fool the inexperienced boy.

 

“He's Sasu's niisan and you can't have him,” Kagome stared them all down. Itachi was half-expecting a lightning bolt to rain down from the heavens and smite the Annoying Ones from where they stood. She surprised him when she punctuated her statement with a quick lick to his face to mark her territory, he figured, which earned a unified gasp from their audience.

 

“I'm not a piece of food,” he mumbled at his chibi softly but she wasn't paying him any attention. You're only supposed to lick food you don't want others to eat, he wanted to say.

 

“Is he your boyfriend?” Wide saucer eyes looked from the big Sasuke-kun to their classmate for answers. Licking his face to show her claim was a bold move from the chibi. The rest of the brat pack leaned in to catch the response.

 

Kagome's brows furrowed, contemplating the question. “He's a boy and he's my friend. Kiba-kun is a boy and my friend too but I'm Tachi's bride,” she beamed at them, all traces of her earlier bad mood gone.

 

Itachi didn't say anything, but was amused at her proclamation. Bride eh? He wondered if the Yondaime knew about that... He wondered what the man had to say about that.

 

The gaggle of fangirls oohed and aahed at the chibi's statement. “So that means Sasuke-kun is like... going to be your brother-in-law, right?”

 

“That is so cool!” The fangirl clique gaped at them some more and threw several questions at the chibi which she happily answered.

 

“Is he really in ANBU?”

 

“Do you really have the sharingan?”

 

“Do you have any tattoos?”

 

“How old is he?”

 

“When did he graduate from the academy?”

 

“What's Sasuke-kun like at home?”

 

“Can you introduce me to Sasuke-kun?”

 

“Is she really your bride?”

 

“Can I touch his hair?”

 

When Kagome frowned and said no at the last question, Itachi thought it was time to cut the little press conference short. “Go back...” he eyed the other children on their lunch break “to your lunch and from now on, you will leave her alone. If I hear anything about Kagome being bullied again, you won't like what I'm going to do to you. Is that understood?” His Sharingan-backed speech caused them all to gulp nervously. Satisfied at their agreement, Itachi went to look for his brother while still carrying Kagome in his arms.

 

“Next time, you should go get help or just never leave Naruto-kun's or Sasuke's sides so you don't get into trouble,” he felt compelled to advice her wisely. She was weak. She lacked height, muscle, stamina and killing instincts. She lacked hatred to strike back against those who thought they could push her around because she looked like vulnerable prey.

 

She played with the ends of his ponytail and told him that she had to go to the bathroom.

 

“Then take Hinata-chan with you or make sure you're not alone.” He said as he carried her back to where her friends were.

 

Her little shoulders lifted into a shrug and Itachi had a sense that she wasn't really taking his advice seriously. The girl had no sense of self-preservation. At all. She was weak and naïve.

 

“Because she's small...” One of the teachers said when he went to talk to them about the bullying he witnessed. He made sure that no one was around to bear witness to him poking his nose in the little girl's business of course.

 

“And the Yondaime insists on not giving his children special treatment...” was Iruka's answer.

 

And her brother is the Kyuubi vessel, Itachi filled in the silence. Nobody said it but he knew it was on their minds. Only a handful of people inside the village didn't harbor any secret animosity towards the Yondaime's son. No one openly talked about it since the Sandaime made laws forbidding those who knew of it to talk about it, but children could sense the secret dislike their parents felt for the Kyuubi child. They didn't understand where it stemmed from but they tuned into the silent resentment emitted and emulated it. It was as natural as the trickling of that quiet hostility towards the sister who was always close to her brother especially whenever they saw her hanging out with their school idol.

 

Cornering his brother away from their parents' prying eyes and ears was easy. He had to, since it was his only option left - staying by her side twenty-four/seven or eliminating the threats was a little extreme for this situation. Konoha would probably frown upon him threatening girls half his size, even if they deserved it for what they did to his chibi.

 

He figured the man to er... man, Uchiha to Uchiha talk was long overdue anyway.

 

The following day after that, Kagome noticed a change in Sasuke's attitude. He was a little bit on the mean side to her before - what with all the teasing, the leaving behind... the urging of Naruto to not include her in their games and activities because she was a girl. She was glad that Sasuke got over his mean phase and finally decided to be the nice friend she had growing up again.

