The summer breeze moves her bangs and Reishi sighs contentedly. She feels more or less at peace, here in the garden. There's a stream that runs nearby and the sound of rushing water helps her relax and leave her mind to wander, devoid of specific thoughts.

The garden inside the Uchiha manor is her new favourite spot to meditate, a practice that Fugaku approves of and that Mikoto finds adorable for some reason.

She has been getting better at sensing chakra around her, even when she isn't meditating, but she still likes the sensation of losing herself in a galaxy of chakra signatures, each person's energy shining like a star in her mind's eye.

She notes with amusement the ANBU posted nearby. There's been always an ANBU following her since she got Fugaku as a tutor, for some reason she can't comprehend. Today, though, is one of the good days.

"Hey," she calls out, "are you going to stay all day on that roof or are you going to come down and say hi?"

Bear's signature moves and suddenly she can feel him in front of her. When she opens her eyes she sees him cocking his head to the side, a sign that he's amused. "Hi," he says, deadpan. Reishi picks a small pebble she had nearby and throws it at him for being an ass, it bounces off his mask.

"So you're going to be like that, huh? Not even going to avoid the pebble. Fine, be that way, I suppose I can share the cookies Mikoto made yesterday with someone else," she says.

"Woah there, shorty, let's not make harsh decisions," he says with barely contained laughter. He never stays long to talk with her, but at least the days he's on guard he usually comes by to say hi and see how is she doing.

Reishi huffs, aggravated. "I told you the next time you called me that I would break your kneecaps."

"Well it's not like you can reach much higher, can you?"

Reishi stares him down, unimpressed. "Look at you, talking like that to an innocent six year old. Very mature."

"Does that mean I get no cookies."

Reishi leans in, still sitting cross-legged on the grass, and whispers, "the cookies were a lie."

Bear gasps and covers the lower part of his mask with a hand, taking the other one to rest over his chest in mock shock. He takes half a step back too, for maximum effect. "How could you?" He whispers back, "not the cookies."

Reishi snickers and gets up. "Just follow me, dingus."

"We need to have a conversation about your lack of respect towards authority figures," he comments. Reishi, who had been walking ahead, turns around to look at him with a rised eyebrow. "Okay. Me," he concedes, "we have to talk about your lack of respect towards me."

Reishi snorts as they enter the kitchen, then hands him a small plate and he takes a cookie. Reishi sees the cookie disappear behind his mask, wondering how he looks behind it.

"It hurts my feelings," he whines, still eating the cookie.

Reishi sighs, "how old were you again?"

Reishi hears the intake of breath Bear takes before answering, but she never gets to hear an answer, because Mikoto walks into the kitchen right in that instant. She is very pale and her eyes are wide open.

"My water just broke," she states in a serious tone. Bear's cookie falls to the ground.

"Oh, oh dear. Uh," he looks between Reishi, who is frozen in her spot of the kitchen, and Mikoto, "oh no."

"Get your shit together!" Mikoto shouts at him, and he immediately straightens his back.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am."

"Okay, you," she points to Bear, "help me get to my room upstairs," she orders, then her voice turns softer, "Reishi honey go and alert the medics in the hospital alright?"

Reishi nods and hesitates for a moment while she sees Bear throw Mikoto's arm over his shoulders and gently pick her up to carry her, then she takes off as fast as she can in the direction of the hospital.

Fugaku had been insisting these last weeks for Mikoto to go stay there so they would be prepared for when the baby came, but she had refused, saying that she wasn't giving birth in a place that smelled like antiseptic and that she was staying home, and Fugaku had never stood a chance in an argument against his wife. ( To be fair, nobody ever stood a chance against Mikoto in an argument.)

Reishi arrives there short of breath and practically tackles to the ground the first nurse that crosses her line of sight. In ten minutes, a medical team is organized and ready to go and, for the first time, Reishi is glad for Konoha's military-like society. At least they get to work quick and know when to cut the paperwork.

She stays behind when offered to go back to the house with them, saying that someone has to tell Fugaku.

The man in question is in the police's main building, supervising the training of some of the new recruits. She rushes towards him and he frowns. "Reishi you shouldn't be running inside buildings, it's not proper."

"I know, I know, but-"

"No buts, you could bump into someone, people here are busy and it's impolite to-"

Reishi interrupts him, half yelling from the stress. This isn't the moment for this conversation. "Your damn wife is in labor!"

