Two Gatherings (II).

He had spent nearly three hours in the meeting with the Hokage and Jiraiya, but because he had left for the Sandaime's office at nine in the morning it was still pretty early.

The meeting itself had gone better than he had expected. Without using the Tsukuyomi and thus giving him nearly unlimited time to persuade the other person as he had done with the Sandaime, his possibilities were much more limited, especially because there was nothing that he could do to stop the other person from just leaving.

At least when the person was as strong as Jiraiya.

The presence of the Hokage probably helped with that. As long as the Sannin didn't believe the older man had gone completely insane, he would at least consider the possibility of him telling the truth, making the entire conversation much easier.

That was the main reason he had stayed out of the conversation once he had finished explaining his situation. After all, even if the man believed him, he was still a stranger to him while the Hokage was his former sensei. The Sandaime would know better what to say to convince the Sannin than he did.

And it had worked out well. Jiraiya might still be unsure about whether he spoke the truth or not, but he was willing to accept his word at face value for now and had accepted to participate in tomorrow's operation. He honestly wished he could take part in it as well, but he understood why that wasn't possible. Still, after the part Danzō had played in his life, he wasn't above anger or the wish for revenge. He just didn't let himself be controlled by these emotions, or at least he tried.

His years as a criminal had improved his already impressive self-control if nothing else.

Tomorrow's operation would also mark the first major change he made in the past whose consequences could be felt almost immediately, which made him understandable nervous. The chances that this decision would backfire weren't slim, and only the knowledge that this was something that needed to be done could calm him down.

Itachi couldn't continue this trail of thought once he came closer to his home, though, because he could feel more people than usual inside for some reason. In fact, if he didn't miscount, there were currently seven people inside. And while he wasn't a sensor type, he had still rather precise senses, meaning he was by no means unsure about his assessment.

And considering he recognized every single chakra signature, he could also tell who their guests were, and his guess was proven right once he entered the house and went to the living room:

"Happy Birthday!"

All over the room, with either smiles or outright grins on their faces, stood his parents, Sasuke, his sensei, Yukio, Anko, Izumi, and Shisui.

.....

They were currently sitting in the garden behind their house, celebrating his birthday. It wasn't what most 'children his age' would do on their birthday party, considering a simple meal in their garden without any games or other entertainment was far too boring for them, but he was quite content with this. Honestly, he was glad his parents seemed to know him well enough to not organize a usual children's party. That would have been utterly humiliating .

Well, to be fair, they hadn't done so in his last life either, so maybe it wasn't that surprising that they wouldn't do so this time.

Of course, today wasn't even his birthday. As he had told Anko during their mission, his birthday had been on the second day after they had arrived at the orphanage. Still, it seemed his family and friends believed he needed a 'proper party' anyway, so here he was.

And that brought him to his current situation.

"Come on Itachi, your mother made all of this just for you!" Shisui said while 'helpfully' handing him another piece of cake. "Well, and for us too, I guess... But mainly for you! It would be rude to waste it."

He fought down the urge to smash the plate into his friend's face. They might not be friends for too long in this time, but Shisui knew he wasn't a fan of too much sweet stuff. Not that he didn't like it at all, but only in moderation! Of all the habits he had been used to from his friend in the past, it would naturally be his tendency to irk him all the time that would resurface first, that was just his luck. Besides, if he forced more sweet upon him, he could at least hand him some Dango.

Luckily he knew how he could get out of this situation.

"You're right," he agreed easily, making Shisui narrowing his eyes at him as if wondering what he was planing. "But it would be even ruder to steal the last piece of cake away from my guests, and I definitively don't want to be a bad host."

He turned to his right, looking straight at Yukio who had watched their exchange in slight confusion. "Here Yukio, the last piece of cake. I insist that you get it." He didn't give him much choice on that matter and put the plate nearly forcefully in his hands before turning away again to stop him from returning the food to him.

"Well, I guess that works as well," Shisui commented amusedly.

He did not dignify this with an answer and instead reached out for some fruits to feed the crows he could see gathering on the nearby tree. Just like in his last life, crows had started to flock to him since he made a contract with their kind. Unlike other summonses, like for example snakes, crows had no secret hiding place but instead traveled the world. He guessed that some of the crows that were less enthusiastic to face the hardships that went with the constant traveling choose to instead live nearby him, their currently only summoner, and enjoy the easy food available in a populated village like Konoha.

"You know, these crows of yours might come in really handy in a fight," Shisui spoke up again. "I imagine they make for a great distraction, especially if you summon an entire murder of them. I can't wait for what you will do with them the next time we spar."

"They can act as a distraction," he agreed while simultaneously glancing in the direction of his other guests. "But they also can help me in other ways."

His parents were currently talking with Tanaka-sensei, and oddly enough his father seemed to actually enjoy himself. He usually wasn't the type to openly show his emotions to strangers, so he guessed that they either must have found some common ground they could bond over pretty quickly or that they already knew each other. His mother seemed to be pretty amused by it, and just when he looked their way, she made his father actually blush with some comment.

Ignoring this oddity -and hopefully erasing his father's embarrassed expression from his memory- he continued to look around and watched Anko and Izumi sitting together with Sasuke. He couldn't suppress a small smile when he saw Izumi trying to talk to Sasuke, only for the little boy to turn his back to her and move closer to Anko. From what he had overheard earlier, the older girl had teased Izumi about something in close proximity to Sasuke, probably endearing himself to the boy in the process.

He turned back to his friend just in time to look at him when he reacted to his statement. "Oh? And what other ways would that be?"

"I spoke with Anko earlier," Yukio suddenly chimed in into their conversation. "And she told me a few things. She said you can make a clone Jutsu with them. Is that true?"

