Parent Trap

A/N: and here's the second chapter, already! there are a few things i want to address about it, but that will be in the A/N at the end.

a big thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!! i'm so glad i didn't come back to ghost towns and tumbleweeds, you know? it gives me the encouragement i need to continue on. *bows*


Warning: i forgot to mention that this story will be horribly OOC, for everyone, except Naruto. maybe. but i still hope y'all like it.

enjoy!


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Parent Trap - Chapter 2
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Uchiha Itachi awoke to darkness. It was a soul-crushing darkness that he’d had the last few years to get used to. He no longer screamed, or cried, or wished for respite, or cursed every god he could think of for the injustice. He simply closed his eyes and waited, waited for the light to come back, waited for the darkness to finally swallow him; he just waited for something.

He didn’t know how long he lay there with his eyes closed, a few minutes or a few hours, it didn’t matter. Maybe he dozed off, the darkness lulling him back to sleep with its promises of unawareness. But when he opened his eyes again, the light had returned.

His bedroom looked the same as it always did. And yet, after episodes like that, he still felt grateful and never wanted to take his bedroom for granted. It was a weakness, that fearful need to memorize his bedroom every damn morning, but it was the only one that Itachi could not rid himself of. Not when one day he might be unable to see it anymore.

He let out a small breath and moved his eyes to the clock. It was about twenty minutes before his alarm was set to go off, but Itachi didn’t want to chance closing his eyes again. Throwing back the covers, he moved to his bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

When he got out, towel wrapped around his waist, one rubbing at his hair, Itachi stepped into his bedroom to be greeted by his personal assistant, Deidara.

“Good morning, Uchiha-san. Sasuke-san is on hold for you.”

Itachi raised a fine black brow. “Put him on.” The full wall armoire across from his bed opened to reveal his entertainment system. The screen to the left of the large flat screen television blinked on at Deidara’s command and his little brother’s emotionless face looked out at him.

“Can’t you get dressed before you answer the phone?” Itachi smirked.

“And deprive you of the sight of my gorgeous body that I know you’ve been secretly dying to get your hands on?”

“Eww, ew, ew.” Itachi almost frowned when Sasuke’s visage removed itself from the screen. He could hear something going on to the side, followed by the twins’ concerned voices, and then Sasuke was back. “If you ever say something like that again, I will personally rip your tongue out and shove it up your-”

“Uchiha-san!”

Itachi’s smirk returned as Sasuke glared at him through his maid’s mini rant about watching his mouth when around the children and ‘having some respect for his elder brother.’ “Such a good little maid you have there, little brother.”

Sasuke mouthed something that Itachi couldn’t possibly mistake for anything else.

“Is that an invitation, my dear Sasuke?”

His brother’s face paled before it twisted into something truly angry, and then the connection was cut. Itachi chuckled to himself as he let the towel slip down to the floor. Pulling on a pair of boxers, he turned back to Deidara.

“Call Konan to come do my hair, and then call the crybaby back.”

“Yes, sir, but might I suggest not antagonizing him so early in the morning, and in front of the twins?”

“Now where’s the fun in that, Deidara?”

The blonde sighed before flipping his cell phone open and dialing his hairdresser’s extension. There was a brief conversation of which Itachi heard none, and then the vid-phone was lighting up again. Sasuke’s scowling face filled it once again.

“Are you through being gross?”

“That depends on you, Sasuke. Are you through leaving yourself open for attack?”

“Hn.” Sasuke turned to tell Kei to eat his breakfast before getting to the reason he called. “I’m calling to inform you that I won’t be able to make it into work today.”

Itachi paused in putting on his necklace that always adorned his person, whether others could see it or not. As he took in Sasuke’s words, Konan entered and walked behind him, waiting for him to take a seat at the vanity. “Are you actually asking me for a day off, little brother?”

“No. I’m informing you that I will not be in the office today.” Sasuke’s voice sounded final. Well, Itachi would see about that.

“I understand that this morning is one of the mornings that I courteously give you for all the hard work you do for the company, but I never once told you that you could be gone for a whole day.”

He couldn’t see Sasuke’s face from his position, but he was sure it was darker than a thundercloud.

“I have to pick the boys up from school today, and I don’t see the point in going in at noon only to leave again at one.”

Itachi frowned minutely. “And why can’t Kakashi pick them up? That’s what you pay the man for.” He shivered as one of Konan’s nails scratched his scalp.

