𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 | itachi/sasuke uchiha

chapter five

You stand and face Itachi, doubled over and panting. The arena around you is completely wrecked; it was as if a tornado of flames had just engulfed the entire area. Not even the tree Fugaku and Sasuke sat in was spared; it'd been burnt to a crisp, and now the two stood a safe distance away from you and Itachi, watching in case any fly away attacks came their way.

Itachi grins at you, catching his breath.

"Aren't you... a feisty one..." he grins, wiping blood from his mouth. You smirk, and straighten up. Itachi gets into position, and before he performs his hand signs, you immediately know what he jutsu he plans on casting.

"WATER STYLE! WATER DRAGON JUTSU!" you yell as Itachi's Great Fire Annihilation jutsu comes streaming your way. A majestic wave of water appears, taking the form of a shimmering dragon, and as it clashes with Itachi's wall of flames, you struggle to hold your ground. You look up at Itachi, grinning at the look of bemusement on his face.

"Impossible!" you hear Sasuke exclaim somewhere from behind you. "How is she doing that?!" You smirk as your water starts to overcome Itachi's flames, and quickly perform another jutsu before the dragon dies out.

"Water Style! Ice Darts Jutsu!" You grin widely as you see Itachi's guard wide open, sending your huge darts of ice to him. Your dragon disperses, as does his wall of fire, but before your ice darts can hit their target, Fugaku's leapt in and deflected them away from his eldest son. Your victorious feeling vanishes, and a vein pops on your forehead. You raise a fist at Fugaku.

"HEY I HAD THAT! I NEARLY HAD HIM! WHY YOU-" Before you can leap forward and thrash Fugaku, you feel a pair of arms wrap themselves around your waist and pull you back. You look over your shoulder and see Sasuke, grimacing.

"Let me go, I swear to kami I'll-" Sasuke squeezes you, and you feel as if your stomach and lungs have been crushed as the breath is taken out of your mouth. You look back at Sasuke, and a dark shadow has covered your face.

"Well done, (name)-chan, I'm impressed," says Fugaku as he cautiously approaches you with Itachi in tow. "That's the first time I've seen any kind of water type jutsu manage to completely block against the Great Fire. I'm very impressed." You grin at him, and Sasuke loosens his grip on your abdomen.

"Yeah, well, I live to amaze, don't I?" you chuckle, scratching the back of your head and elbowing Sasuke's face in the process. He scowls at you, making you giggle.

"Of course." You notice Fugaku and Itachi exchange looks. Your brow furrows.

"Hey, what is it?" you snap in anguish, causing Sasuke to tighten his grip around you yet again. You poke your tongue at him before turning back to face Fugaku. He grimaces, and Itachi gives you another award winning smile, making you want to claw out both of your eyes and feed them to mutant piranhas.

"Well, as you know... your sixteenth birthday is coming up in a week," he starts slowly.

You raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah? What about it?" It's now that Itachi beams and claps his hands together.

"It's a surprise." He winks and approaches you with his hand outstretched. "I apologise if I scared you last night, (name)-chan, but I guess you're smarter than I thought you were. You saw right through me as soon as we faced off."

A wave of realisation crosses your face, and a grin slowly begins to form. You point a finger at his face, starting to laugh.

"Itachi... you're one sly dog..." you say, pointing at him. You burst out laughing, and hang your head. "Messing with my head, eh? Damn you, had me fooled!" He joins in laughing with you, and Sasuke releases his grip, stepping back. He watches you and Itachi laughing and joking together with a rather sour look on his face, and his father chuckles under his breath at his younger son's reaction.

"What about the necklace, though?" Itachi scratches his chin.

"Your first gift in advance, of course," he beams brightly. "The rest is all a surprise." You raise an eyebrow with your mouth slightly agape.

"I-" Fugaku cuts you off.

"Right, (name), I probably should have mentioned this beforehand, but, uh, the clan will be gathering over the next six days leading up to your sixteenth birthday, collectively."

"What?" Itachi steps in, smiling. As always.

"Well, (name)-chan, it just means that for the six nights leading up to your big day, family by family will be coming over to pay their birthday wishes, basically," he says. You cock your head to the side.

"What the hell? Why?" you exclaim. "It's just a birthday, what's so special about this one?!" There's a gleam in Itachi's eye as he looks at his father with a victorious grin on his face.

"Well, (name)-chan, it's your sixteenth birthday. Your entry into womanhood, if that makes any more sense."

"Oh." Itachi bounds forward and puts an arm around your shoulder, leading you away from Fugaku and Sasuke. He begins chatting rather animatedly, obviously very pleased and excited.

"Come, now, (name)-chan, we've got to get you ready for the first lot of guests tonight! Mother's picked out a wonderful yukata for you to wear tonight, it's not as flashy as the other four, and it's nowhere near as stunning as the actual kimono we have for you, but it's ravishing nonetheless..."