Somewhere in the background a kunai clatters to the ground and everything is silent for a second before chaos ensues. The other Uchiha present congratulate Fugaku, who is frozen looking at Reishi, then he turns at who Reishi deduces is the second in command and excuses himself before hastily leaving.

He doesn't run inside the building, though Reishi notices with amusement that he walks awfully fast. The moment they are outside, he picks her up and runs faster than she has ever seen him run. She is kind of grateful that he thought of picking her up at all, because she would have been mildly offended to be left behind.

When they arrive at the house he lets her down gently and runs inside.

Reishi takes her time to walk into the house, where she can hear a ruckus coming from upstairs, she has ran all the way to the hospital and then to get Fugaku and – though her stamina has been improving under Fugaku's tutelage – she needs a moment to breathe.

She finds Bear awkwardly standing around inside, back in the kitchen. There are no cookies left.

"Nice weather, huh?" He says with a hint of humour. From upstairs comes the shrilling scream of a woman, probably Mikoto's.

"Yeah, it's very sunny... very nice yes." Reishi answers. Another scream fills the air. And they are both silent for a few seconds.

Bear turns at her. "Please give me an excuse to leave."

Reishi laughs. "Well if you're going to beg like that... I'll let you invite me to sweets and tea."

He hums, as if thinking about it, then gets up and offers her his hand. "You are an evil being inside a kid's body," he states.

Reishi slaps his hand playfully, she knows that he offered it to tease her about being a kid, and walks to the front door. "You got me," she says solemnly, "now I'll have to kill you. After the tea, of course," she adds. He laughs and follows her through the door.

To be honest, she wasn't expecting him to be such a good 'banter partner', she is a little kid, after all, and most people act weirded out by her or simply don't realize that they are talking to a fully developed adult mind. Bear though, she feels like he gets her. Ever since they talked for the first time, he just took her weirdness in stride and adapted to it.

It's refreshing to have someone to talk with as an equal.

It's not like she can't talk with Obito freely, but there are jokes he wouldn't understand as a kid, and topics she doesn't want to breach. With bear though, she can be herself, and she appreciates that. It does wonders for her mental health to not have to think about everything she wants to say and turn it again and again in her head in case it's not proper to say in front of a kid that, let's face it, is mentally older than he should thanks to a fucked up society.

It's not like she can blurt out anything, she still has to keep a facade, but the filter she uses for Bear isn't as thick as the one she uses with the rest of the people around her.

They walk side by side, ignoring the odd looks of the people around them at the sight of an ANBU operative walking in the street openly and chatting with a kid. It's not like he isn't doing his job anyways, as he's supposed to keep an eye on Reishi and that's exactly what he's doing, right? Right.

They find a tea shop not too far from the house and sit inside, waiting patiently for the waitress, who is hurrying from one table to another like a hummingbird between flowers. It seems to be a busy day for the poor girl. When she finally gets to the table, she gives them both a tired but genuine smile, not even reacting at the ANBU mask.

"What would you like today?" She asks Reishi, who has been here before in other occasions, brought by Mikoto.

"For me the usual, plus a dango ration for take-away please."

The waitress the turns to Bear, who is cocking his head in his usual amused manner, and he asks to have a green tea coupled with a cinnamon pie slice. "What is the takeaway ration for?", he asks when the waitress is gone, then adds with amusement, "couldn't resist to empty my wallet?"

"Nah, if I wanted to empty your wallet I would have taken you to the patisserie two streets over. They put tables outside now that the weather is warmer and their prices are ridiculous. The dangos are for Mikoto, for later," she explains.

"Awww, look at you, caring about people. Maybe you aren't as dead inside as you look."

"I have always been dead," she says with dry humor. It's a pity that nobody will ever find out how funny that statement truly is.

"You are just," he pauses, and sighs, "such a delight to be around, you know? A ray of sunshine."

"That's not how you were going to finish that phrase," she deadpans.

"Nope."

Reishi levels him with an unimpressed stare. "Do I even want to know?"

"I sure as hell hope not, I'd like to keep my kneecaps."

Reishi snorts, kicking his knee under the table, and Bear lets out a little high pitched yelp that sounds ridiculous coming from someone with such a deep voice. Reishi stares at him, thinking, before talking again. "Hey, you never told me how old were you. Are you hiding something or what?" She jokes.

