I have yet to actually SEE Itachi's arc in the anime, but in my research I encountered a member of his clan by the name of Izumi - unofficial due to the fact her father wasn't a member and had died the night of the Nine-Tails attack. Following that, it turned out she became a childhood friend of Itachi's and eventually fell in love with him, despite the fact he was indifferent in early stages. When Sasuke meets "Madara" Uchiha following his brother's defeat and death (and the truth revealed), the elder mentions an unnamed lover, but we don't even know who...until later in Shippuden when we see Itachi's story - and in the novel we glimpse more.

Izumi was the first Itachi killed in the clan. He gave her a Mangekyo dream of what their future could have been before she died in his arms. It cut my heart as it did when he died in front of Sasuke. :'(

I haven't read a lot of their fics here, and there isn't a lot of them, I can tell. One which prompted me was the series of oneshots, "For a Thousand Years" by KHB123, and "Not to Be" by exploding-penguins which was a take on her final moments. I also recently picked up the incomplete ItaSaku story "One Kind of Joy" by Berrycious, as well as "New Doors" by sarhea on Archive of Our Own. As well, one of my favorite Harlequin Historical Romance novels, "Chosen for the Marriage Bed" by Anne O'Brien, serves amongst, hence the fic title. Which comes down to the plot of this of mine thanks to those inspirations.

Accomplished kunoichi Izumi Uchiha learns that her childhood friend and crush is about to take a new bride after his last fiancée died. But while she's enthusiastic to be a candidate and strives for recognition in his eyes, Itachi himself is far from pleased, though that doesn't stop him from seeking a suitable bride on his own terms. Amidst political intrigue and bloodshed, the pair embarks on a troublesome journey which tests their love.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this.

Chapter One

The Half-Blood and the Heir

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

The blast of flames burst through his mouth and sent the Kiri-nin running away. Their captain - one who possessed the Byakugan - had seen him hidden from afar and snapped with fear even before he unleashed the clan technique, making him smirk.

"That ought to keep the Hidden Mist quiet for awhile," Shisui Uchiha said under his breath.

Even before he gave his shot, the paper bombs planted had gone off when the kunai attached had struck them all above their heads - too fast for the Byakugan user to comprehend beforehand. Shisui let his grin return at the thought of the one who did the deed. He turned his attention behind him to see the figure in her Jonin uniform, long chocolate hair flaring sleek behind her - and Sharingan ablaze with his. Two Sharingan users - and both from the same clan - on the same mission was beneficial, said the Yondaime Hokage. It had also been a somewhat personal request by the Teleporter himself.

His teammate and fellow clan member came up behind him, silent and stealth as a weasel. Funny, if a certain someone heard me say that, he'd give me murder with his eyes. If he could see her now...

"Your orders now, Captain?"

"We return home now," he answered, then gave the signal to the others. She leapt beside him when he took the lead, but remained behind a safe distance as if to prove she had no intention to take lead due to favoritism. Shisui let his smile falter. Sometimes she was too kind for her own good.

"You did well, Izumi."

~o~

Itachi Uchiha, prodigy and pride of his clan, gave one more clean swipe of his katana, removing the last of the blood from the pure blade which cleaned and killed in one blow. It was why he preferred this weapon even out of every other he owned; it was also one the ANBU Black Ops cherished for their dirty business...even if some deaths of their targets would be slow and painful.

His uniform had been removed as soon as he set foot into his own bedroom, ignoring his mother's call for dinner, too tired to care about anything. He was tired for two reasons: his mission which took longer than intended, but it was a success, nevertheless. Kirigakure had been driven back from Leaf soil. The Hokage was pleased with the effort, but Danzo from the shadows continued to operate even if the Sandaime had stripped him of command eight years prior before his death of natural causes. Sometimes he wished the old man would follow suit in the near future.

Thank the Kami I am not under his control anymore. His Root Foundation was dissolved effectively, and Sarutobi put me under his direct order.

