Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots (meaning the ones you don't recognize!) are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

Title: The Little Get-Together

Author: elle6778
Rating: T/PG-13

Genre: General/Humor

Summary: This is the lighthearted sequel to The Riverside Serenade. What does Itachi find when he returns home from a long mission?

50-shinobi Theme No 26: Potato Chips

A/N: Yup, here's the sequel to my other one shot. And while I have your attention, please visit my profile and vote for your preferred pairing for my next multichaptered story, okay? :)

The Little Get-Together by elle6778

The night was dark and silent as Itachi made his way through the Uchiha compound towards his home. He had just returned from his month-long ANBU mission and had just given his report to the Hokage. Fortunately, the mission debrief had finished quickly, for he was not certain he could remain on his feet for much longer.

His family home came into sight, and he let out a breath of relief. Home, at last.

Weary from the long return journey from the Land of Earth and the strain of the mission, he looked forward to the week of respite he had been granted by the Hokage. But first, he had to cleanse himself of the dirt he had accumulated during his travels.

Distracted by thought of a nice hot bath, he walked along the raised wooden platform along the side of his house, only to be surprised when he heard a burst of raucous laughter up ahead.

It was coming from the living room, he noted. And the voice which followed the laughter was the familiar one belonging to a certain overly loud blond teammate of his brother's. Idly, Itachi wondered if the pink-haired one was with them as well. It was likely, for the three of them were almost inseparable.

It was then that his feet brought him to the shadowed area outside the living room. The shoji screen was left slightly ajar, allowing him a clear view into the room from his hidden position.

His first thought when he saw the state the living room was in was that Okaa-san would have a fit when she laid her eyes on the place.

Bottles of alcoholic beverages, some looking in danger of toppling over and packets of potato chips, some emptied and some half-full, were strewn all over the usually pristine tatami mat. There were even some stray chips that had been crushed between the fibers of the mat. Those would be impossible to remove, and would most likely require replacement.

Yes, Okaa-san would not be pleased to see this.

His second thought was to wonder if these three and their friends ought to be drinking at all. For it was clear that they were fast becoming mindlessly inebriated, if they were not there already. The loudest one there, Uzumaki Naruto, was roaring with laughter at the sight of a scowling Sasuke clumsily wiping off spilled beverage from his Uchiha crested top, while Haruno Sakura, their female teammate was trying to stifle her laughter by stuffing her fists against her mouth.

Their friends, the Yamanaka girl, the Nara genius and their Akimichi teammate were present at the party, as well as the other team consisting of the youngest Aburame, the Inuzuka boy and much to Itachi's surprise, the Hyuuga heiress. All of them were either laughing or grinning drunkenly, all except for the Hyuuga heiress, who seemed to be the only sober person in the room.

Yes, they definitely should not be drinking, especially seeing that they were only fifteen.

For a moment, Itachi wondered why they were allowed such freedom in his home, and then he realized belatedly that his father and mother had mentioned visiting some friends in Waterfall Country. No doubt the kids had decided to take advantage of the lack of adult presence in the place.

He shook his head at the foolishness of his brother and his teammates, for they were clearly the organizers of this unruly little get-together. Once his parents took a step into the room, the way the scent of alcohol had permeated the space would give away what these foolish teenagers had been up to, that was for certain. And then there would be repercussions.

Itachi smirked slightly then, amused by the notion of his foolish little brother suffering through some embarrassing punishment as the result of not standing up against his teammates.

Interest peaked by their antics, Itachi listened closely to their conversation.

After choking back his laughter, Naruto asked, "So, Teme, what do you think of this, huh?" He waved a colorful pamphlet around. "Look, Kiba was nice enough to bring this back from his mission, so why don't you take a look?"

"I will not join some ridiculous wet t-shirt display," Sasuke ground out.

"Not even when it could land you some pretty girls?" the blond needled.

Ah, so that was the cause for their hysterics. Itachi's brow rose as his lips twitched in amusement. As tired as he was, he decided that he could afford a few minutes to listen to this particular conversation. It could prove to be very entertaining.

"I've had enough of girls," Sasuke growled.

Inuzuka Kiba snorted. "Just because they're chasing you now don't mean they will continue to do it. They just don't know what you're like. Because once they find out that you have the personality of a teaspoon, they will run the other way."

Sasuke glared at him while the rest of their friends laughed. Itachi smirked at his little brother's disgruntled expression.

Obviously deciding to save Sasuke from further embarrassment, Sakura spoke, "Now, now, Kiba. You have to admit that Sasuke has his good points."

