Parent Trap

A/N: hey all. no, i am not dead. i know i keep saying it, but it's always true, lol. but to tell the truth, not only have i had no time lately, i've just not been feeling it. i almost just wanted to never write again. i know, scary thought. but i'm back now, with my urge to write, and hopefully (since i'm on spring break right now) i'll get tons of stuff finished (since i now actually know how to end some of my stories). but thanks to everyone who have been so patient and supportive of me! on with it now.

Questionable answers: hanyou, naruto finds the twins familiar and not itachi for a very specific reason that is hinted at in this chapter. see if you can guess why! and, i think it's lane who asked this, but if not, i'm sorry i forgot your name!, but kei set the table on fire in chapter four by waving a napkin over the candle... naruto saw a silver-haired man in the back of the restaurant watching warily as a young boy waved a napkin over a candle... suffice it to say that when something catches on fire in your hand, you're gonna drop it and other things will catch as well, lol.

Warnings: Suspicious Assistants, Suspicious Doctors, Relieved!Itachi, Uchiha Brood, Uchiha Glaring, Yet-to-be-Explained Heritages, Annoying Assistants, Dancing, Unexpected Reunions, Blossoming Obsession/Attraction/Love, and all around OOCness!

enjoy!


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Parent Trap: Chapter 5
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Itachi stood in the lavishly decorated hall of private offices on the fifth floor of Konoha Hospital. The carpet was a deep red with black and gold diamonds down the center. The walls were a light golden color that glowed warmly in the dim light given off by the wall scones. Nowhere was the harsh fluorescent or bright sunlight that permeated the rest of the floors; this was the floor that held the offices of the eye specialists. They probably figured their patients, with their various eye diseases, wouldn’t like to be prematurely blinded by harsh lighting.

Itachi silently snorted.

Not like it mattered for him. He’d go blind eventually.

But maybe Fujimiya-sensei could tell him something different, and that was why he was standing in the hall. His tests had been the past Friday, and now the doctor had his results. Sasuke had wanted to accompany him to find out what was going on, if and why the results would be any different than what Tsunade had said, but he hadn’t wanted his little brother there when Fujimiya told him that he would indeed go blind. That was what he was expecting, but it wouldn’t do for Sasuke – who idolized him, he just knew it – to see Itachi at such a moment.

Deidara was further down the hall looking to make sure Fujimiya was in her office. Itachi heard a surprisingly cheerful ‘hello’ come from the office when Deidara stuck his head in, the doctor’s voice drifting down the hallway like cheery music. Itachi scowled and walked toward the door, steeling himself to walk into the bright room. But as he did so, he noticed a set of dark blue curtains drawn over the windows in the room and an elegant halogen floor lamp that sufficiently yet demurely lit the office. Again, a thoughtful courtesy to the patients.

He sat in the small leather chair before her desk and watched her shift papers here and there over the surface, turn to her computer to type a few things, and then finally lean back in her own plush chair, her hands folded in her lap, and she smiled calmly at him. Deidara shifted slightly behind him, and he knew the blonde wanted to tell her to get on with it. He was about to allow it when she chuckled.

“You are very unlike any patient I’ve had before, Uchiha-san. I’d wondered if you’d be like all the others and either come in here demanding to know the results or try to break the tension with some form of small talk. But you do neither, hm? Oh, well. On with it, I guess.”

Itachi nodded, not quite sure if he should say something when he usually let his silence speak for him, and Fujimiya-sensei nodded in return. Then she picked up a sheet of paper from the top of her desk.

“Uchiha-san, after the tests and conferring with a colleague on the results, I have come to the professional conclusion that the chance of you actually having any eye disease whatsoever is very slim.”

Itachi waited for more when she stopped, and then what she’d said finally sank in. His breath stopped, and his heart began to hammer in his chest. It felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. But none of this showed on his face. He leaned forward slowly, and, in a chilly voice that demanded she stop playing with him, said, “Excuse me?”

She was still smiling. “Uchiha-san, the day I first met you, you were on your way to a very important meeting and had experienced one of these blackouts that morning. The Friday of the tests, we were heading into the weekend where the most pressure you may have been under was signing this or that piece of paper before cutting out early. And you hadn’t had an attack that morning.

“The results from the tests being taken when you were in a calm state indicate that your eyes are actually quite healthy. There is no tissue deterioration to speak of. Simply put, your eyes are not the problem.”