He closed his eyes, then hissed in pain when his finger accidentally grazed against the newly sharpened edge of his sword. A dark drop of blood rose from the tiny cut - a stark contrast against pale flesh. Itachi brought that finger to his mouth and sucked it. This was nothing compared to the deeper scars on his body...and those inside.

His recent scar was brought on by the recent death of the girl and clan member who would have been his wife within the year.

Itachi had only just turned eighteen. The month prior, his father, Fugaku, had succumbed to the fever that had taken a few of their own. The epidemic had occurred once before the founding of the village, and another during the Third Great War, so this third time struck worse than ever. Deaths of both the sickly, elderly and dying as well as the fit and healthy. The Fourth Hokage's son had almost been among those taken by the plague.

Naoko Uchiha was only thirteen years old. She was the same age as his brother as well as Sasuke's teammates. It was a relief for him to escape this one, but it was also guilt gnawing at him for such a thought. He had no ill-will towards the teenager, but he had no interest in being married against his will. Though the elders as well as his father, the clan leader, had arranged it all. He pitied the girl whose father also had his hand in the matter.

The plague had been a miracle and a curse at the same time.

Naoko's father wanted a secure position next to the clan head, that much he was aware of. The match had been arranged when Itachi turned thirteen and had been made ANBU captain. He'd knelt before Fugaku when the man proudly chuckled and said "That's my boy." He even said it when he announced the next stage in his heir's life, and that was none other than to take a wife when he reached the age of manhood, whether it be before or after the death of the current head.

Even to Itachi, it was another obligation. He never made a choice without going to approval from his father or even the Clan Council. Now Fugaku was dead, since a month now, and not many days later, so had Naoko and both her parents. Which left the new clan head - himself - deprived of a wife as well as any children they would have had. At least he didn't have to deal with that family since their intentions were for higher-up in the ranks. This was a common occurrence in the oldest clans of the Shinobi world.

It also wasn't uncommon for old traditions remaining to require a girl young enough to be fertile for childbearing, which was also why Itachi was glad he didn't have to worry. Naoko, a girl barely out of childhood at least, was still in the developing process and therefore too frightened to suffer such a burden. She had been given an easier, merciful escape.

Searching for the next Uchiha lady wasn't an easy time. As far as he was concerned, he closed his mind off altogether, which worried his mother. His eighteenth birthday had come and passed in a week, still with no word on possible, capable wife candidates. Mikoto didn't approve of her oldest son - or both of them, for that matter - marrying if he didn't want to, but she still wanted grandchildren and had to abide by the Council's wishes.

Sometimes he wished the Uchiha weren't still isolated from the rest of Konoha. The stories about their founder were of the past and hadn't happened since then. But even the oldest living still lived in the ghosts as if they never stopped.

If Naoko wasn't to be his bride, then who?

Sasuke is fortunate to never suffer through this.

~o~

Team Shisui reported back to Lord Fourth himself. When she looked up at him, she allowed a small smile to show when she gazed upon the face of the man who saved them all the night the Nine-Tailed Fox had attacked their village. The man who got the fiercest and most powerful of the Tailed Beasts sealed away in a single night...and in his own son, no less.

She couldn't imagine that an innocent boy like Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze had been born that night only to be used like that. But was it like his parents had any choice? She'd lost her father that night, right in front of her eyes, and he'd saved her mother but yelled at her to get away to safety.

She remembered crying for both her parents, praying they were both okay...until he came along to rescue her, having his baby brother in his arms as he pulled them both to safety.

Everyone knew Kushina Uzumaki as the previous Jinchuuriki, but somehow on the night she gave birth to her only son, the beast inside had been extracted, possibly by someone who used the Sharingan, because the Uchiha could control chakra as great as the Nine-Tails with their visual prowess. It was never proven, so like during the reign of the Second Hokage, her clan was kept separate from the rest of the village and left to govern their own. Which meant no interference unless it was absolutely necessary.

