"Aa, it is indeed amazing, young Master. To imprint in such a young age, truly magnificent." Kobo-san proclaimed in awed wonder. He still couldn't take his eyes off of the sleeping pair. He took a deep breath of the heavy air. It was a good heavy, though. The tingly scent of imprinting lingered sweetly, filling him with warmth associated with such a happening. It were such good news, too. The young mistress imprinted, and imprinting, was a canine ritual.

"Hn. And what does this imprinting entails?" The Uchiha clan-head inquired. He couldn't really decide whether he ought to settle for being ecstatic or downright displeased. On one hand, here he was, being informed that no, his son will most centrally not make it for his clan duties, today or even the next month, likely. His time will be consumed with being accustomed to their ways and their customs. It was preposterous. A whole month with no training and furthering his skills as a shinobi? Itachi's first and foremost responsibility was that to his clan and assuring their place in the village. A place that Fugaku was not pleased with, confined to military force and enclosed in four walls of the Uchiha district. And what of the inside information he will miss? What Fugaku found to be the most ridiculous however, was their certainty that his heir will be most delighted to spend his entire time cosseting the pink-haired girl. And don't let him get started on the whole pink thing.

On the other hand though, here he was, being informed that yes, this is indeed the firstborn child, first in line, pure-blooded heir to the feline and canine races. With his son. Together. Forever. Take that, Hiashi! You second-rated fool.

With such a union, the Uchiha would no longer fall out of graces within their village and the Hokage. The sole political sway it would bring his clan with Itachi among the feline clan, considered as one of their own...

Kobo-san was happy, he really was. An imprint! Truly magnificent. But he could already sniff all the complications accompanied with that.

"It is a process where one, in this case our young mistress, releases a special, personal pheromone when encountered with a potential mate, which would be your son here. The pheromone entices the other part to mate with the initiator. The choice to do so is dependent on the other part. To put it simply - if the person who was imprinted on finds their suitor favorable they mate for life, if not, then they part ways. It is common process among our kin, you see, based on instincts and body chemistry. What we have here though, is an occurrence much rarer than that, indeed. In common imprinting, the involved part mates involuntarily with their imprinter, they are conscious of their choice and it is free-willed. Here however, your boy answered with an imprint of his own, creating a perfect chemical match between those two. It would be literally impossible to separate them, as they see one another as perfect for themselves. Your son wishes to mate with young mistress as much as she with him, therefore – a perfect match. "

There, the bare basics were out in the open. Kobo was already awaiting the barrage of questions ready to be shot. And it seemed that the Uchiha matriarch would be the first one to go. Choosing her words carefully, Mikoto voiced her concerns. "When saying mate, I understand it you mean it in a psychical way. As vastly interesting as your culture and rituals are, I am afraid I find myself appalled at the thought of such young children having intercourse, even if somehow voluntarily."

Now even Kobo-san was appalled. Weren't it quite obvious that they were too young for that? What did these humans thought of them as?

"Your concerns, Mikoto-san are well based, of course. They will not engage in any such things until the female is ready to be breed. Until such a time, they will merely mark each other to communicate their involvement." Having her first worry put to rest, she went on.

"I see. Thank you for making it clear for all of us." Makoto mentioned with her hand the rest of the gathering partaking in this conversation. Her husband to her right and Sandaime sitting to her left smoking his pipe in deep thought. Then as the perfect lady of the house that she was, Mikoto refilled all of their cups with tea while gathering her thoughts.

"Now, I find myself curious as to how Itachi-kun was capable of releasing this pheromone, when clearly, our son is fully human."

"Ah, yes. I'm sure you are all aware that human bodies have their own pheromones as well? Good, good. Then let me put it this way. When a human creates pheromones, they're just that to other humans, pheromones, and nothing happens, but when coming in contact with pheromones of an imprinting canine they react to each other on a chemical level. The imprint amplifies the human reaction and therefore, a human himself creates an imprint." Kobo explained as the humans noted along, absorbing the information.

It was all so flabbergasting, Mikoto thought internally as she paid utmost attention to Kobo-san's explanations. Just yesterday she was tending to a poor abused child and now the very same little girl was laying nestled in her son's arms, skin unmarked and smooth with no apparent signs of her previous wounds. A healing factor, as he says . She supposed she ought to be feeling more thankful though. Wasn't it just an hour ago when quite suddenly the main house's warding seals came to life, pulsing while absorbing the chakra of their intruder? And what an intruder it was, indeed! An angry, rattled cat with claws out, more than ready to scratch. Mikoto thought amusedly. Her amusement died quickly however when her train of thoughts drifted further along.

The Mikado landed soundlessly on the roof housing his kit…

TBC