The next day at school Yusei completely floored his teachers, not once but twice. They couldn't believe how advanced his jutsu's were. Before he had seemed so average but now he was skilled enough to take and pass the final exam. Then he surprised them again by refusing to take it.

"But why?" Iruka asked, his mouth hanging open in surprise. "You're more than qualified!"

Yusei shook his head. "I just don't feel ready for it." What he wouldn't admit was that he didn't want to graduate before Katsuye. He secretly hoped to be on her genin team after graduation. Also the bratty side of him wanted to prove to Yasashiku that he was the superior one. But to his dismay, Yasashiku not only didn't feel jealous, but congratulated him on his abilities. His "new" abilities made him more popular than before, but he took care to give Katsuye the attention she deserved.

Over the course of the next two years, Katsuye noticed that Yusei was beginning to change. On his own he was just as cocky and mischievous as he always had been. But when it came to her, he toned things down and paid close attention to her. He still couldn't stand Yasashiku, but she had come to accept that would always be the case. But there was something else she had never seen before. There was a special twinkle in his eyes whenever she drew close and a certain softness about him that took her breath away. He stirred strange feelings in her that she couldn't explain; feelings of longing with the thrill of excitement. When she was with Yasashiku, things made sense and were predictable. She felt safe and secure. So why did she seek out Yusei more often and why did her hand seem to slip into his without her being aware of it?

It didn't make sense at all and she hated that. She was a methodical person; things worked a certain way and fall into their proper place. But this time the pieces didn't fit and she didn't know what to do. So one restless night she found her mother alone in the study, looking through a book. She knocked on the door frame and Ritsuko looked up. "You're up late."

Katsuye rubbed her arm awkwardly and looked away. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep."

"Is something wrong?" Ritsuko asked inquisitively.

"Not really," She confessed. "At least…not yet…maybe…I don't know."

Ritsuko giggled and gestured for her to come closer. "This isn't like you; you're always so sure of yourself. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

She turned red and became flustered. "How did you know that you loved Dad?"

"Why do you ask?"

Katsuye bit her lip. "Because I'm not sure about my feelings for Yasashiku. I do love him, and yet…sometimes it doesn't feel enough. Is the fault with him or with me? What should I do?" She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "I just can't make sense of this."

Ritsuko looked a little exasperated. "You're far too rational for your own good and love isn't something that's super rational."

Katsuye pressed a hand against her aching forehead. "So what you're telling me is that this will never make sense?"

"Come here," her mom said softly as she pulled her down to sit beside her. "What I'm saying is that it's half the fun of being in love."

She absent-mindedly twirled the ends of her hair as she thought. "But how did you know that Dad was the right one for you?"

A creak sounded out in the hallway and Ritsuko turned her head towards the door, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Then she smirked. "Well I suppose it's because I had no choice."

"What?" Katsuye blurted out. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to hear, but it sure wasn't this. "What do you mean?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "You remember that I told you I was apprenticed to your dad? Well he wouldn't let me date anyone, not after he found out that I went on a date 'behind his back.' He completely freaked out and forbid any further dates. I guess he figured that with no other options I'd have to marry him instead. Very sneaky huh?"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kisame blurted out as he burst into the room and marched right up to her. It was very obvious that he had been eavesdropping. "You were fourteen and he was twenty!"

"That's still less than our ten year gap," She said dryly as she raised an eyebrow.

Now he was getting flustered. "He was completely wrong for you anyway. You should be grateful that I saved you from his-"

She laughed as she stood up, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He stopped mid temper and kissed her back. Kisame can be a bit rough around the edges, but it was obvious that she had a softening effect on him. Maybe that's what love is supposed to be, two people who help the other to be their best selves.

When they finished, he slipped his arms around her waist and held her close with a smile. "I see, you were only teasing, weren't you?"

She giggled. "Of course and it serves you right for eavesdropping. Now if you don't mind, we're having a girly conversation so shoo!"

"Not if it has anything to do with boys," Kisame said, frowning down at Katsuye. "We'll have those types of conversations when you're old enough."

Katsuye swallowed nervously. So that was why mom asked her to keep Yasashiku a secret. "When is that?"

"When you're twenty-one," he said firmly.

Ritsuko laughed. "Are you kidding? You married me when I was seventeen!"

"But you were ready and I was an outstanding, trust-worthy man," he said with an air of superiority.

"Yeah right," Ritsuko snorted. "Enough of your delusions, out!"