Kushina died that night when she sacrificed her life for her son, and Minato sealed the tailed monster in their newborn. Between him and Lord Third Sarutobi, it was decreed that no one speak of that night unless they wanted severe punishment. The younger generation knew next to nothing, so their treatment of Naruto wasn't all that bad - except a few.

Izumi found this out because her only living relative, her great-aunt Kazue on her mother's side, had been married to a late member of the Clan Council with connections to the higher-ups of the entire village. Two months ago, her mother Hazuki passed on from the fatal fever that scourged the Leaf. Third time was the charm. That old saying meant either better or worse than before, and the result was final on her end as well as the others around her.

She couldn't be called an orphan now since she was eighteen and a woman. But her great-aunt was the only family she had left, so you could say that Kazue lived with her instead of the other way around. The two women lived in the district, but she herself wasn't an official member because her father had lived on the outside. Hazuki proved to be a rare example that a woman could TRY and make a difference by breaking from the prison that was the old way in today's standards, but as a consequence, the child coming out of it was declared a "half-blood" - though Izumi did awaken her Sharingan the night her father died.

No good part of the clan asked for her hand in marriage, because of her half-blood. Because of that, she lacked proper chakra levels to control the bloodline, so during her Academy and Genin days, she fainted from the pressure which earned laughter from some of the other children. Even some Uchiha adults shook their head with disappointment. It stung her very much, but did she stop there?

The clan - distrustful and hatred of many outsiders - did not consider her father one of them even though her mother was. They did not see his sacrifice as an honor to protect his own village even if he wasn't a Shinobi. She tried to hate them for it, but hate bred more harm than good.

The lesson had been instilled in her by Hazuki and her aunt, whom Izumi was just coming home to, still in her Jonin uniform. To be a warrior for her village was an honor if she didn't have all the requirements of her clan. Minato-sama really saw it in her because it was Shisui who brought her to his attention.

Shisui Uchiha stood out from the rest of them - a rare send that made you realize you weren't alone in believing things would one day be better. He was a great captain and saw her taijutsu skills as needed in his squad. It was an honor to be recognized - but the childish side of her wished she could gain more recognition amongst the rest of the clan if he could!

Calling out a greeting to the older woman who was in the kitchen, she proceeded to remove her sandals and then her vest, hanging the latter beside the door and picking the other to drop before the level leading to the main floor. The house was smaller than the rest of the district, but it was home and cozy. She refused to live in a bigger place unless she got married. She was only eighteen and had everything she wanted so far, but something was missing.

"You shouldn't ask for so much," Shisui had told her once, eyes glinting. "Because when you have it all, you develop an ego that rivals even the Hokage. That was the kind of man Madara was."

Great-Aunt Kazue poked her head around the corner. Her lustrous raven hair had become more gray as time went on. She had raised her niece Hazuki since the death of her sister who was Izumi's grandmother, serving as the substitute for the lack of a father in the clan. As a result, Izumi had little experience with men. Shisui was a great example that there was a once in a lifetime man who didn't treat those around him like a piece of dirt.

"Izumi-chan," the old woman said with a smile. Despite the fading hair in a braid down her back, there were no lines on the face except in the corners of the eyes and the mouth. "Successful?" Her vocabulary was minimal but powerful. The younger woman nodded and walked into the kitchen to see the dinnerware out and ready to be filled with the exquisite foods prepared on the stove and in the oven.

"It was," she answered. "The bloodthirsty Mist won't be back for awhile."

She reached up and pulled her headband from her forehead, keeping it tied but wrapped around her neck like the way the Hyuuga heiress wore hers. "How about you, oba-san?"

Kazue huffed as she brought out the perch covered in citrus from the oven. At her age, her back still had wonders to bend or stand straight if she chose. "I still hear talk about the Kiri beasts. Despite what the Mizukage tries, there are those who won't let go of the Bloody Mist past." Even the name would never be wiped if you wanted it to be.