Itachi blinked.

“Explain yourself,” Deidara hissed behind him. Fujimiya-sensei’s eyes narrowed as she sat up straighter.

“There is no tissue damage in your eyes. Nothing is wrong with your eyes. But there is still a problem. I believe your attacks stem from either nerve damage to your sight receptors or a disconnected synapse. Whichever may be the case, your condition is undoubtedly aggravated by extreme stress.”

Deidara leaned threateningly over her desk. “Why are these results so drastically different than Tsunade-sensei’s?”

Itachi hadn’t given much thought to that, but it seemed Fujimiya-sensei had, for she frowned deeply, her eyes darkening. “I took the liberty of pulling out those files after our first appointment. I ran the exact same tests that she did when you first came to her years ago, and my tests show none of the extreme eye muscle/tissue deterioration that those early results reported. The only difference I can perceive is that I am actually trained and qualified to run and diagnose these results, whereas Tsunade, as professional as she is, would hand them off to an assistant that at least had some background in ophthalmology.”

Itachi blinked. “Are you saying someone fucked up my results?” Anger was slowly boiling beneath his calm façade.

“All I’m saying, Uchiha-san, is that something went wrong, a mistake was made. Continuously, if I’m to guess, but there is no mistaking my results.”

Itachi swallowed minutely and pinned her with his cold gaze. “So I am not going blind?”

She didn’t respond right away, just dropped her eyes to her desk. “I don’t know what this kind of nerve aggravation can do to the eyes over a long period of time. Your eyes are still healthy, but that may change.” She looked up at him, her face set in grim determination. “But I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.”

Itachi closed his eyes, wondering if he should believe her, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment of her words.

“In the meantime, do not strain your eyes; wear sunglasses when out during the day, do not read in dim lighting or for long periods of time. When your eyes get heavy or tired, immediately stop what you are doing, apply those drops I gave you, and rest.” He nodded. “That being said, I’d like to run more tests, namely an MRI and a sleep study. Your claim that most of these attacks happen when you wake up leads me to believe it is a problem with your brain rather than your eyes.

“The MRI will show us any unusual patterns to your processes, and hopefully we’ll find something we can work with. As for the sleep study, that will graph any unusual activity that may happen when your body is at rest. What I’m hoping to ascertain is some connection between such unusual activity and your periodic loss of vision. Once we isolate a problem within the brain, we can bring Tsunade-sensei into the procedure; she’ll be the one to conduct any surgery that you may need to undergo.”

Quiet settled in the office, and as everything sank in, Itachi felt something lift inside him, a weight from his heart, a worry from his mind… something. Fujimiya-sensei had given him no guarantees and had made no promises, but what she had given him was the closest thing he’d had to hope in years.

The doctor cleared her throat, and when he glanced at her, she continued quietly. “I can imagine what kind of relief my opinion brings you, but I also want to caution about being overly hopeful. Tsunade and I will do everything we can for you, Uchiha-san, but the human body, even after extensive research and advanced technologies, is still a mystery that can shatter our expectations in an instant. All we can ever really do is our best, both of us, doctor and patient, to do what is best for the body under whatever conditions. I will take care of you to the best of my ability, but you must do the same.”

It was a reprimand. Itachi knew it to be one, and usually he’d glare at the person stupid enough to think he or she could order him around until his or her arrogance deflated, but he heard actual concern in her voice. And it was true enough that he overworked himself; it probably showed in many ways that doctors could pinpoint more easily than anyone else. It was sound advice, and if taking it easy and listening to this woman’s words would keep him from losing his sight, who was he to argue?

So he nodded slowly and answered her as quietly as she’d spoken. “I will keep my activities to a minimum to reduce stress in my life.”

Fujimiya-sensei smiled at him, and he was slightly stunned for a moment by the pretty sight it made before he steeled himself. “That’s all well and good, but changing your lifestyle that dramatically may hinder any results that we can get from the tests. Instead of cutting back on activities, change them. Leave work to someone else and spend some time with your family, take a vacation, introduce yourself to motor sports, anything. Just keep the stress levels down, okay?” She cut her eyes to Deidara to indicate he should try his best to make Itachi conform to the changes.

He nodded his head as Deidara mumbled a quiet, “Yes, sensei,” and then he stood up. Fujimiya-sensei stood behind her desk and offered him her hand. He grabbed it, noticing the soft skin and thin fingers, and shook it while offering his thanks.