He blinked, a bit surprised by this intrusion, but recovered quickly. "It is. It's a technique that doesn't waste much chakra but still has the advantages of a Kage Bunshin, making it an ideal technique for me to use considering I still have smaller reserves than either of you, for example."

Shisui whistled impressed. "I never heard of a Karasu Bunshin (Crow Clone) before, but I guess that's understandable as I never heard of a crow contract either. Does that mean that an original technique of yours?"

"Technically the crows taught the technique to me," he denied. "So I'm not the inventor."

"So it's also true that you can create a clone that's only halfway formed, with lots of crows flying around it?" Yukio asked with sparkling eyes.

He gave his teammate an amused smile, making him look away in embarrassment for a moment before returning his glance at him once again. "I see Anko told you more than just 'a few things' when you talked with each other. But yes, I can do that too. I used this trick during the mission to make an enemy think I captured him inside a Genjutsu, making him less cautious and thus allowing Anko to go for the kill."

"Alright, let's stop this here," a simultaneity stern but kind voice interrupted them from behind, making Yukio jump around in surprise and come face to face with Itachi's mother. "Let's not talk about killing during a celebration, shall we? Especially not while we eat."

"Ah, of course! I'm so sorry!" Yukio exclaimed flustered, appearing to be still confused about how his mother had been able to appear behind them without him noticing. "The food is excellent, by the way! It's almost as good as my parents..." He seemed he realized what he had just said because he instantly tried to correct his mistake. "With which I don't want to say your cooking is worse than my parents, of course not! I just, ehm, I..." He visibly deflated. "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot."

His mother just chuckled.

There was a moment of silence before Yukio hesitantly spoke up again. "...that's usually the moment you say something like 'oh no, don't say that! You're not an idiot at all!', you know?"

His mother just smiled, and then the relative silence of their part of the garden was interrupted by Shisui's terrible attempt at suppressing a snort.

"Hey, do you think that's funny?" Yukio exclaimed loudly, clearly happy to turn his attention on something else than his own embarrassing behaviour from before.

"Oh yes, it's hilarious!" Shisui agreed shamelessly, which in turn lead to Yukio kick-starting an argument about whether or not his behaviour had been something to laugh at or not.

"Itachi," his mother said with a soft smile, ignoring the two others bickering in the background. "Here is someone who wanted to sit with you."

Of course, he had already noticed Sasuke, hiding behind their mother's legs.

"Well, Otouto, will you join me then?" he asked with a warm expression on his face, looking straight at his brother.

And as soon as he sat down beside him, babbling about this and that, he felt at peace.

"Excuse me, everyone, I want to say something!" Tanaka-sensei's voice cut through the garden, silencing everyone else. Once the man knew he had the undivided attention of everyone he continued. "I think this might be a good time as any to make this announcement: I decided to nominate Team 3 for the incoming Chūnin Exams."

There was an uproar all around the garden, especially from Anko's direction, but Sensei's raised arm silenced everyone again. "I thought about this decision for while now, ever since Itachi joined the team to be honest, but now I think I can be sure that everyone is ready. I wasn't sure about what to think about getting a Genin so young, but we can all agree when I say that he proved that his age is no hindrance for him."

Itachi wouldn't be surprised if a conversation with the Hokage had him come to this conclusion. After all, the Sandaime had told him a few months ago that he wanted him to participate in the Chūnin Exams.

"The Exams will start in roughly three months, and they will be held in Iwagakure. We will take our leave in roughly two and a half months to arrive in time, and we will use the time before that to spur our training up a bit and take a few more missions."

The instant he finished, people all around him started to talk excitedly with each other, with only Itachi and his mother not participating. She hid it well, but he could see that she was worried. Given the tense relationship Konoha and Iwa shared, that was understandable and he was sure his father would realize that too very soon. Probably his teammates as well.

Even if not, their sensei would surely remember them.

....

"The next time I will be the one to invite you guys," Yukio said as a farewell when he walked him to the door an hour after their sensei's announcement. "My parents run a restaurant. Its name is 'Narisawa'. I just know you guys will love it!"

He actually knew this restaurant, as did everyone else in the village. The 'Narisawa' was generally regarded as the best place to eat in all of Konoha, after all. It was well-liked by all citizens because it offered dishes that were affordable for both the rich and people with an average wage. "I wasn't aware your family runs such a successful business?"

"Yes, Yukio," their sensei, who had walked behind them with Anko, chimed in. "Why didn't you tell us? Had we know we would have come to visit you much earlier!"

Yukio gave their sensei a dry look. "You are only interested in the free food, aren't you?"

He laughed shamelessly, which somehow managed to hide the ever-present exhaustion on his face. "Well, I wouldn't say that it's the only thing I'm interested in, even if it's definitively a plus! I'm also kinda curious. I thought about opening a little shop myself once I retire from active duty, so a look behind the curtain of such a successful restaurant would be really helpful."

He silently raised an eyebrow at the sight of their sensei and Yukio walking side by side without bickering. It seemed the last mission forced them to bond with each other, he thought.

"Hey, Itachi," Anko said, drawing his attention to her. "I will say this only one time, and I will deny ever saying it at all if you tell it anyone else, so listen closely: you did most of the work during our time in Kiri while I have been next to useless. I owe you." She sent him a glare as if daring him to argue with that point and nodded satisfied when he didn't. "You might be a genius and be even stronger than I am, at least as I'm right now, but I will catch up to you! And not only that, someday I will save your stupid ass when you're in a situation you can't get out of on your own."

Having said all she had wanted to say she turned around in a flourishing movement and hurried to catch up to the rest of their team who was already a fair way ahead of her, not allowing him to reply.

All he could do was to watch the backs of his three teammates vanish in the distance.