 

Papa was pleased to know that Sasuke was playing nice with her again. He didn't know he wasn't in the first place and didn't pay any mind to what that was about. Children and their quirks was what he thought. And Sasuke was just a kid. He was more lenient with the kid than his older brother. Between the two of them, the older one posed more of a threat than the younger one so when his daughter received hairclips from the younger one, he thought it was cute.

 

Kagome wore them everyday for two whole weeks until he gave her more.

 

It was cute, it really was. He was glad his son's bestfriend wasn't trying to make his son's sister cry at every opportunity anymore. Those were a few weird months, if he could say so himself. Thankfully, now it seemed over.

 

“Papa look at what Sasu gave me!”

 

Arashi looked up from the scrolls he was reading in the living room to greet his daughter just in time to receive the plushie in his face. He had to move Mr. Plushie at arm's length before he replied, “That's really nice, Gome. Did you remember to thank Sasuke-kun?”

 

“Un!”

 

He looked over his daughter's head to smile at the boy. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun. You don't have to give her anything you know, you've already given her a lot.”

 

Sasuke had a barely detectible blush on his cheeks. It was Saturday and the only ones absent from their little group so far were his brother and the Hyuuga girl. “Tousan said it was okay... and I don't want a girly doll anyway.”

 

Neji snorted from where he sat on the couch. A staring contest ensued from the Hyuuga's snort, Sasuke was clearly not amused. Kagome skipped off to answer the person knocking on their door.

 

“Hmmm...” Jiraiya observed the interaction with a critical eye. Once in a while he would tap a finger on his chin, nod knowledgably then scribble on his papers. Beside him, Kakashi would offer his opinion when asked or voice out his thoughts when inspiration struck. They were so in synch with each other's ideas that they would even finish each other's sentences.

 

“What if this happened to the girl and then -”

 

“- the guy would do that and after which -”

 

“- they would go to the -”

 

“- place where they could -”

 

“- while the other isn't watching and -”

 

Arashi watched, oddly amused at the way his former sensei and his former student were getting along so well. It was nice of them to include Naruto in whatever they were doing, even if the child was just sitting with them, looking at them with big eyes.

 

“Yes!” Jiraiya gave Kakashi a thumbs-up sign reminiscent of Gai's good guy pose. “I love that idea!”

 

Kakashi's only visible eye curved pleasantly beneath his forehead protector.

 

“Papa, Miroku's here!” Kagome informed her father over her shoulder and went outside to greet the newly arrived Itachi.

 

“Miroku-kun, what a surprise! Mushin-sama isn't with you?”

 

Miroku's violet eyes twinkled in merriment. “This is strictly a social call, Yondaime-sama. Grandpa has given Kagome-sama the weekend to train with someone else.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“She went to practice with Itachi-san in the backyard right now,” Neji said, finally breaking his staring contest with Sasuke. The Uchiha smirked at him, counting it as his victory.

 

“That's nice.” The Yondaime replied burying his head the stack of scrolls once again.

 

Outside, Itachi was helping Kagome with her aim. “You need to concentrate. Stop looking at other things and just focus on your targets.”

 

“Kay!”

 

Itachi eyed her suspiciously. Even when she agreed to concentrate, he could tell that she still wasn't paying full attention to her targets. The shuriken scattered around the target, imbedded on the trees and littered on the ground were proof enough. “Try again,” he instructed with great patience. “You have great potential yet your aim is really off when you don't pay attention.”

 

She tried again for close to an hour. She was a little more successful this time so he rewarded her with a pat on the head and ordered a break. She seemed to enjoy it very much.

 

“I don't understand why your marks on everything else are above average yet you have the lowest grades in weapons class. I talked to your sensei and found out that you're the best in your class when it comes to defensive tactics yet your offensive moves are the lowest the academy's had so far.”

 

Kagome shrugged, picking a small log to sit on. “I don't like attacking things.”

 

“It's part of a shinobi's job, Kagome. You can't leave yourself open to any weaknesses. You must hone all your abilities to be a better ninja.” He looked her in the eye as he told her. “I would rather you not become a ninja if you don't know how to properly protect yourself.”