"Like what?" Kiba challenged.

"Er…" Sakura blinked. "He's a good shinobi? And handsome to boot?"

Sasuke grunted as Kiba faked a wounded look, clutching his hands to his chest, swaying sideways a little as he did so. "Ah, Sakura. Does that mean you don't want me anymore?" he asked with a pout.

"What?" Sakura sputtered, but Itachi could see even from the distance that there was a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Since when have I ever wanted you?"

"Ah, you can never resist me, you know that," Kiba leered exaggeratedly.

Sakura burst out in laughter as Sasuke glared harder at the Inuzuka, while a bleary-looking Naruto scowled, pulling the kunoichi closer to him protectively. What was more surprising was that Itachi found himself tempted to silence the Inuzuka permanently.

"Don't talk about Sakura like that," the blond managed to warn, albeit not very convincingly, considering his drunken state.

"So, Forehead, if it's not Kiba, then who?" the blonde girl teased, waggling her brows. "Don't tell me you're still hung up on Sasuke?"

Itachi blinked slowly, wondering what the pink-haired kunoichi would say to that. He had to admit to being curious, for a long time now. Sakura's crush on Sasuke was never a secret, but the last he had heard anything about it was when they were twelve. Three years had passed since then. Had anything changed at all?

Sakura gasped, darting a quick, nervous look at the scowling Sasuke before snapping at her blonde friend, "Of course not! Are you out of your mind?" She glanced again at Sasuke. "No offence, Sasuke."

"None taken," the younger Uchiha muttered through clenched teeth.

Itachi only smirked from his hidden position. Sasuke might not relish the idea of his only teammate being infatuated with him, but the younger Uchiha clearly did not like how Sakura had just dismissed him. It was clear that Sasuke was possessive of Sakura, whether just as a teammate or more, Itachi could not tell.

Idly, he wondered what Sasuke would make of the kiss he had given Sakura more than one year ago on Valentine's day. Granted, it was probably part of some challenge Sakura had undertaken, but a kiss was still a kiss. Perhaps one day, he would ask her about the challenge. It would be interesting to know what she had won from it if the task was, indeed, to receive a kiss from him.

So far, he had not had the chance to speak to her privately, for the past year had been a very busy one for both of them. He had been on many ANBU missions, and he had heard from Sasuke that she was busy with her medic training as well as their usual Team 7 missions.

"Maybe it is Naruto. Maybe Sakura likes Naruto."

This suggestion came from, surprisingly, Aburame Shino, and instantly drew yells of disgust from both Sakura and Naruto as they jumped apart. Burying her face on her arms which were resting on her knees, the pink-haired kunoichi groaned something which sounded like, "…the image of it!"

"I know I had a crush on her before, but now it's almost like incest," Naruto proclaimed, shuddering slightly.

"Who could it be then, Forehead?" Ino prodded with a grin. "You must have your eyes on someone."

"No one," Sakura declared, her words muffled by her arms she had her face buried in.

"Probably not someone here," Akimichi Chouji supplied, before stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth. "From other teams, maybe."

Leaning back on his elbows, Nara Shikamaru drawled lazily, "Could be someone older."

Sakura lifted her head up. "Give it up, guys. There's no one."

"B-But you must admire someone, at least?" Hyuuga Hinata suggested shyly, her pale eyes quickly darting in the direction of a certain oblivious blond.

Ino leaned forward, looking excited, "Yeah! So, spill!"

Sakura groaned loudly, and then swept her eyes over her curious friends. Itachi had to admit that he wished to know what she would admit to, and whether or not it would be anywhere near the truth.

"You really want to know?" she asked in an almost-whisper.

And there and then, Itachi knew whatever that came out of her mouth next would be nothing close to the truth. Her friends, however, leaned closer in eager anticipation.

"Who?" Ino asked, eyes wide.

"Like Hinata said, it's someone I admire."

"Really?" Ino squeaked in excitement.

"Names, woman!" Kiba prodded.

Ignoring them, Sakura continued, "Shikamaru is right. He is older."

Sasuke asked darkly, "Who is it?"

The pink-haired kunoichi took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did so. And when those lids opened to reveal her emerald orbs, she stabbed a finger in the air and announced proudly, "Hatake Kakashi."

Her friends' responses were instantaneous.

Naruto toppled to the side promptly, knocking Sasuke over in the process. Ino clapped her hand to her mouth, her blue eyes wide with incredulity, while her generous sized teammate blinked, halting mid-chew. Kiba's eyes were wide, but there was a speculative look on his face, while his pale-eyed female teammate flushed red. There was no telling what Shino was thinking because no part of his face was exposed.

