Chapter 10: Secrets

She ran back towards Konoha. She had gathered the information and had to report back. She stopped suddenly as Itachi landed in front of her. She was not worried about getting hurt right now. He would not harm her.

"I want to see how strong you have gotten, Kagome," he said, a shine in his eyes that was unidentifiable.

"Alright, Itachi.' She got into a fighting stance as he stood still. He seemed to try to activate his sharingan. She did not fall into the genjutsu. "That does not work on me, Itachi."

"Hn. I didn't expect it to." He started to do hand signs as she did the same. The two attacks clashed and she leapt up before throwing shuurican. He dodged and threw kunai but she dodged and leapt forward, a kunai barely missing her. She swiped at him and he dodged. She attacked as she did one handed hand signs. Vines leapt up and blocked his retreat. She had placed a cut on his cheek. He was surprised by this.

"Hn." He leapt up and away. "You are fast and clever, Kagome."

"I've practiced a lot." She leapt at him and he leapt towards her. Their kunai clashed and sparks flew but nothing caught fire. They jumped back and she cart wheeled away from a blast of fire he sent towards her. She did more hand signs and the fire was extinguished. She leapt forward and vanished. She appeared behind him, a kunai to his throat, but he had a kunai to her stomach.

"It's a tie than." They pulled away and he turned to face her.

"You should return to Konoha now. I will visit you again soon."

"Alright." She hugged him. He smiled down at her and hugged her. They drew apart and he was gone and she leapt forward, her report and his scroll was within the confines of her bag. She would report to Sarutobi and hopefully get answers to the Uchiha clan massacre. She wanted to know and possibly find a way to bring him back into Konoha. She missed him as it was.

Sarutobi sat at his desk doing paper work when Kagome appeared in his window. He looked up at her as she approached and kneeled.

"You are back a few days early."

"I know, Hokage-sama. I had gathered a lot of information while in Suna." She reached into her bag and pulled up paper that was bound together. She placed the rather large book on his desk. "This is all the information I had gathered on Suna, their plan with sound, and the team they are sending for the chuunin exams. I was also attacked by sound on the way there."

"Where you…"

"They stood no chance against me. The moment they heard my name they tried to flee." She reached into her bag again and withdrew a sealed scroll. "I was also told to give this to you." She placed the scroll on top of the book.

"Who told you to give this to me?" His eyes narrowed.

"Uchiha Itachi. He said it was past due."

"Hn." He opened the scroll and read it. The information in the scroll was new to him. But it was the truth. He rolled it back up and looked back to Kagome. "You can…"

"Hokage-sama, what can you tell me about the Uchiha massacre?" She looked confused. "Itachi said there was something that caused the massacre to take place but not what."

"There is many things that led up to the massacre, Kagome." He looked her in the eye. "Fugaku was planning to lead the others of the Uchiha clan to revolt against the Hokage and take over the village. Itachi was playing double agent and was attempting to talk his father out of it. He didn't want to listen. The night before the scheduled attack I had him kill the whole clan, with the exception to Sasuke. It was to ensure that the Uchiha clan was still alive, but also so that many innocent people didn't have to die. We decided that he would have to become a rogue ninja after that."

"Then it wasn't really his fault." He nodded. "But there is something you are not telling me."

"I will tell you more when you get older Kagome, for now you are dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." She bowed and vanished in a flurry of sakura petals.

"There is something you need to know," Itachi said as he approached a man.

"And that would be?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Your clan is still alive." He noticed the man's eyes widen slightly. "Kagome is the head of the clan. She was on a mission in Suna. She is strong, stronger than one should be at the age of twelve."

"And this concerns me how?"

"I just thought you would want to know how your clan member was doing. She plans on re-establishing the clan. She is yet to know that the Hisawa clan is responsible for the decrease in the clan. You should return to the clan. From what she said, any from the Higurashi clan is welcome back into Konoha."

"Perhaps I will return." He had felt the pull many years ago but ignored it. He figured it was a trap, but if he was welcome back in Konoha with no threat to him, then he would take it. He had not taken the woman with him as his own because of the fact Kagome had to approve of it. He would take her with him.

"You will have to tell leader."

"He does not need me, or Kagura," he stated. He just walked away.