“Please call Deidara to schedule the remaining tests, sensei. I need to take my leave and inform my family of the news.”

“Yes,” she said happily. “Have a wonderful day, Uchiha-san.”

He smirked at her from over his shoulder as Deidara opened the door. “How can I not, Fujimiya-sensei?”

~*~

Itachi ignored Sasuke’s valet as he walked up to the door. His step felt lighter than it had in years, and he just hoped he wasn’t doing something as insufferable as bouncing. He didn’t need a fucking bounce in his step for his little brother to point out and exploit.

He passed the maid without a word, nearly waltzing into the family room and smirking at the sight that greeted him. Kei was doing a childish dance while his mother urged him on, Sasuke and his father speaking quietly on the couch with Touya reading a book between them.

“Good afternoon, Uchiha brood,” he said lightly as he continued in, heading for his mother as she stood from her chair to hug him.

“And to you, hijo,” his mother Mikoto said as she kissed his cheek. “You seem in lively spirits.”

His smirk almost became a smile, and his brother must have noticed, because his eyes widened slightly as he scooted forward. “What did she say?”

“Who?” his mother asked, her confused eyes glancing at Sasuke and then back at him. “What’s going on?”

“Itachi’s been seeing a new doctor about his eyes and he had an appointment with her today to discuss some test results. Now what did she say?”

“Why am I not surprised that you know my personal agenda, little brother? Should I be more careful when I’m walking home at night?”

“Itachi! Stop goading your brother and tell me what is going on right this minute!”

“Aa, Okaa-san.” He placed his arms around her shoulders as he led her back to her seat. He had to love her fiery, Latin temper. “I had a check up about two weeks ago, but Tsunade-sensei couldn’t see me. I was going to be late for the meeting with Orochimaru if I’d waited for her, so I saw the resident ophthalmologist, Fujimiya-sensei.”

All Uchiha eyes were on him now, five pairs of depthless black eyes that gazed at him with varying degrees of confusion and impatience. His mother was verging on angry, though his father was almost unreadable, just like Sasuke and Touya – three generations of tightly held emotions that left rivals and even friends guessing. He belonged in that family portrait, but his eyes would tell a far different story.

Unless Fujimiya-sensei was right…

“Fujimiya-sensei ran some tests and found… that nothing is wrong with my eyes.”

There was a moment of stunned silence before his mother exploded from her chair, her long, black hair flying in a wild mane behind her. It struck him how much Fujimiya-sensei resembled his mother – long hair, pale skin, flashing eyes – and he wondered if she’d look as wild if she were angered.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Fujimiya-sensei believes the attacks to be brought on by a brain dysfunction rather than a disease. She’s going to perform two more tests to make absolutely sure, and if surgery is required, Tsunade-sensei will be brought into the procedure.”

The silence settled again before it was sliced open by a sharp snicker from Sasuke. “I always knew you were mental. ¿Es mi hermano loco?”

Itachi would have gazed impassively while still effectively communicating a glare had his mother not beaten him to it.

“Sasuke! Now is not the time to rile up your brother! Now, Itachi, come sit down and tell me the whole story. What did this doctor say, exactly? Why is it so different from Tsunade’s early diagnosis?” She regained her seat, bringing Kei into her lap.

Being reminded of such an odd anomaly that had caused him much suffering and emotional turmoil over the years made him silent with pent up anger. But remembering Fujimiya-sensei’s confidence and calm assurances, and her pretty smile, settled the anger, and he let out a breath.

“Fujimiya-sensei handled the tests herself, something she says Tsunade didn’t do. She thinks there was a repeated mistake somewhere in the tradeoff of information. But her tests, whose results no one but herself saw, report nothing wrong with my eyes. She has two more tests she wants to run to pinpoint a problem in my brain activity, and in the meantime, wants me to keep stress to a minimum.”

“So nothing’s wrong with my baby?” Mikoto asked softly, enveloping Itachi in a gentle embrace.

“Not at the moment, Okaa-san, but if you keep hugging me, Sasuke may attack my character.”

“Oh, nonsense. Now, let’s get Ino-chan to bring you some carrot juice.”

Itachi tried to ignore Sasuke’s muted chuckles, which was hard since Kei wasn’t trying to mute his at all. Not that the little snot knew what was so funny about carrot juice, anyway.