The only person who managed to speak was Shikamaru, and that was only to mutter, "Troublesome."

Itachi smirked, shaking his head slightly. Surely they could tell that the pink-haired kunoichi was not being serious.

It probably took another minute or so before the rest of them caught hold of themselves. Itachi only continued to watch with veiled amusement as Sakura fought to keep an offended look on her face.

"What's wrong with Kakashi?" she asked, sounding slightly too indignant.

Naruto's face scrunched up. "He's OLD!"

Ino stared speculatively at Sakura, and then, jumping to her feet, she pointed an accusing finger at the pink-haired kunoichi. "You've seen his face, haven't you?"

Sakura grinned. "So what if I have? You think I'm so shallow as to go for looks only? There has to be other things as well."

"Then what do you go for, Sakura?" Kiba asked, giving her a suggestive grin.

Itachi found himself listening intently for her answer, intrigued beyond comprehension. He truly did not understand why he was still standing there, eavesdropping on these teenagers' conversation. It made more sense for him to proceed to cleanse himself before retiring for the night. There was no point in him remaining here.

A small smile played on Sakura's lips as she answered, "Someone kind, confident in himself, strong, someone who accepts me as I am. You know… the perfect one."

The males in the room groaned in unison.

"And you picked Kakashi?" Naruto asked, clearly incredulous.

"I was just kidding!" Sakura cried out with a bark of laughter. "I can't believe you fell for it."

"W-What about Neji, then?" Hinata offered quietly, a light blush on her cheeks.

Sakura grinned. "He would do, I guess."

A frown found its way to Itachi's brows, much to his own puzzlement. He did not like the fact that Sakura found Hyuuga Neji an acceptable option. But before he could consider the reasoning for his reaction, Ino huffed loudly.

"If you want to go for the strong, silent type, you might as well go all the way," the blonde exclaimed.

"What are you talking about, you troublesome woman?" Shikamaru asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, you're not making any sense, Ino!" Naruto cried out. "All the way?"

Sakura only raised a questioning brow at the now-grinning Yamanaka.

Dramatically, Ino stabbed the tatami mat covering the floor with her finger. "There's one right here."

Sakura's brow twitched as she eyed the males around them, who were, in turn, looking very confused. "Here?" she prompted doubtfully. "Strong, silent type?"

Ino nodded.

"Who?" Sasuke asked with a scowl.

Ino's face stretched into a grin. "Funny you should ask, Sasuke. Why, it's your older brother, Uchiha Itachi, of course."

Outside, hidden in the shadows, Itachi froze in disbelief. They were not going to involve him in this inane conversation, surely.

Inside, the reaction was explosive, ranging from a choking Naruto to a squeaking Hinata. But the most evident one was from Sasuke, who had shot to his feet, glaring down both at Ino and Sakura, who was once again groaning into her hands in a clear sign of embarrassment.

"Absolutely not!" Sasuke objected.

Itachi raised a brow at his little brother's vehemence.

Ino shot to her feet as well, wobbling slightly as she did so. Planting her hands on her hips, she jabbed a finger at Sasuke's chest. "Why not? Are you jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Sasuke returned, slapping her finger away.

"Oi, calm down you two," Shikamaru drawled, waving for them to sit back down. "So troublesome."

Sitting back down, Ino tossed Sasuke another glare before turning back to Sakura, who had just unearthed herself from her palms. "So, Forehead, what do you think of Itachi?"

Much to Itachi's surprise, Sakura seemed to be finding it difficult to meet anyone's gaze. He shifted slightly in his position, suddenly feeling a little anxious when he considered what her reaction could mean. The obvious explanation would be that she thought of him as a little more than her teammate's brother, and that she had seriously considered him in a more than platonic fashion.

And it occurred to him then that he would not mind at all.

Realizing what he was thinking, Itachi took a step away from the shadowed area just next to the living room. It was best that he left before his mind could wander in various inappropriate directions. At fifteen, Sakura was still young, and this could be one of those mild infatuations youngsters always indulged in. It would be foolish for him to think that it was more than that.

"Oi, Forehead! Have you fallen asleep? So what do you think of Sasuke's brother?"

"Yamanaka…" Sasuke warned.

The sound of Sakura's voice stilled any further steps Itachi was planning on taking. Her voice tinged with mischief, Sakura retorted, "Honestly? I think he's great."