Bear snorts. "Yeah right, all that?" He jabs his thumbs towards the Uchiha manor's direction, "I planned it, I'm a mastermind, you got me," when Reishi keeps staring at him in her patented creepy way he adds, "seventeen, I'm seventeen okay? Just stop looking at me like that, I feel like you can see my sins or something."

"Seventeen?! Are you kidding? You're massive!" Reishi exclaims, surprised. She thought that he was twenty three, minimum.

"That's what she said."

"You are disgusting," Reishi says shaking her head in disapproval.

"And yet you smile, milady, I sense a contradiction here," Bear answers in his most obnoxious impression of a nobleman.

Soon the waitress is back and they enjoy their sweets. Bear seems to find the cinnamon pie delicious, though Reishi is only deducing this based on the scarce sounds behind the mask and he could very well hate it for all she knows.

She lazily takes a bite of her red bean paste filled mochi as she observes the sky, it must have been an hour since Mikoto went into labor, maybe two. She wonders how is it going but she doesn't want to go back to the house yet, there are too many people there for her liking and she is pretty sure that Mikoto won't be done for a while. Childbirth does tend to be a long tedious thing.

Once they have finished their tea – Reishi still hates green tea with her very soul but it's not like there are more tea options – they go separate ways, mostly because Bear's shift is about to end and he doesn't want the next ANBU to find him having tea with the person he is supposed to be monitoring.

Reishi decides to go to the library, it has been a while since she visited, and there were a few books she wanted to take a look at. Her plans are thwarted, however, when she crosses paths with a familiar figure. She is about to scurry off, hoping she didn't see her, when Rin turns around.

"Ah, Ikotsu-san, wait!"

Reishi halts, and turns to look back at the girl, who is fidgeting nervously. "Uh, okay?"

Rin looks at her feet, timid, before looking up again with a look of determination. "I have been meaning to talk to you," she nervously tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "if you don't mind, that is."

Reishi stays silent for a second, doubting. On one hand her initial intention was to avoid the walking corpses that inhabit Konoha at all costs, on the other, she is already in too deep anyways. She is living with Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, for crying out loud, it can't get any worse than that.

Besides, even though their relationship doesn't feel as strained as before, Obito is still acting weird for some reason and she can feel the awkwardness. Maybe she can patch up whatever hole their friendship is slowly bleeding out of by making it right by Rin, she is very important to Obito right? He would probably be happy to learn that they are in good terms.

"Uhm, yes, of course," Reishi says. Rin's face splits into a timid smile.

They walk to the nearest park and sit on a bench and Reishi waits for Rin to say whatever it is that she wants. The waiting is terrifying because, now that she thinks about it, it's very possible that Rin hates her, or at the very least dislikes her. She would be in her right to do so, as Reishi practically told a third person – Obito – to tell her that she didn't want to associate with her. She didn't even do it herself, which was, Reishi recognizes, a dick move on her part.

What if Rin convinces Obito that Reishi isn't a good friend to him? What if she takes him away from her? If she is like the Rin she saw on the show it's unlikely, but what if she isn't?

"So I have been thinking," Rin starts, and Reishi holds her breath, "and I wanted to apologize."

Wait. What? "Come again?"

"I wanted to apologize to you, if I said something that hurt you or offended you in any way. I'm sorry," Rin says, her voice full of sincerity. It's obvious that she means it and that she has been feeling guilty about it, even though she has probably never done anything wrong in her life.

Reishi sighs, feeling very tired – and a lot like the bad person like she is – and does her best to come up with an excuse that lays all the blame on herself and doesn't sound like 'sorry but you're going to die and I was afraid of being hurt when you were gone because I'm too selfish to even try to prevent your death'.

"Look, I just," she starts, then sighs again, not knowing how to phrase it, "It's not your fault, okay? You didn't do anything wrong. I was just- I'm not very good with people, you must have already noticed that much. And it was a little bit intimidating to socialize with another person."

Rin's smile grows wider, relieved. "We did notice that you only hung out after class with Obito, but we didn't really know why. Ibiki did mention that you didn't seem to like crowds though."

"You guys... talk about me?"