There was silence for a moment. “I kind of told Kakashi not to come in today.”

Itachi held up his hand to stop Konan. “What was that?” He turned to give Sasuke ‘the Look.’ It was the look that all Uchiha gave when someone was being stupid and said Uchiha wanted everyone to know it without having to do something as arduous as saying it aloud. Not to be confused with ‘the Look II,’ which was reserved for those about to die.

Sasuke looked like he was about to start a petty argument about it, but he recovered nicely, in Itachi’s honest opinion. “It is no concern of yours what I tell my staff. This call was not to ask your permission, but to inform you of my intentions. If you have a problem with it, take it up with my secretary.” Sasuke made a move as if to end the call. Then he smirked. “He happens to be out until tomorrow. Have a nice day, brother.” And the screen went blank.

Itachi stared at it a minute before letting his own smirk take over his face. Like he would have said no to Sasuke. He motioned for Konan to continue.

Something he didn’t let his little brother know was that Itachi could hardly deny the man anything, not when it pertained to his darling nephews. Those boys had changed Sasuke with their birth, from the cold, emotionless man Itachi employed into the loving and gentle Sasuke of their youth, his little brother that he remembered from so long ago. He would do anything to protect that Sasuke.

And he’d do anything to protect his nephews. They were his angels, even if they were the only ones that knew that.

“Sir?” Deidara interrupted his musings. “Your appointment is in forty-five minutes.”

Konan finished with his hair and bowed before leaving as silently as she came. He stood to put on his suit for the day and nodded at Deidara. “I’ll be down in ten minutes.”

~*~

The trip to the hospital was the same as always, but this time, Itachi spent the entire ride wondering if he should tell Tsunade about his episode this morning. She expected him to tell her every time it happened, but after years of hearing that nothing could be done, he was on the verge of just letting it go. What happened would happen, whether Tsunade was informed of these episodes or not.

The car pulled smoothly up to the front entrance, and Itachi waited as Deidara slipped out of the front and opened his door. They proceeded through the large glass doors and up to the reception desk where a woman with red hair and thick-rimmed glasses glared up at them. Itachi glared back, and since he’d obviously had more practice at it, she paled and placed her hands above the keyboard of her computer.

“Name?” she squeaked out.

“So sorry to make you do your job, miss,” Deidara said pleasantly – too pleasantly, in Itachi’s opinion, which just meant that the blonde assistant was going to have fun torturing the poor thing. “Uchiha Itachi has an appointment with Tsunade-sensei.”

If possible, the poor girl got even paler. Itachi noticed someone behind her chuckle. “Way to go, Karin,” the man whispered.

“Tsu-Tsunade is in a meeting this morning that she cannot be called out of. She left instructions that your appointment was to be handled by one of our new-”

“That is not acceptable,” Deidara cut her off. “Uchiha-san sees no one but Tsunade-sensei.”

Itachi decided to speak up before the girl passed out from lack of blood to her brain. “I’ll see anyone today. I have an important meeting myself.” Deidara didn’t say anything, but Itachi knew when the man was peeved.

“Th-then, if you please, Juugo will escort you to your exam room.” Itachi eyed the large man the girl pointed out and raised a brow. Juugo looked at him for a moment before turning silently and walking down the hall. Itachi paused before following him.

It was the same exam room he was always escorted to, so why he still needed an escort, he could never guess. The various equipment used on a weekly basis to look into his eyes and determine how much more they had deteriorated decorated the room, same as always. It was starting to depress Itachi, coming to this room once a week and leaving with nothing to show for it each time.

He jumped up on the paper-lined examination bench, holding back a flinch when said paper crinkled loudly in the silence. Deidara covered a laugh with a cough off in the corner he was leaning against, and Itachi shot him a glare.

For the nth time in his life, Itachi gazed at the charts on the walls of the small room, the eye diagrams, the surgical procedure diagrams, the hated letter thing of doom that he’d hated since his youth…. It was all there, staring back at him like they could see into his soul.

The only thing that kept Itachi from ramming his head into the wall for such a stupid thought was the opening of the exam room door. He turned his head to take in the slim figure that walked in, white lab coat immaculate over a knee-length, black skirt and a lavender blouse. Finely manicured nails tipped long, thin fingers that currently clutched a pen and his chart.