"What?" Naruto burst out.

Another clamor of shouts and protests followed.

By now, Itachi was far enough away that he was no longer able to see what was happening within the living room, but he could picture Sasuke glowering darkly at the kunoichi's declaration. He tried not to think of what Sakura's expression could be like as she said those words. He tried not to wonder if she was being serious this time, instead of the obvious falsity of her infatuation with a certain Copy Nin.

Shaking his head, Itachi continued to move away stealthily from the area, heading towards his bedroom. The noise level gradually faded out, and by the time he had taken a bath and returned to his room, the noise had disappeared completely. The silence was welcomed. Perhaps they had wisely decided to cease their irresponsible behavior.

As per his usual post-mission routine, Itachi took a book with him and sat down by the shoji screen, which was left ajar to the inner courtyard beyond. He attempted to read, but he found his attention wandering.

To a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

He could not help but wonder what she was doing, and if all of them had now collapsed in various states of drunkenness, which might explain the silence. It was the first time he had seen her in such a state.

After an hour of rather unsuccessful reading, he was about to retire when something compelled him to check the living room. With that in mind, he slowly made his way to his destination, reasoning that his sleep could wait for several more minutes while he ensured that the room was still habitable.

When he turned the corner to the raised platform outside the living room, he noted with surprise that even though it was silent, the light still shone brightly out of the gap between the shoji screens. Had they left the lights on?

A few more additional steps brought him to the gaping shoji screen, allowing him to see into the room.

He raised a brow as he took in the sight, his lips quirking with amusement as he did so.

The only people left there were the members of Team 7. They were fast asleep on the tatami mat, their limbs tangled up with each other's in a way that could be considered indecent. However, Itachi knew that they were particularly close, therefore had always been comfortable enough to allow such familiarity with each other.

Still, even with that knowledge, he could not help but wonder how, at this age, they could allow themselves such physical familiarity with each other.

Asleep, Sasuke was sprawled on the mat with one knee up, almost as if to stop Sakura, whose head was using his stomach as a pillow, from rolling off. The pink-haired kunoichi was fast asleep on her side, one hand clutching the material of Sasuke's shirt, and the other hand resting on Naruto's chest. The blond let out a snort then, muttering something unintelligible, and then turned his entire body to bury his head in Sakura's stomach. Sakura's only reaction was to clench a fist in Naruto's hair.

That could not possibly be comfortable, Itachi thought as he surveyed them.

The thought that he should leave them to suffer the consequences of their overindulgences crossed his mind for a moment, until he decided that his mother would not be too pleased with him if she knew that he had left them in this manner. He had to attempt to get them back to bed, at least.

So, with a sigh of resignation, he went to Sasuke first, careful not to step on the stray bits of potato chips and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Sasuke."

A muffled grunt escaped his brother's lips as said brother frowned in his sleep.

Itachi shook harder. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke only continued sleeping. Moving back slightly, Itachi decided that he would not be carrying anyone anywhere tonight.

How much had they imbibed? It must have been a substantial volume if Sasuke's state was any indication. Shaking his head at these teenagers' foolishness, he turned his attention to the kunoichi lying on his brother's stomach. Reaching out, Itachi tapped her on the shoulder, carefully avoiding the bare skin peeking beyond her sleeveless red top.

"Sakura."

As with Sasuke, she responded with a muffled grunt. However, unlike Sasuke, she had the presence of mind to open her eyes. Slits of green peered out at him through thick lashes, muddied with confusion.

"Hm?"

Itachi was not certain if she recognized him. Still, that was not the point. The point was to get her to the guestroom, where it was more of a proper place for a young woman to rest.

"You need to go to the guestroom," he told her firmly.

Her brows furrowed, and then she pushed herself to her feet abruptly, almost knocking him over in the process.

"Okay," she muttered, swaying alarmingly as she took lurching steps forward.

He caught her just as she tripped over the threshold of the shoji screen. Unperturbed, she only giggled hysterically, drawing a smile of amusement from him. She was not looking at him at all, even when he curved his arm around her to support her. The scent of alcohol mixed with her usual subtle scent assaulted him, and he found himself regretting that her usually pleasant scent was contaminated with the pungent smell.

Giggles followed their footsteps as Itachi helped her the short distance to the guestroom. Somewhere along the way, she had slipped an arm around his waist, sticking her thumb in his waistband in a manner that could be considered provocative.

Itachi tried to ignore the inappropriate thoughts that were teasing him.

Soon, much to his relief, they arrived at the guestroom.