"Well, no, I mean, nothing bad! It's just, Obito talks a lot about you... a-and the things he says doesn't really match with who you are in class so... w-we just..." Rin stutters, flustered.

"You were curious," Reishi finishes for her. She isn't mad that they talk about her, just a little confused. She isn't that interesting, she just trains and reads all day, that's it, "it's fine, I don't mind."

"S-so... we're good?" Rin asks, hopeful.

Reishi nods, giving her a small smile. "Yeah, we're good."

"So do I get a hug?"

"Don't push it."

She arrives at the house at sunset and sees Fugaku sitting in the stairs with a wide eyed look and his head between his hands, Mikoto's screams, while weaker and now broken, still fill the house from time to time.

She was going to get something to drink, but she guesses that can wait.

Reishi walks to the base of the stairs and sits a few steps down from where Fugaku is, resting her head on the side of his thigh. Fugaku lays a hand on her head and leaves it there absent-mindedly.

They wait like that for a long time, until the sun has set down and the hallway is so dark Reishi can only see Fugaku's silhouette against the moonlight. The house has been eerily quiet for the past ten minutes or so, until suddenly the cry of a baby pierces the silence.

Fugaku tenses and they both look at each other in the darkness before sprinting upstairs. Reishi has the intention of letting Fugaku in first, but he gently pushes her inside the room before he enters and closes the door once the last medic is gone and he has been assured that everything went well.

Inside, Mikoto is laying on the bed, her forehead is covered in sweat and some hair strands stick to her face, she looks exhausted.

A tiny gurgle, barely a sound, draws Reishi's eyes to the small bundle Mikoto is holding in her arms.

Fugaku walks to the bed and sits on it's edge, softly kissing Mikoto on the top of her head, and she smiles back at him.

Reishi feels terribly displaced. She isn't part of this, she doesn't know why did she even come upstairs in the first place. Fugaku and Mikoto are living the happiest moment of their lives and she's ruining their perfect picture by lurking in the sidelines.

She can't leave now though, that would be rude, wouldn't it? They would probably think that she doesn't want to meet the baby or something like that, and she doesn't want to be rude to the people that are housing her. Because she doesn't want to get kicked out and because she does, indeed, want to meet the baby.

Mikoto notices her awkwardly standing near the door and gives her a reassuring smile, motioning for Reishi to get closer to the bed. Reishi walks slowly, trying not to make any noise in the wooden floor that could wake the baby up.

Upon closer inspection, he looks... ugly, like all newborn babies. Honestly, she should have been expecting that.

His eyes are open though, looking right at her, though she doubts he sees anything more than a blur. When he sees her he gurgles again and grimaces. She decides to interpret it as a smile, because newborn babies aren't very good at facial expressions anyways.

"Hi," Reishi says, and the baby gurgles once more.

Mikoto laughs, albeit weakly, after all the efforts of the evening. "I think he likes you."

"I am obviously his favourite person in the room," Reishi jokes.

Fugaku let's out a bark of laugh, and Mikoto lightly jabs him on the ribs with her elbow. "Sorry," he whispers.

"Oh, before I forget," says Reishi, and takes a package from her pocket, leaving it on the bedside table nearest to Mikoto, "Bear and I got you some dango when we went to the tea shop."

Mikoto looks at her, confused. "Bear?"

"The ANBU that was here this evening after lunch, the one that carried you upstairs," explains Reishi.

"Ah, yes," Mikoto says, "I remember him. But what was he doing here?"

Reishi scratches her cheek, she thought that Mikoto and Fugaku already knew about the ANBU monitoring her, but she sees that she was wrong. "Oh well, he's supposed to keep an eye on me. I mean not just him, there are other ANBU. He's not like, all day working, he has the evening shift lately I think."

She can visibly see Fugaku tense. He and Mikoto interchange a look. "And this man, how long have you known him?" Fugaku asks.

"I don't know, a while I guess. A little bit after I met you."

Fugaku nods slowly. "Does he buy you things?"

"Uh, yeah, he invited me to tea and mochis while I waited for, well, for the baby," Reishi answers getting more and more confused, she doesn't understand why are they so interested in Bear, he's just a friend. They don't ask that many questions about Obito or the guys in her class.

Fugaku and Mikoto seem to be getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. There's a tense silence in which they doesn't seem to know what to do until finally Mikoto asks, "does he play with you?"