Itachi glared at her. She looked like one of those doctors that cared little for the patient and much for the money. And it wasn’t just the way she looked. It was the way she carried herself. Her stance showed her impatience, like she wished she were anywhere but here.

“Okay, Uchiha-san. What’s the problem?” Itachi stayed silent as she flipped through the pages of his chart. “Uchiha-san?” The woman finally looked up at him. He stayed silent and treated her to ‘the Look.’ “Uchiha-san, I am a doctor, not a psychic.”

“Uchiha-san doesn’t usually give information that’s already been given,” Deidara spoke from his position in the corner.

“And you are?” she asked, her eyes moving to Deidara quickly before landing on Itachi again.

Deidara moved to stand next to him. “I am his assistant, and Uchiha-san’s reasons for being here are written clearly on that chart in your hands.”

The doctor stared at them for a moment before turning around and opening the door. Itachi’s eyes widened in disbelief, or would have if he hadn’t better control over such ridiculous reactions, as he watched her throw his chart down the hall. Then she calmly walked back in and closed the door.

“Oh, dear. The nurses seem to have misplaced your chart. My name is June Fujimiya. And whom, may I ask, will I be examining today?”

Itachi stared blankly at her, and Deidara just stared at her in bewilderment. She cleared her throat.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha-san. I apologize that Tsunade is not available today, but I will do my best in her stead. So, what’s the problem?” She smiled just a little too sweetly for Itachi’s tastes.

Itachi’s blank stare intensified to a mild glare. This was taking way too long. “I have moments, mostly after I wake up in the mornings, when my eyesight blacks out. Tsunade has told me it’s a degenerative eye disease that starts early and takes about twenty years before the onset of blindness. And yet she’s tested and found mine to be accelerated somehow, causing the spells of temporary blindness at my young age.”

Her smile softened to something almost friendly. “Well, Uchiha-san, no offense to Tsunade, but she’s not exactly an eye specialist – just the best in the business. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to run some tests of my own. Karin informed me that you have a meeting to get to this morning, so we’ll set up another appointment for later this week. But first, I’d like to know how often you have these spells of blindness.”

Fujimiya-sensei moved to the door again, and when she opened it, Itachi saw the girl from the reception desk standing there with his chart. She thanked the girl for it and closed the door, extracting another pen from her pocket and getting ready to take down his information.

Itachi took a deep breath, or would have were he able to show such signs of anxiety. “It’s not like it’s a regular occurrence, but about three days a week, I would say. But I’ve come to find that by closing my eyes for a while and opening them again, my eyesight comes back.”

She stopped writing and looked up at him. “Really?”

He glared at her. She continued to stare for a moment before writing something else down on his chart. But then she pulled her PDA from her coat pocket and penned something in there as well.

“Do your eyes get tired and dry throughout the day, Uchiha-san? Do you often have to blink repeatedly to get the burning sensation to go away?”

“Hn.”

“All… right. Hm, I’m going to write you a prescription for eye drops. Please use them when your eyes become tired or dry. Are you free for some tests this Friday?”

He nodded to Deidara to put it on his calendar. The blonde brought out his own palm pilot and made the note.

“A few more quick questions, Uchiha-san. These are personal questions that will not appear in your chart for the time being, so feel free to not answer. But I warn you, the answers may help in my diagnosis.”

He raised one brow, a silent command for her to continue with the implied answer of, “We’ll see.”

“Is your meeting this morning very important?”

Itachi blinked. Why the hell did she want to know that? He sat up a little straighter. “I don’t see how that information could be useful to you.” He paused, and she frowned slightly. “But, yes, it is very important to the future of Uchiha & Sannin, Inc.”

She nodded. “And did you have one of these spells this morning?”

Itachi was about to answer no, like he’d planned to with Tsunade, just so he didn’t get his hopes up anymore. But Fujimiya-sensei’s attitude made it seem like she believed Tsunade to be mistaken in some way. So if he lied, would that ruin the chances of this new doctor finding some way to help him?

Itachi looked up at the doctor to find her waiting patiently for his answer. “Yes.”

She opened her mouth to say something when there was a knock at the door. The man who’d laughed at the receptionist earlier opened it and leaned in. “Fujimiya-sensei! He’s on the phone again for you. Says it’s really important.”