He lowered her onto the futon gently. However, before he could release his hold on her, a pair of slender arms snapped out, locking tightly behind his neck. Itachi tensed immediately.

"Sakura," he murmured. "Let go."

She muttered something indecipherable.

"Sakura."

Green eyes snapped open and immediately narrowed in displeasure.

"Get your hands off me, Baka!" she shrieked.

A loud thump followed.

The next thing Itachi felt was pain radiating out in the region of his left eye. Hissing slightly, he quickly dropped the girl, who promptly rolled on the futon to face away from him, snuggling into the thick covers. Soft snores followed instantly.

Straightening, Itachi winced as he fingered his eye gingerly. It was already beginning to throb. Irritation coursed through him when he realized that he had brought this upon himself. Not to mention it was rather humiliating how he had not been alert enough to block the surprisingly hard blow from the petite kunoichi.

Truly, he should have simply gone to bed instead of troubling himself with this menace of a trio.

He exited the room, closing the screen silently behind him.

For a moment, he considered moving Sasuke back to his room, but he decided that he had had enough trouble for the night. Who knew what else would happen should he decide to assist the rest of the drunken members of Team 7?

With that thought, he made his way back to his room.

With a sigh of relief, he sank back onto his futon and closed his eyes. Exhaustion claimed him soon afterwards and he succumbed to slumber.

Itachi was jarred awake soon afterwards. Sitting up on his futon, he scowled darkly at the decidedly unpleasant manner in which his sleep had been disturbed.

The sound rang through the air again.

It was the doorbell. Knowing that the members of Team 7 were probably still too drunk to handle with the disturbance, Itachi stood up with a pained sigh. His entire body still ached from the mission and now, courtesy of one drunken kunoichi, his left eye was throbbing as well. Whoever that was at that door had better have something important to say.

Quickly making his way out of his room, he made a beeline towards the door. He could see the silhouette of two figures beyond the shoji screen, but he could not recognize their chakra signature.

Moments later, he opened the door to the early morning guests to find himself facing two unfamiliar people. His gaze darted to the man's red hair and green eyes, before sliding over to the woman to his side. The moment Itachi noted the pale pink color of the woman's hair, their identity became clear to him.

"We are Haruno Sakura's parents," the man announced.

Itachi inclined his head politely. "Haruno-san." Standing to one side, he invited, "Would you like to come in?"

The woman shook her head. "Is Sakura here? She didn't come home last night," she asked worriedly.

Itachi closed his eyes briefly. Honestly, did the kunoichi have no sense at all? Obviously, she had not informed her parents that she was staying overnight. Perhaps she had not intended to stay in the first place? Because she did not seem like the irresponsible type who would allow her parents to worry needlessly.

"I believe she is sleeping," Itachi finally said. "I'll wake her up."

Sakura's father's expression darkened as his green eyes ran over his sleep-tousled form, and Itachi knew exactly what the older man was thinking. Considering the circumstances, it could not be helped, he supposed. He only hoped that the man would not decide to give him a matching bruise on his right eye this morning.

"She is unharmed, Haruno-san. I will fetch her from the guest room." He was about to lead them to the living room to wait, but recalling the state it was in when he had last seen it, he thought that perhaps it was best to lead them elsewhere. "Follow me."

He took them to the kitchen and gestured for them to sit down at the table, ignoring the slightly suspicious look they were gracing him with. Then he poured hot water from the hot water canister into a teapot with tealeaves and left the pot with matching teacups on the table for them.

"I will return with Sakura in a moment."

With that assurance, he left the kitchen, trying not to yawn too widely as he did so. He was tired, and he could not wait to be rid of all these interruptions so that he could catch up on his sleep.

When he arrived at the guestroom closest to the living room, Itachi slid the screen open.

Sakura was sprawled on the futon, her arms and legs flung wide in abandon. Her head was tilted to one side, and he could see a silvery line of drool trickling out of the corner of her parted lips. Subtle snores escaped said lips, reminding him of the sound little piglets made.

Amusement at the sight made him smile. Strangely enough, he also found it endearing, the way she was displayed so honestly in front of him.

Still, this was not the time to be thinking about such things. He had to wake her up.

He took a few steps forward until he reached her, and once there, he crouched down to tap her on the shoulder.

"Sakura."

Perhaps it was his bone-deep weariness or his lack of sleep, but Itachi could not be more surprised when he found himself flipped abruptly onto the bed, suddenly straddled by a bleary-eyed, pink-haired kunoichi. In fact, he was so stunned that he could not think to respond in any way except to stare at Sakura, whose eyes were slowly widening in a look of absolute horror.