 

She gasped, looking like he just suggested that they go on a puppy-kicking spree. “I can't do that! Naru's going to be the best Hokage and I'd be the best medic-nin like Nade-neechan! And if I become a really good med-nin Naru and papa will be proud of me. Once I become really, really good I could tell everyone to stop whispering behind Naru's back when they don't think we could hear them,” she crossed her arms in front of her chest in a stubborn gesture. “I want to be in the same squad as Naru, too! I don't want him to go on missions when he's ninja and get hurt. If he's hurt I'll take care of him, not anybody else.”

 

“Yes but if you don't know how to defend yourself, how are you going to help Naruto-kun?”

 

“I know how to defend myself,” she blinked at him owlishly. “Mushin-sama taught me how to make that chakra shield, remember?”

 

Yes, he remembered. But it didn't look like a chakra shield to him or his sharingan. Try as he might, he could never copy any of the girl's techniques either. “Okay,” he decided to try another route. “What if you and Naruto-kun are out on a mission and you get ambushed. Say he's fighting several opponents at once and then another one comes at him from behind but he's too busy fighting off the others to notice.”

 

He felt satisfied at how her eyes widened at his words.

 

“Are you confident enough in your taijutsu and weapons skills to say that you can protect him? Save him in time? What if you can't? Will you still refuse to hone your offensive attacks because you don't like hurting people?”

 

Black hair so dark it had bluish streaks flew at all directions as she shook her head vigorously, an alarmed look on her face.

 

He allowed the pleased smirk to creep into his face. “Now will you try harder to hit the targets this time?”

 

ღ

 

Naruto's jaw had far long dropped to the floor. He was way beyond astounded now, he passed blown away many miles ago. The things these three were talking about... it was astonishing when it was just Kakashi and Ero Sennin, but when Miroku joined their focus group, everything just skyrocketed to something he couldn't even begin to find the right words for.

 

“... because that way it's more fun, don't you think?”

 

Jiraiya and Kakashi couldn't help but marvel at the boy's natural talent. Jiraiya was floored at the thought of someone having the potential to surpass even him.

 

“You're a genius!” Kakashi gushed. He gushed and yet the old toad sage couldn't help but agree. He seemed to be gushing at the boy as well.

 

“Remarkable! I've never considered that angle before but I'm loving it more and more.”

 

Arashi unburied himself from his stack of scrolls enough to stretch his aching muscles, easing the crick in his neck. Curiosity made him open his mouth, “What are they talking about?” He asked Neji whose pearly eyes were half the size of his son's. Naruto's blue ones were occupying half of his face, if that were even possible.

 

“They're talking about Jiraiya-sama's new novel,” Neji croaked.

 

He bumped his knee on the table when he stood up quickly “Sensei!” grabbing the permanently scarred Naruto out of the perverted circle in one fluid motion.

 

“What?” Jiraiya looked totally innocent.

 

“You shouldn't talk about adult stuff in the presence of children.”

 

“You didn't mind about it before,” the reply was sulky.

 

“I didn't know you were tainting his mind with lewd subjects!”

 

“Hey!” Jiraiya protested. “They're not lewd!” Looked genuinely offended, “they're works of art.” Miroku nodded in agreement while Kakashi started inching away to a safe distance from the fallout. “You don't even know what we were talking about.”

 

Arashi raised a challenging brow. “So tell me, just what you were talking about.”

 

“Tell him, Miroku!” He slapped the boy behind the back in encouragement.

 

The young monk was happy to take up the challenge. “Well Jiraiya-sama was stuck so I suggested something for his new book. See the premise is about this young princess who has an overprotective father.”

 

Arashi shifted Naruto comfortably in his arms “Go on,” and motioned for Miroku to continue.

 

“Since the king is so protective of his daughter, the princess remains single even when it's time for her to get married.”

 

He was unimpressed with the boy's story so far so he made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat to indicate he was listening.

 

“So the kingdom holds a tournament to match their princess to the strongest warrior. But the winner is someone the king doesn't trust with his daughter, and so she ends up with a harem.”

 

“What!?” Arashi had the strangest look on his face. He couldn't decide if he was going to sputter or laugh. “Where's the rest of the story? How does it go from the king not trusting the winner to the princess having her own harem?”

 

“It's Icha-Icha Paradise, not some romance novel,” Jiraiya waved his hand airily. “I'm not aiming for an epic love story, the male harem will sell with my audience.”

 

He had to shake his head in disgust. “Well, try not to scare Naruto with your harem talk next time, okay? He's too young for stuff like that.”