“Okaa-san, I don’t need carrot juice.”

“Of course you do! Now that we know your eyes are still healthy, we need to keep them that way!”

“Dear, I’m sure Itachi will be much happier with getting his beta carotene through vitamins. We wouldn’t want him getting hypercarotenemia or liver damage.”

“Otou-sama,” Kei whispered loudly before his mother could retort to his father’s statement, “what’s hyper carrot mania?” Itachi saw his wide eyes and could only imagine what pictures the boy was conjuring up in his mind.

“Hypercarotenemia. It’s a discoloration of the skin. How funny would it be if your Uncle Itachi was orange, huh, Kei?”

Kei looked as if he was actually contemplating it, and then his face lit up happily. “That would be great! We could introduce him to Ayame-chan. Orange is her favorite color!”

Sasuke’s eyebrow rose in question. “Who’s Ayame?”

Itachi smirked at him. “My sources tell me, that if you weren’t skirting around parent teacher meetings, you might know who she is already.”

“Sasuke! You haven’t met the boys’ teacher yet?” Mikoto glared at him as she pet Kei’s hair.

“I’ve been busy, Okaa-san!”

“That was dangerously close to a whine, otouto.” Sasuke glared at him.

“Sasuke, that business won’t fall to the ground if you take an hour out of your day to meet the kids’ teacher,” his father admonished.

Itachi knew Sasuke wouldn’t dare whine to their father, so he predicted an irritated call to Kakashi in the future to finally schedule a meeting with that handsome blonde.

“Ayame is our friend at school! She’s a year younger than us, and her dad is our teacher until Kurenai-sensei comes back. His name is Uzumaki-sensei!” Kei had jumped up from his mother’s lap and run to Sasuke to explain this, hitting Touya’s knee to get him to chime in, who just glared at him and went back to his book.

There certainly was a lot of glaring going on this evening, in Itachi’s opinion. He took in the look on his brother’s face, one of slight confusion, before it was replaced with one of resignation.

“Fine, I’ll tell Kakashi to schedule a meeting with this Uzumaki-sensei.”

His mother smiled and his father nodded. Kei was excited and Touya was quite indifferent. Itachi smirked.

“Why, otouto, that almost sounded quite petulant.”

~*~

When his mother had said she wanted to go dancing after dinner, Kakashi, after his unexpected arrival, had been quick to suggest a nice restaurant that catered to both with a quick, knowing glance at Itachi. But what it was that Kakashi knew was quite unknown to Itachi.

It made him glad Deidara was his assistant and not the crazy man Sasuke had hired.

At least the restaurant was nice. The music wasn’t too loud, and the dance floor was spacious enough that the waltzing couples that flashed past it didn’t bother their table on the inside of the square.

Kakashi had stayed behind with the children, leaving Sasuke and Itachi alone to watch their father twirl their mother across the dance floor.

“If I’d wanted to see Otou-sama break a hip, I would have suggested something a little more entertaining,” Sasuke mumbled to his left. Itachi caught sight his parents through gaps in the other dancers and took in their smiling faces.

“Really, Sasuke, you just need-,” he almost said a girlfriend, but even Itachi wouldn’t go that far when his sister-in-law was only two years buried. “-to relax. Besides, if our parents are that old, it makes us even older. And what a pity that I should be here, sitting at the table with my little brother, when the best years of my life are apparently slipping away…”

Itachi trailed off when a flash of very black hair whipped through his line of vision. It wasn’t his mother, because her dark hair made him think of lashing fire. This gave him an impression of a night so dark the sky was purple, something he was sure he’d seen before. He followed the twirling dancers, trying to get a glimpse of it once more, but it was swallowed in the shifting sea of people.

Itachi turned to scowl at his plate for an unsuccessful search, until he realized he was doing it, and then he was scowling because he’d actually felt disappointment in something so trivial.

The music stopped and the dancers halted with it, applauding the band. There was a couple standing near their table, and Itachi was glad to ignore them until Sasuke grunted under his breath.

“That hair color can’t be real.”

Itachi glanced up, trying to spot what his brother was talking about, and was arrested by the golden hair of Uzumaki-sensei. But it was the sight of long, black tresses that held that purple night tint next to him that caught Itachi’s attention. The woman was slim with ample curves in the right places, and it took Itachi a moment to realize his eyes had traveled up and were staring at the smiling face of Fujimiya-sensei.