Izumi nodded her agreement and picked up the oyakodon dish, which was chicken and onion made with eggs and rice. "Yeah. But I'm glad to be a part of those keeping them at bay. Shisui and I scared them away ourselves, but we won't take all the credit."

"Blast the fools who see only our teleporter instead of you and he," Kazue spat, shaking her head. "Hmph! Not that I hate the boy, but you, my sweet girl, should be recognized someday soon. Lord Fourth recognizes you out there, but these fools of our clan should start seeing you for who you are - and I don't mean just the fact of whose blood you carry." She was telling her what she could do instead of what everyone else wanted to see. Even the Sharingan couldn't pierce through that.

"I've been trying all these years, Auntie."

"Trying won't suffice much longer, Izu-chan. Doing is beyond that limit." A delicate, bony hand waved everything off. "But no matter that. Perhaps something else can take your mind off this." Clean, even white teeth bared in the brightest smile that had passed down to Hazuki.

Izumi raised both eyebrows. What did her great-aunt have to say that could possibly cheer her up? There used to be a lot of things to make her happy in the simplest way, but her innocence dwindled away each day that passed. Her parents gone, the clan's indifference - yet she was forced to smile in their faces like nothing affected her. Was this how Naruto Uzumaki felt when he smiled to pretend he wasn't in pain over the burden that was the fox demon inside him?

If it was, then she knew how he felt.

"The Council is still searching for a new bride for Itachi-san."

Suddenly, her world stopped spinning midway before tilting and continuing the motion, her stomach heating to the core. Itachi... "A-Auntie?" Izumi repeated, pausing in putting the chicken and rice down on the table. "I thought..." She cleared her throat. "I thought he was already engaged."

Kazue shook her head. "I suppose you haven't heard because you were away. She passed away from the epidemic, but the elders are still trying to find him a new candidate." She clicked her tongue. "That boy...he may prove better than his father. I see a possible new era for us all, even if it won't be easy to sway those clinging to the old ways. However, the matter of a wife - I won't be surprised if he places his foot down now that Fugaku-san is out of the picture. That shrewd old fool - but he is one less to worry about." Izumi winced at her great-aunt speaking that way about a fellow Uchiha, but it wouldn't be the first time anyone in a clan would speak ill to another or keep to themselves.

"I don't see why I should be concerned with this," she said dejectedly. Indeed, she hadn't seen or spoken to the Uchiha heir since they were eleven and he had just entered ANBU. When she learned this, she remembered being happy for him despite what he said to her once...

When she looked into Kazue's gleaming dark eyes like her own, Izumi Uchiha did not like the look in them - or the memory of an unsmiling, collected boy with his long ebony hair tied behind his head, matching eyes brewing with a storm. Which began to make her belly heat grow hotter. It was a feeling she hadn't had since that age.

Subconsciously, she reached for the thing she always wore around her left wrist - the bracelet of braided dark leather looped with crystals of blue, gold and clear. The bracelet HE made her himself.

I don't know if Izumi had any other relatives besides her mother and father who wasn't a member of the clan, but I'd envisioned her having someone near and dear to her on her mother's side who accepted her. :) Since Izumi was unofficial, it was obvious to believe she might have mixed reviews from her clansmen; her lack of requirements when awakening the Sharingan was an addition to it, but she made up with taijutsu which Rock Lee did as well. Her journey here is filled with trial and error. To prove herself in the eyes of Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha clan will take all the fight she needs.

In "Chosen for the Marriage Bed", the male protagonist Richard Malinder was widowed, having lost his first wife in childbirth and had to marry again to produce an heir to secure his house. Thus comes in Elizabeth, the heroine who becomes his new wife. They are from enemy households who must forge an uneasy alliance, but the two fall in love amidst the suspicion and fear, murder amongst one, and against pride.

REVIEW PLEASE. :D LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THEM.