Everything clicks into place and Reishi's face contort into a grimace of disgust. "Ew no, he's not molesting me, he just says hi sometimes and we talk a bit and he leaves to his post. I mean having him monitoring me is creepy but it's not like he wants to, it's his job. At least I know who he is, not like the other ANBU."

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry honey-," starts Mikoto.

"We didn't mean-," Interrupts Fugaku, who seems flustered.

"I'm sure he's a very nice man," finishes Mikoto.

Fugaku heaves a long-suffering sigh. "Let's never mention this again."

"Agreed," says Reishi nodding vehemently. She will cringe when remembering this for the years to come, she just knows it.

Fugaku hastily walks down the corridor of the Hokage tower; not long ago he requested a meeting with the Hokage to talk about the vigilance of his student, and he has been waiting for a week now.

He isn't too annoyed by that though, he understands that the war has priority and it's not like he is in a rush.

He would like to know why nobody told him that his student was under a twenty four hour surveillance though. That seems like an important bit of information.

The person inside the meeting room isn't the Hokage, and he's mildly surprised for a second before recovering and greeting the man sitting in one of the armchairs. Danzō greets him back and motions for him to sit on the armchair in front of him.

"What a pleasant surprise, Danzō-sama, I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"The pleasure is mine. I'm afraid Hokage-sama is busy at the moment, he hasn't been able to meet with you today."

"That is alright." It's not alright, not at all. He requested a meeting with the Hokage, and as a head of one of the most prominent clans it is disrespectful to, not only not grant his request after a whole week of waiting, but schedule a meeting with somebody else without noticing him. He can't say that to Danzō's wrinkled face though.

"May I ask what seems to be the issue? I have been informed that it is related to your tutorship of Ikotsu Reishi, but little details were given," continues Danzō, "is she giving you any trouble?"

"No, not at all. She has progressed at a fast pace and is a very polite child. The issue is, rather, that I hadn't been informed of her being under surveillance."

Danzō frowns. "I thought the Hokage had told you already. She was deemed to be a high risk missing nin by a psychiatrist evaluation, backed up with the analysis of the notes taken by said psychiatrist by a member of the Yamanaka clan belonging to T&I."

"Risk of missing nin? She is only six, she must have been five by the time she was diagnosed," says Fugaku, sceptic. It is true, however, that after his chat with the psychiatrist two months ago, he has been increasingly concerned about Reishi's behaviour, but that was more related to her barely eating than anything else.

"I understand your concern, Uchiha-dono, but I read over the report myself and I can confirm it. That risk played a big part on why the Hokage wanted her to have a good influence outside the academy, thus choosing a tutor for her," explains Danzō.

"Still, so young..."

Danzō nods solemnly. "It is a pity, yes, and so talented as well. I would understand, however, if you refused to keep tutoring her now that you know the truth. When you agreed to it you didn't have this information, after all, and now with a new impressionable addition to the house... Well, we wouldn't want little Itachi to be influenced."

Fugaku doubts for a moment, being marked a missing nin risk, however low, is a terrible stain on a ninja's record. Then he tenses, horrified at his own doubts. "I am sure that Reishi-san will be nothing but a good influence on my son, she has proved to be a very bright child and I trust the Hokage's judgement."

Danzō, who had been leaning in, seemingly eager, reclines back on his armchair. "I see, that is commendable of you. However, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Of course."

"The girl, as you must have noticed thanks to the incident a few moths ago, has a natural talent for the abilities necessary for, say, the ANBU forces. I personally think that she would benefit of starting ANBU training early on, as it would help bringing a structure to her life that she has lacked as a child due to unfortunate circumstances," explains Danzō.

Fugaku frowns. "With all due respect, Danzō-sama, I think she is still too young for ANBU. Even if during war times the age for entering is lower, she is still six."

"Six with the mentality of a full grown adult, you know that better than I do, you have lived with her."

Fugaku shakes his head. "Even if she is intellectually mature, she is still a child, and her abilities are still that of a genin."

"Very well," Danzō concedes, "I was merely suggesting an option, but as her tutor, I understand that you have the last word. I will ask you to keep the possibility in mind though, the doors of ANBU are always open for your student."

"I will think about it," says Fugaku, though he has already made up his mind about the subject.

Danzō nods and watches like hawk as Fugaku leaves the room.