The woman went back to Itachi’s chart, penning in something or another. “Tell him he’s gorgeous, witty, and everyone will love him. Then tell him that I have patients to tend to rather than spend my time coddling him. Then tell him that if I get one more call from him today, when I see him for dinner tonight, I will shove the chopsticks down his throat and then send him on his way to Tsunade.” She turned to the man and raised one eyebrow. “Got that?”

The messenger smiled, showing his sharp, pointy teeth that reminded Itachi of one of his employees, and nodded. “Yep. Can’t wait to hear his answer to that.”

Fujimiya-sensei ripped a piece of paper from her prescription pad and handed it to Itachi. “See you Friday, Uchiha-san. And have a nice day.”

Then she was gone, leaving Itachi very confused, something he didn’t feel often, not that it showed on his face. He didn’t move for a moment, thinking instead about his new doctor. Itachi wasn’t one to like people in general, but there was something about this woman that he absolutely didn’t like. Not that surprising, really, but he was more than a little irked that he couldn’t figure out why.

Deidara cleared his throat next to him. “I’m quite impressed.” Itachi turned his eyes to the blonde. “I think she got you to say more words in one visit than you’ve ever said to Tsunade-sensei in several years.”

If Itachi had been a lesser man, he would have scowled and hit the man he’d hand picked to be his assistant. Instead, he gracefully hopped off the exam bench, ‘accidentally’ landing on Deidara’s foot, and walked to the door. “Come now, Deidara. I have a company to take over.”

~*~

Itachi watched as Sasuke’s valet walked slowly to his door, his hands jammed in his pockets and his head tipped back toward the night sky. He would have thought it amusing if he didn’t have something more pressing on his mind. He nodded his head at Deidara, and the blonde instantly stepped out of the car and opened his door, brushing aside the spiky-haired valet.

“Troublesome,” he heard the man mutter on his way to the front door. A woman met him there, her pale blonde hair almost the exact style of his assistant’s. She greeted him and asked for his coat, which he gave her, and he proceeded into the mansion without another word.

He found Sasuke in the middle of story time. His little brother was reclined in his leather chair in the study, one child to either side of him, and a huge book of mythology and folk tales in front of them.

Itachi listened to the younger Uchiha’s baritone fill the quiet with the tale of Amateratsu and Susanoo, interspersed with his nephews’ questions and reactions to the story in their boyish sopranos. Well, Kei’s questions and reactions; Touya was really rather quiet.

“And when she came out from the cave, the other gods sealed it shut with a length of rope so she could never hide again.”

“And that’s why we have the torii gates, right? Kurenai-sensei said so!” Kei shouted enthusiastically.

“That’s right, Kei.” Sasuke flicked his eyes to Itachi in the doorway and nodded almost imperceptibly. “Now, it’s time for bed. Go wash your faces and brush your teeth, and I’ll be in shortly.”

The boys kissed his cheek and then hopped down, intent on their rooms, but then they spotted Itachi, and the eldest Uchiha suddenly had an arm full of little boy.

“Uncle ‘Tachi! What are you doing here? Oto-sama didn’t say anything about you coming over!”

“Well, I didn’t know if I’d be early or late, Kei. The most likely bet would have been that you’d have already been asleep by the time I got here.”

“Nuh-uh! I’m a big boy! I can stay up late!” Kei’s forceful reply was accented by a heavy yawn that almost made Itachi laugh.

“Well, big boy, let’s get you ready for bed, and to make up for not telling you I was coming, I’ll tuck you in.”

“Really?” Kei’s dark eyes sparkled or shimmered, or did something with great emotion – Itachi didn’t really get emotion sometimes – at the prospect of his uncle escorting him to bed, and Itachi smirked over at Sasuke. His brother answered with a smile that looked happy, but Itachi could speak the Sasuke-smile/glare/grunt/stare language better than anyone, and that particular smile said, “They may love you now, but when they’re older, they’ll recognize you for the bastard you are.”

He lifted an eyebrow in Sasuke’s direction before taking Touya’s hand and turning from the study to the stairs down the hall. As they went, Kei told him about his day in Iruka-sensei’s class, the new girl student (but that wasn’t so important because girls are icky, Kei made sure to tell him), his encounter with a very pretty lady that he wanted to be his wife (see, pretty ladies are different from girls because they’re pretty and give him kisses for his owies, and are therefore not icky), and that he’d get a new teacher tomorrow.

“And how about your day, Touya?” he asked when Kei needed a breath.

“It was okay. I missed Iruka-sensei a little bit, so it was good to be in his class again.”