It would be amusing if the situation was not so embarrassing for him. An ANBU captain, pinned down by a chuunin, he thought with mild resignation. After being punched in the eye by the very same chuunin just a few hours ago, at that.

Had he known that this would happen when he returned home, he would have stayed away for another day in the Land of Earth.

"Itachi-san! I'm so sorry!" Sakura all but shrieked, jumping off his lap.

"Hm."

"I really didn't mean to… sit…" she trailed off.

"Do not worry about it," he assured her, albeit in a rather abrupt tone.

Now standing a few steps away from him while he got to his feet, she stared at him with wide, horrified eyes. If he had to guess, he would say that she was about to make a run for it any moment now. It was best that he told her about her parents.

But before he could speak, she asked, "What happened to your eye?"

The reminder sent a stab of annoyance through him. She clearly did not remember. So he told her, "Nothing important."

She chewed her bottom lip while regarding him hesitantly. "Would you… em… Do you want me to heal it?"

Itachi was about to refuse, and then he decided that he should really accept, since she had been the cause of it in the first place. Besides, it would be rather awkward for him to move around Konoha with a black eye.

And so, he nodded curtly.

Her nervousness did not leave, but she was clearly a little less apprehensive when she approached him. When she was just an arm's reach away, Itachi lowered his eyes to look at her, not missing the increasing tinge of red on her cheeks. Was she embarrassed to be so close to him? Because he was certainly far too aware of her proximity. This close to her, he felt rather on edge, torn between distancing them and pulling her closer.

That was when it struck Itachi that possibly, just possibly, he was attracted to the pink haired kunoichi.

The notion was so alarming that he almost jerked back at the contact of her glowing hand on his left eye. Which in turn, caused the kunoichi to take an alarmed step backwards.

In reaction, his hand shot out to circle her wrist, stilling her retreat.

And both of them froze in that very position.

For a long while, Itachi found himself trapped in a gaze with a pair of shocked emerald eyes. It was as if time had suspended itself as they continued to stare at each other, neither of them moving a single muscle nor saying a word. For once, there was no strategies in his mind, no plan as to what his next step should be.

And then she blinked, and just like that, the odd spell was broken.

Itachi found it a little difficult to catch his breath suddenly, as Sakura turned away to fidget nervously, her hands twisting in the hem of her red top.

Deciding that that the awkwardness had persisted long enough, Itachi gathered his scattered thoughts and told her calmly, "Your parents are here."

She blinked in confusion. "What? My parents?" And then her eyes widened in dismay as her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, no! I didn't go home last night!"

"Indeed," he followed on dryly. "They are waiting for you in the kitchen."

With a gasp, she spun around and dashed towards the opening in the shoji screen, throwing over her shoulder, "I'm sorry, Itachi-san. I need to go!"

And then she was no longer there, leaving Itachi to wonder what exactly she was apologizing for.

It was only when he was on his way back to his room that he realized that she had not healed his eyes, meaning that he would be going around Konoha in this embarrassing state until it healed on its own, or he sought assistance at the hospital, neither of which were appealing at the moment.

A loud snore broke into Itachi's less-than-pleasant thoughts then, and his steps halted in front of the living room.

Both Sasuke and Naruto were still there, dead to the world, resting without a single care. While he stood there, his eye throbbing and his body aching with the lack of sleep because these kids decided to spend last night getting themselves drunk. To make things worse, he was now faced with the dilemma that he was attracted to their teammate.

Somehow, it seemed… unfair.

Clenching his hands into fists, Itachi scanned the room again, noting that sometime during the night, the contents of the half-finished bottles of alcoholic beverages had joined the potato chips on the tatami mat. Wet patches dotted the base of each upturned bottle.

The room was already ruined.

So what did it matter if he gave in to his need to vent?

With that thought, Itachi stood away from the open shoji screen and brought his hands together to form the necessary seals, focusing his chakra on the pond outside.

"Suiton: Suigadan."

A weak version of the usually lethal jutsu took hold, bringing forth two rotating drill-shaped columns of pond water flying through the air.

Heading straight for Sasuke and Naruto.

Turning away, Itachi continued his journey back to his bedroom, smirking slightly when he heard the two boys yelling in shock and outrage.

Now, he felt marginally better.

000

000

A/N: And that's the end of this piece. Hope you've enjoyed this one shot. There's probably a sequel to this eventually, but no promises. As always, please review if you could. Thanks!

:elle6778: