WANTED: Itachi Uchiha

Nijuusan

Reina laughed so hard. So hard that she thought her ribs might dislodge and pierce the flesh of her chest. Her laughter echoed throughout the street it accompanied by Sasuke’s stifled chuckles that escaped from behind the safety of his hand. Itachi stood rooted to the ground, his mouth ajar and his eyes wide in fear. 

It wasn't the type of fear he felt before a mission. He was accustomed to that type of fear; his adrenaline usually took over and quashed any residual terror that curdled in his stomach and coursed through his veins. Uchiha weren't supposed to feel fear. They were supposed to induce it in other people. 

Izumi did that very well. 

Itachi expected her to lash out. To scream, curse and turn the air blue. She didn't. Instead she stood there, the remnants of the tomato bleeding down her chin in crimson dribbles. She gave the trio one final look, her eyes wide with shock instead of anger, before she turned on her heels and went back inside without another word. 

Itachi wobbled on his feet, a breath that he didn't realise he had been holding rushing past his lips in one whoosh. He didn't fall, instead Reina caught his arm, curling the other around his waist, Sasuke mirroring her actions on his other side. 

"Easy there, tiger." Reina murmured, her tone soft and her words surprisingly tangible despite the amount she had drank. "Let's get you home. You look like you could use another drink."

"Otou-san keeps a bottle hidden behind the water type scrolls." Sasuke added, slinging Itachi's arm around his shoulder. Itachi looked at him surprised and Sasuke shrugged casually. "That's the only water style Otou-san, likes." 

Reina chuckled, holding onto Itachi's free arm. "Thank the kami for Fugaku-san."

°°°

"Shhh…" Reina whispered to Sasuke, he having tripped over the step of the genkan and landed face first in the hallway. "Kami, you're supposed to be a ninja. Can't you be more sneaky?!" 

"Fuck off." Sasuke muttered, pushing himself up. "It doesn't help when the step keeps moving."

"Upsy-daisy, Sasuke-kun." Reina replied, helping the younger Uchiha to his feet, her own toes sliding on the wooden floors. 

"Easy, you two. You're going to wake the whole house." Itachi whispered behind her, holding Reina up as she attempted to pull Sasuke to his feet, they all a little worse for wear. 

Using what little shinobi prowess they had left, which wasn't very much since the alcohol had robbed them of the majority of their hard earned shinobi skills; the three managed to make it up the stairs without waking Mikoto and Fugaku. They slipped into Sasuke’s room, much to his dismay, and all crawled onto the bed, each taking swigs from Fugaku's not-so-secret stash. 

"Another round, Sasuke-kun?" Reina offered the bottle, glancing over to the younger Uchiha. Silence. "I think he's dead." Reina noted, poking Sasuke with her free hand. 

"He's not dead. You're mistaking him for me." Itachi added dryly, taking the bottle from her and taking a long, deep swig. Reina blinked, turning her attention back to Itachi. 

"Are you ok?" Reina asked, adjusting the folds of her kimono and folding her hands in her lap. Itachi glanced at her sidelong. 

"I'm fine." He took another swig. "Just inebriated."

"Come on then, let's get you off to bed before Sasuke starts snoring and you try to smother him." 

Itachi nodded, shimmying himself off of the bed and helping Reina up. She didn't follow him right away, instead he watched as she busied herself with propping Sasuke on his side and flanking his back with pillows. She didn't ever stop looking after other people.