Pretty.

Itachi snapped out of his stupor and tried to plant a smirk on his face as he turned to Sasuke. “Well, why don’t you go ask him? That’s Uzumaki-sensei. What a perfect thing to break the ice.”

Sasuke stared at the man a moment longer before his face paled, and an almost frightened look came into his eyes as his staring continued. No, not fright – surprise. Then Sasuke hastily stood, his legs banging into the table, sending the glass and silver ware clanging over the surface. The couple turned around to see what all the commotion was about, and after a moment, a brief pause where his brother and the blonde stared at one another, Sasuke walked away, nearly at a run, really, casting one last glance back at the couple.

Itachi turned to look as well and saw that same surprised look in Uzumaki’s eyes. No, not surprise, either – recognition. He almost frowned as he stood.

“Uzumaki-sensei, Fujimiya-sensei, what a surprise to see you here.” Though it shouldn’t be, as he recalled Kakashi’s knowing glance. “My, what a lovely pair you two make, like sunshine and darkness doing a tango across the sky.”

He saw Fujimiya blush brightly as Uzumaki chuckled. “Good evening, Itachi-san. Please, call me Naruto. And this is June, but I guess you’ve already met.”

“Yes, she’s my ophthalmologist.”

“Oh?” Naruto asked, shooting a glance at Fujimiya-sensei that clearly conveyed it was news to him.

“Indeed, she has given me a new lease on life. Or at least an excuse for my mother to go dancing,” he nodded to his parents spinning around to a new tune.

“And where is your dance partner, Itachi-san?” Naruto asked with a wink.

“Ah, the busy life of a business executive leaves no room for that, I’m afraid. Though, with doctor’s orders to cool it for a while, maybe I could rectify that.”

“It would be a shame it you didn’t.”

Itachi didn’t laugh with him but did offer an amused tilt of the lips; he didn’t especially like dancing, anyway. Fujimiya-sensei was quiet during the exchange, and Itachi noticed how her smile had dampened a little; she wasn’t unhappy, just not as happy as she’d been, when it was just she and Naruto.

Itachi almost frowned at that. What the hell was wrong with him?

“So, uh,” Naruto was saying. “Was that your brother?”

“Yes,” he let out dryly. “His disappearing act used to be much better when he was younger. Now he just hopes his glare will make people forget he was ever there.”

“Uchiha… Sasuke?” the blonde muttered, almost as if tasting the name on his tongue for the first time, finally fitting it somewhere in a puzzle only Naruto had the pieces to.

How did those two know each other, Itachi wondered. Then again, it wasn’t his business, as he’d never made it a habit to know what went on in his brother’s personal life.

Yeah, right. Itachi could lie to anyone but himself when it came to his self-indulgence of tormenting his otouto.

He came back to himself, away from the humorously wicked thoughts of past brotherly torments, to see Naruto elbowing Fujimiya-sensei in the back, pushing her forward slightly.

“Ah, Uchiha-san, would you do me the honor of the next dance?” she asked shyly, not at all in conformance with her blazing and bold personality he knew her to possess. It irked him. Plus, he really disliked dancing. No amount of blushing and pretty smiles would change that.

“I… would be delighted.”

Oh, hell.

Kakashi was a dead man.


TBC


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alright, a little bit about this chapter. we delve a little deeper into the plot, only you don't know it. if you can guess what happens through context clues, i congratulate you! also, Uchiha Mikoto is half Spanish, and it will be brought up later. I just think it's really cool to have mixed heritages and stuff. Naruto and Sasuke knowing each other will also be brought up, next chapter i think, and from this chapter onwards, whatever i spout out about eyes and ophthalmology or brain related activities is complete fantasy; if any of it happens to be correct or possible, bonus points for me.

one more thing: you may have noticed a few spanish and japanese words italicized here and there. and while some people have lately complained of authors using japanese words within a story in which the characters are supposed to be speaking japanese, this is not the case here. they are a multicultural family with an international business. this story is in english, but with their predominantly japanese heritage, they throw in a few names here and there. also, when itachi and sasuke call each other otouto and aniki, it's a more teasing than honorific or traditional (like anyone in america addresses their siblings 'older sister,' 'younger brother,' etc.).

i hope that explains a few things and answers some questions. if you have anymore, please leave them in a review. they tend to help me solidify my plot when i don't immediately have an answer, lol.

thanks for reading!!