Itachi nodded. He remembered Iruka-sensei well enough. The man was a wonderful teacher. He’d never had the man himself, but Sasuke had, and look how well he’d turned out. He set Kei down by the bathroom door so he could wash his face and everything else required of them. He turned back to Touya. “And do you think the new girl student is icky?” he teased mildly.

“She’s actually very interesting, Oji-sama. She reminds me of a girl Kei.”

“I am not a girl!” or something close to that came from the bathroom, and a toothpaste-laden Kei glared at them from the doorway a second later. Then he disappeared back inside. Itachi moved his hand to Touya’s shoulder and pushed him forward.

“Get ready for bed, Usagi.” Touya gave him a mini Uchiha glare for the hated nickname and walked calmly to the bathroom. Itachi sighed contentedly. “Ah, when they’re older, they’ll be just as much fun to torture as Sasuke is.”

~*~

Itachi rejoined Sasuke in the study after tucking the boys in, gratefully taking the tumbler of brandy his brother held out to him. He sat in one of the seats before Sasuke’s desk and waited for the other to sit down.

Sasuke surprised him by taking the seat next to him rather than his own behind the desk. “So, how was your appointment?”

Itachi scowled mildly into his glass. “Tsunade was busy. I saw a new doctor.” He looked over at Sasuke to see him also staring into his glass, but his eyebrow was raised in mild interest.

“Did he tell you anything different?”

Itachi was quiet a moment. “No, she didn’t.” They were both silent, absorbing that information, and then they both took a drink. The liquor was smooth going down, a nod to how much it must have cost. “But,” he continued after a while, “she acted very differently than Tsunade.”

Sasuke’s eyes shifted to him, staring out through his long bangs. “Yeah?”

“She acted somewhat… hopeful.”

“Aa.” Sasuke took another drink. “And the meeting?”

Itachi let out a small breath. “Be glad you missed it. Jiraiya actually showed up to handle a good portion of the negotiations. Having those two in the same room is not good for anyone’s health, I can assure you.”

“Yes, well,” Sasuke let out a small laugh. “At least with Jiraiya, you’ll just get way too much information about his sex life. But with Orochimaru… every time that man speaks, I feel the need to take a week-long shower.”

Itachi could drink to that. He wasn’t exactly sure as to why the two men hated each other, but he did know some of the history between the two. Jiraiya had wanted to take over Orochimaru’s company for years, but had never had the resources to do so. Then, after a blow to Sannin Ltd. by Orochimaru, his company was almost gone. And then Itachi’s father, Uchiha Fugaku, had proposed a partnership, and thus was formed the business giant Uchiha & Sannin, Inc. Now, Jiraiya had the resources and the people to take down Orochimaru, and that vicious endeavor had started today.

Itachi loved it.

“Have you heard from our father?” Sasuke asked him, drawing him from his contemplations.

“Yes. He and Okaa-sama will be coming to visit next week. They would like to stay with you and the boys, if you have no objections.”

“Of course. I’ll call them tomorrow, as well as have Ino clean out one of the guest bedrooms.”

“Have her clean one out for me, as well.” Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. “Okaa-sama’s orders.” Sasuke scowled at him, but nodded nonetheless. Itachi smirked. “But I do wonder what could possibly be happening that needs all the Uchiha together again.”

Sasuke stood up and picked up their glasses, placing them on a nearby table already covered in empty dessert plates. Then he headed for the door, tossing a smirk back Itachi’s way. “Maybe they’ve found a bride for you, aniki.”

Itachi tensed in his seat, and only when he was sure Sasuke was gone did he allow himself to shudder in fear.


TBC


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now, i know what you're thinking. Fujimiya-sensei is not a very good character on my part. maybe. but she's the way she is for a reason. <__< >__> *stage whisper* she's a foil. meaning, she's that way in response to someone else's personality (which i kinda already gave you a preview of), and you'll find out more about her in the next chapter.

now, the first few chapters follow a pattern. a new character is introduced in each one, and then the following chapter is in that character's POV. it'll be this way for the first four chapters, or so. But yeah, June's POV is next, and i think she'll end up being a very likable character.

anyway, in regards to kei's day at school: the next chapter will also go back in time a little, to earlier in the day of this chapter. just because it's important, and because it will be cute.

anyway, enough of this. see y'all next chapter!!

thanks for reading!