He sneaked another kiss and closed the door behind him. Ritsuko turned back to Katsuye and sighed. "I know you want me to say that Yasashiku is the right one, but it's not as simple as that."

"Why not?" Katsuye pouted. "Are you saying that he's isn't?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "I can't give you the answers you're looking for because when it's right, you'll know in your heart. Quiet your mind and learn to trust your instincts." She smiled kindly at Katsuye's frustrated expression and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. Sometimes the answer is closer than you think." There was a keen look in her eyes. "How has Yusei been these days?"

Katsuye blushed again. Why did she blush at every mention of him, it was becoming an annoying habit. "Lately he has gotten into the punk style; strange clothes, wild hair, loud music, the whole nine yards. His father is beside himself."

She was right. Yusei's new image was making Itachi feel old before his time. And it all started with that haircut. Before his long hair was neatly tied back, just like his father's. Itachi was always proud when others remarked on their resemblance. Then suddenly Yusei got the haircut: a short spiky shag that completely covered the right side of his face and the bangs on the left side nearly covered the other eye. It was a wonder he could see at all. But that wasn't the worst part. He had it streaked throughout with red dye.

When Itachi had first seen it, his eyes widened in disbelief. He reached out to touch this hair monstrosity. "Why is there red in your hair?"

"I've decided to become a red head through sheer will power." Yusei said with a smirk. "Not a bad start huh?"

Itachi frowned, unsure what words were appropriate to share. It didn't help that Miko complimented it. "Its looks so tough," she said with a wink. "Just the right level of devious."

"You think so?" Yusei asked, perking up with a broad smile.

When he left for school, Itachi rounded on her. "Have you lost your mind? You're going to let him go to school looking like that?"

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "It's only hair Itachi."

"That's not hair that's a statement! It says rebellion, mayhem, troublemaker-"

She laughed as she flicked her long hair in his face. "And what does my hair say?"

He frowned. "I'm being serious Miko."

"But you shouldn't be," she said in a sobering tone. "I'll tell you why by asking you a question. What do people say when you two are together?"

"You look just like your father," he said proudly. His confident smile faltered as she shot him a "you missed the point" look. "What's wrong with that?"

"He loves you," she assured him. "But he doesn't want to be known as Itachi junior. It's bad enough that everything he does gets compared to your perfect record." She gasped at her slip and shot him an apologetic look. "Not that there is anything wrong with-"

"Its ok, I know what you meant." He sighed as he rested his hands on the kitchen counter and hung his head.

"Now don't take it like that," she said soothingly as she put her arms around his waist to hug him from behind. "He just wants to be his own person and this is one way he can do that. And in fairness it hides his ears better."

Itachi held his breath. "He told you then? That he feels…inadequate with his Kitsune features?"

"That's putting it politely." She chuckled grimly as she withdrew to wash some dishes. "No he didn't, but he doesn't have to. I'm sure he feels the same way I used to when I was his age."

Itachi looked at her in surprise. This came as a complete shock to him; she had always seemed so confident. The thought of her being insecure had never occurred to him before now. Her eyes were downcast, and her expression was gloomy. He took the dish from her soapy hands and pulled her close. "Why didn't you tell me then?"

She shrugged indifferently and refused to look at him. "You were busy and I wasn't about to bother you with such trivial things."

Itachi turned her chin towards him and kissed her tenderly. He could feel her rigid posture start to melt away in his arms. His coal eyes were sympathetic. "I am never too busy for you. Not then and not now so please don't leave me in the dark if something troubles you."

She wore a small grateful smile. "I won't."

"Was it really that bad then?" He whispered.

She shook her head. "No, just some childish taunts and pranks."

"But back then you used to say 'I was born to stand out so that's what I do.'"

She rolled her eyes. "Bravado, my dear. All bravado. But it was an awkward phase that ended eventually. I'm sure the same thing will happen to Yusei as well so I wouldn't worry too much about it."

So Itachi kept his comments to himself when it came to Yusei's hair and just when he got used to it, Yusei changed things up again. He started listening to loud music about an outcast who was misunderstood. Itachi clamped his hands over his ears. "I wish the words were misunderstood! Does he have to sing that loudly?"

Yusei laughed as he playfully punched his shoulder. "That's a good one Dad! I'll have to tell the others at school tomorrow."