 

“Ask them what the names of the people in their story are, Tousan.” Naruto whispered to his father.

 

He thought it was an odd request but asked anyway. Kakashi plopped down on the other side of the sofa which Neji was sitting on.

 

“There's Jine,” Miroku said. “He's her childhood friend.”

 

“And then there's Tasuke,” Jiraiya added. “He's Chiati's little brother and runner up of the contest. They both get to be uke of the harem under Chiati who is the ultimate seme.”

 

“What weird names,” Arashi pointed out, brows furrowed. “Why do they sound familiar?”

 

Miroku and Jiraiya shrugged at him innocently. Having shared their brain child to him, they went back to brainstorming possible scenarios in the upcoming book.

 

There was a long pause before he asked again. “Hey sensei, what's the name of the princess?”

 

“Miko,” Jiraiya answered automatically.

 

There was a tense moment of silence among the younger ones as they saw the mental gears in the Hokage's mind shift. When something finally clicked into place inside Arashi's mind, his grip tightened. Robbed of precious air “Tousan, I can't breathe!” Naruto squeaked out pitifully. He scampered off to safety behind the sofa when he was released.

 

“You!” Arashi pointed an angry finger at his sensei.

 

Miroku wisely kept his mouth shut and did what Kakashi did earlier, staying as close to the walls as possible and inconspicuously inching his way towards safety.

 

“You..!” Words seemed to fail him, or perhaps it was all that anger he was choking on.

 

“Yes me what?” Jiraiya was confused.

 

“I can't believe you... you... you would...”

 

“You're sputtering, Arashi. Take deep breaths and start from the beginning,” he cajoled, eyes suddenly widening when the man lunged at him. He barely managed to duck, avoiding the hands aimed for his throat. “What's wrong with you?!”

 

“I think he managed to put two and two together, Jiraiya-sama.” Kakashi felt it safe to comment from where he sat. If worse comes to worst, he could always use Naruto as a human shield, he figured.

 

ღ

 

“Kagome-chan!” Hinata arrived just in time to see her friend flip back down to a low defensive position on the ground after throwing shuriken at the marks. Practice with her father was more grueling than usual today but seeing her friend always made her feel better. “Hello, Itachi-san!”

 

Itachi waved carelessly at the little girl.

 

“Hinata! Look! Look at how I can hit three targets at the same time now!” Kagome glomped the girl enthusiastically, proudly showing off her improving skills.

 

“That's great, Kagome-chan.” All the aches and pains caused by her harsh training earlier melted away at her bestfriend's touch.

 

“You wanna spar later?” Shining blue eyes peered into innocent milky ones excitedly.

 

“Hai!” Hinata answered, caught up in the enthusiasm, and hugged her back.

 

“That was very good, Kagome.” Itachi interrupted the little chibi love fest. He didn't begrudge the Hyuuga girl for the attention Kagome showered on her but the cute hormones, if there were such things, emitted by the chibis were starting to choke him. “Now try hitting the targets farther back this time. Don't let your -”

 

BOOM!

 

The trio startled when the back door flew off its hinges and out came Jiraiya, looking like he was fleeing from something.

 

“Now, now Arashi. This is just fiction, don't get worked up before you- ah! Put that away! Are you crazy!? And why am I the only one in trouble? It was Miroku's idea!!!”

 

The little girls' mouths formed a small “o” as they watched the fourth Hokage of Konoha hold up his palm and gather his chakra into a tight ball. “You're the oldest and therefore the most liable one.”

 

“Can't we settle this more peacefully? You should have more respect for your beloved sensei!” Jiraiya accused. He wasn't afraid of his student. Yes, Arashi was strong but so was he. He just didn't want to deal with the display of parental wrath though. “It's all harmless! What are you getting so mad about?”

 

“Enough talk!” Arashi lunged forward, chasing his sensei as the old man fled.

 

Once they were out of sight, the mice inside the house felt it was safe enough to venture outside. “Are they gone?” Miroku's voice was just a tad bit squeaky.

 

“What the hell just happened?” Itachi's demand was soon drowned out by the voices from the forest.

 

“You perverted old man! I'll teach you how to write your perverted novel! Here, let me help you -”

 

“Get away from me, you psycho!”

 

“- Rasengan!!!”