"Kagome-sama!" The twins greeted as they ran and hugged her waist. "You are back early!"

"I figured I would take the clan out for some yakiniku." The twins cheered and ran in doors to get the others. They came out moments later and they walked to the nearest yakiniku stand. They were seated and they ordered. They never saw that Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru were in a table a few tables away. They whispered but Kagome paid them no mind.

"How did your mission go, Kagome-sama?" Kanna asked and blushed when Kakashi sat beside her moments later.

"It was uneventful, but successful." She flipped the meat and it sizzled. "So I see you took my offer, Kakashi."

"Hai, Kagome-sama." He smiled, mask still hiding his lower face. "We were thinking of having the wedding in autumn." Kagome nodded. "You would have to perform the ceremony, and Hanamei was going to be the flower girl and Toji can be the ring bearer."

"Yes, what colors?"

"We were thinking white, grey, and red," Kanna answered forward.

"Hn." She nodded. She picked up the meat and placed it on Hanamei's rice. She picked up another and gave it to Toji as Katsuragi placed some in her bowl. Kakashi flipped more meat after placing some in Kanna's bowl. She blushed and ate as Hitoki placed more meat on the wire rack.

"Kakashi is familiar with them?" Ino asked Shikamaru.

"How should I know?" Kakashi's back was to them and there was a wall in front of them. "It isn't like I talk to any of them."

"But they are eating together, and they aren't complaining that he joined them."

"Why would we complain?" Kagome asked as she stood behind them. "Kakashi is almost apart of the clan." They gulped and looked at her. "Yes, an excellent addition to the Higurashi clan."

"Err, we were just leaving." Ino slammed money on the table and started to pull Chouji and Shikamaru out of the restaurant.

She retreated back to the table and the twins laughed at a joke. Hitoki smiled and Kanna blushed as Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. She remained silent. There were hardly such happy moments like this for their family. The twins were getting teased and picked on but did not reveal any jutsu or strength that they had, just as Kagome forbid. She told them it would do no good to harm them for they were a part of Konoha and therefore was not to be harmed unless in a battle such as the chuunin exams or a mission, or training, but the twins only trained with each other.

And Kanna was constantly being hit on when Kakashi wasn't around. Katsuragi was just about in the same boat, when he wasn't on a mission. Kagome hadn't pressured him so much, saying that none of the females so far she had approved of. He was glad because he was yet to be ready to settle down. But he knew Kagome would not put it off forever. Perhaps he would ask her to seek elsewhere for his bride. But he would have to ask for her permission, as well as the Hokage's permission to leave the village. He sighed. It would be harder finding a bride.

Hitoki stuck to the compound and looked after everything. He was much too old to be doing any missions so he gathered herbs from the garden and would go grocery shopping. Kagome didn't have much time for it now, being an ANBU. She was away often. He would take up the slack. She had told him once the clan was more stable she would stop being an ANBU and be the head rightfully. She truly cared about them.

Author's Corner:

I know not everyone is thrilled with the pairing, and I didn't update yesterday, but I didn't have enough time to do so. I'll try to make up for it later, but this is the next chapter.

From what I remember from the anime and manga, Itachi was at least eight years older than Sasuke. Sasuke was about five when Itachi picked up ANBU and killed his clan, so he would be roughly nineteen or twenty.

Another member of the Higurashi clan has entered. What will come with his arrival to Konoha? One cannot tell right now. But enjoy.

Memory Corner:

She sat alone. It was snowing and her father had been dead a year now, and Itachi was gone now. Naruto was so busy with his training, even now. She had trained but she wanted to think. She missed her father and Itachi. Her mother's family was cruel to her. She was currently nursing a bruised wrist from her uncle. She didn't wince. She would not show weakness like Itachi and her father taught her. But she would not reveal everything either.

"For the two of you, I will remain strong and distant. I will re-establish the Higurashi clan one day," she said softly. A voice whispered to her.

"You will survive this and be stronger for it." It sounded like Itachi's voice, but she was unsure. She simply held her wrist and stood. She would wrap her wrist and sleep. The clan would not feed her tonight because she was not one of them. She stood out in the clan.

"I will find you again one day, Itachi." She turned from the snow and moved further in. She would train again later.