When Mothers Meddle

Chapter 5- Setting Off

Itachi

Itachi waited at the gate in the early morning hours. The next week would test him in ways he never imagined he'd be tested.

The woman of his dreams. The woman he could never have would be at his side, posing as his wife.

Wives, a quiet sigh escaped his lips. Daisuke and his mother had asked him again yesterday if he'd met anyone. The twinkle in his mother's eye, and his uncle's disinterested nod to his answer, made him suspicious again. Surely she couldn't have any connections to the Daimyo, right?

The pressure was building though. If he didn't choose someone, the clan elders might choose for him and then he'd be stuck. Hibiki kept pushing Hoshi at him and he was running out of ways to avoid them. At least his mother wasn't on board with that match. She didn't like Hoshi any more than he did.

If only Sakura were an Uchiha. He snorted quietly in the darkness. If she were she probably wouldn't be anywhere near as sweet as she was. And she definitely wouldn't have pretty pink hair. Was it silky and soft? He wished he'd managed to touch it while they were dancing. He'd been so wrapped up in how she felt in his arms that he hadn't thought about much else.

Would it be so terrible? Marrying outside the clan?

He would face criticism from most of his clan, but he was almost certain his mother and uncle would be on board and approve the marriage. He could handle the criticism of the rest of them. They'd adjust after a while. If they gave her a chance and overlooked the fact that she wasn't an Uchiha, they'd eventually realize what an amazing person she was. They'd see her skill as a shinobi and medic, her incredible chakra control and affinity for genjutsu, and they'd want her genes added to their stagnating pool. Most of them were just afraid of change and the unknown.

What would it be like for her though? That's really what he had to consider.

It wasn't easy to be the wife of a clan leader. She'd attend meetings at least once a week. She'd head up the Uchiha wives group, help train their youth, and be a part of planning festivals and holidays. Scratch that, they'd never let an outsider help train Uchiha youth. She had little experience with the sharingan outside of treating it for medical problems and they'd be unlikely to let her get more. Well, it would be one less task to add to her already busy schedule. Though, now that he'd thought of it, he wouldn't mind letting her familiarize herself with his own Sharingan.

He'd asked, and eavesdropped a little, about her. She was a busy woman. Currently, she worked mornings at the hospital, caring for patients and overseeing and training medics. She also was deeply involved in antidote research and development. She assisted Lady Tsunade with meetings and her own research. And she was a member of Team Seven though he hadn't seen her leave on a mission lately. They were an active and reliable team and not likely to retire anytime soon.

As his wife, she'd have to leave Team Seven and likely give up her duties in Hokage Tower, unless they were clan-related. She could probably keep her hospital and research work though. Would that make her happy?

She had a full life, with a career she'd chosen and that she loved. He suspected she was attracted to him but she had no idea what a relationship with him meant. He had no right to ask her to give up most of her life and career just because he thought she was pretty.

No, it was better if they kept this mission as professional as possible. He couldn't fall in love with the pink-haired medic who worked as an assistant to his Hokage. It would have long-reaching effects. On everyone.

Down the road, in the early morning light, he spotted her. She was walking with purpose, a backpack slung over one shoulder. They'd had to pack as if for vacation for this mission but it didn't look as if she'd packed heavily. The morning breeze ruffled her bangs as she approached and he longed to greet her with a hug. In a few days, he might have to, but that would be for others, who were watching. This morning it would have been for him and him alone.