Over the next few months, it became a bit of a running gag between them. Itachi could vent his feelings as long as he did it in a comical way. This came in especially handy when Yusei's fashion grew bizarre. Like the morning when he came to breakfast to see Yusei wearing a white belly shirt with a long fishnet shirt. What really made the outfit strange were the pants. One side was capri-length but the other side was cut much shorter with fishnet underneath down to his knee.

When Itachi sat down at the table, he made a show of looking under the table for something. Yusei looked as well. "Did you drop something?"

"No, I'm just looking for the rest of your pants."

Yusei smirked as he turned back to eat. "Well good luck with that."

"Besides aren't short shorts and belly shirts more of a girl thing?"

Yusei playfully tugged on his long ponytail. "You have no room to talk Dad."

Itachi may not have understood his son's sense of fashion, but it was all the rage at school. Katsuye didn't participate in the fashion, mainly because Kisame refused to let her out of the house dressed like that. Yasashiku wore the same old stuff; his sense of style was not dictated by the whims of popularity.

For a time things were going so well and when that happens life has a funny way of changing. Shortly after Yusei's eleventh birthday, Miko started having nightmares. At first she didn't think much of them, after all dreams are just figments of the imagination. They don't usually have special meanings. But overtime they grew more repetitive and vivid. She would abruptly awaken, drenched in a cold sweat. Itachi would often sleep through this and she hated to wake him up for something as silly as a nightmare. He worked so hard to provide for them and he needed all the rest he could get.

But tonight the dream was worse than ever before. She "awakens" to be pinned down by Sasuke. She ached all over and felt an intense pressure on her chest that made it hard to breathe. Gasping for breath, she tried to force him off but her energy was slipping away. He leaned over her, his face shone with lustful eagerness. "You belong to me now." He whispered as he brushed his lips against her. "Give up the life you knew before." He kissed her even harder and she started to cry. He was so caught up in his fantasy that he didn't even notice. She was powerless to stop him as his caress moved lower. She closed her eyes tightly as she could feel his hypnotizing influence beginning to creep into her mind.

Love me, his voice whispered inside her head. Show me how much you love me. Tell me how much you love me. Show me…tell me…give in to me.

She wrenched her head to the side to break away from his passionate kiss. "Itachi! Itachi! Where are you?"

This time Itachi awakened to hear Miko screaming his name. She thrashed around, the blankets twisting around her legs. He grabbed her by the arms and gently shook her. "Miko wake up! It's just a dream!"

Her eyes flew open to see a dark figure kneeling over her and she panicked, thinking it was Sasuke for real. Activating her blue flame technique she aimed a blow at his stomach. Itachi tried to twist out of the way, but his reaction time was slowed by his fatigue and she struck his side. He cried out in pain and crumpled back onto the bed.

At this point Miko realized her mistake. She quickly pressed her hand against the burning wound, forcing the ethereal flame back inside her palm. Now she could see the extent of the wound and she covered her mouth in horror. "Oh Itachi, I'm so sorry!"

Itachi's breath was slightly labored as he managed to crack a small smile. "That must have b-been some nightmare."

"Just lie still," she said as she jumped off the bed. "I'll take care of it." She turned on the light and grabbed the medical kit from the closet. As she sat back down her heart fell as she realize the wound looked even worse in the light. It was all she could do to keep the tears back as she dressed the wound. He gently stroked her arm and she flinched away. He wore a sad smile. "I know it was an accident, so please don't feel guilty."

When she finished, he tried to sit up and she gently pushed him back down. "Don't move just yet, let it set first."

"Then you come down here," he insisted as he tugged on her nightgown. She laid beside him but was unable to look in his eyes. She shuddered at his light touch on her arm for the memory of the nightmare was still fresh in her mind. He frowned thoughtfully as he considered her troubled gaze. "You promised remember?" He said softly as he gently stroked her cheek. "Don't leave me in the dark."

"But to tell you would break another promise I made to you," she said quietly. "That I wouldn't worry about…" she swallowed nervously. "Him."

"You mean Sasuke?"

He noticed that she was trembling and her face turned pale. His frown deepened and his eyes narrowed. "Has something happened?"

She quickly shook her heard. "No, it was just a dream." She said in a tone that suggested she was trying to convince herself that was all it was.

He scooted a little closer and hugged her close. "It's going to be ok Miko. I'll protect you no matter what happens."

She slowly put her arm around him as well and hugged him tightly as if to reassure herself that he was really there. Comforted by his familiar scent, she felt her racing heartbeat start to regulate. "I love you Itachi. You know that right?"

"I do," he said as he kissed her forehead. "So trust me, everything is going to be alright."