Working with Michiko was a new experience. After the first week, Katashi had left him to deal with her alone, quickly confirming Ryosei's suspicions that he was merely a token presence. There really wasn't much he had to do. He wrote down whatever she said into a farce of a report, filled out some paperwork and sat in the corner snacking and daydreaming. Michiko didn't care if he spent more time training and helping Katashi's project than he did watching her. Overall, it was almost like doing part-time work and Ryosei was happy he didn't have to move huge piles of concrete across the desert.

Her assistant was a 15-year-old guy who mothered her constantly and obviously had a huge crush on her. They lived together, did everything together and Michiko constantly teased him with sexual innuendos yet they weren't dating for some reason. Ryosei didn't know what he saw in her but it wasn't his business. Akio was a decent sparring partner and they got along on a superficial level. There was another lady, Nohara Chie, who dropped by for Michiko to consult but she worked in the hospital most of the time.

The only real issue he had was Michiko's ridiculous working hours. She got impatient when anything hindered her work at all. She held her stronger opinions back but she had a sharp tongue and a lot of snark. She clearly had issues taking orders and Konoha really needed to focus on discipline more. Akio had given up on reasoning with her and just dragged her away once she worked for more than 20 hours. She didn't seem to understand how important food and sleep was which puzzled Ryosei who took breaks when he could. Luckily, Katashi relieved him after 15 hours or so and they'd bonded over alcohol and their shared woes. A couple of the ANBU joined them sometimes, though they didn't drink and couldn't take their masks off.

Then, the fateful day came. Michiko fell sick.

Akio sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He had been arguing with Michiko in front of the research building for fifteen minutes. "Michiko-chan, you have a 40-degree fever. You need to rest."

Even though Michiko was only half lucid, she still needed to argue. "I'll be fine. It'll fade. I can work through this within the week."

"This is what happens when you don't take care of yourself. If you don't take a break, you'll just get sick again. Which lessens productivity. You need to stay in bed, shower every day and eat regularly for the next week."

"It's not like I'll be fighting. I'll be sitting behind a desk crunching numbers and solving problems. Even if I were in bed, I would still be thinking about work since I have nothing to do. It would be even more stressful. There's no point in me being in bed."

"Then take sleeping pills and knock yourself out until you're better again."

"And who's going to be bathing me and feeding me for the next week?"

A slight dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks. "You can wake up once a day and bathe yourself."

Michiko smirked mischievously as she leant forward, her face flushed and her eyes cloudy from her illness. "There's no need to be ashamed. I'm sure you'll do a thorough job. I can even return the favour when I get better."

"I-I-you- you're not distracting me this time! You have to get rest and- Wait… So you'll stay home and get better if I take care of you?"

Michiko paused for a moment, seemingly unaware of what she'd just implied. Wow. She really must be out of it. "I suppose." Then she glanced at Ryosei and the research building. "But…"

Ryosei interrupted. "I'm sure we would all appreciate a break. We are not on a tight schedule and I'm sure we'll get more done when you're feeling better."

Michiko still didn't look convinced. Akio grabbed her and tried to carry her. She put up a brief struggle before being interrupted by a coughing fit. She gave an annoyed glare towards Akio who was completely unaffected by her useless squirming.

"Come on, Michiko-chan. We're going home, you're taking a bath and then you're going to bed."

Michiko looked royally pissed off and grumpy but she acquiesced, seeing as Akio had resorted to physical force. "Fine. But you're going to have to bathe me and… take care of me."

Akio carried Michiko through the doorway and made sure to lock the door before setting Michiko down. It took Michiko slightly longer to find her balance and she was burning up. Luckily, they had only left the apartment for 20 minutes so it was still somewhat cool. Akio had convinced Michiko to sleep in a bit so Itachi had left before them.

Akio led her into the washroom. "I'll wait outside. Don't you dare escape."

"Didn't you say you were going to bathe me?"

"I can't possibly do that!"

"Why not?"

"Why are you so insistent on it?"

Michiko shrugged. "I like going around nude. If you get used to it, I wouldn't even have to wear dresses."

"Really? That's all?"

"Well, I also like fighting nude. There's no point in wearing clothes anyway since anything strong enough to protect me will slow me down. All my weapon storage and protection seals are on my skin. My taijutsu style instantly destroys any clothes anyway so there's no point in investing in a good wardrobe. I might as well just go nude and save all the trouble. It won't do for you to get flustered in the middle of a battle because my clothes got destroyed."

Akio couldn't think of a proper rebuttal. Michiko didn't have a shred of shame or decency in her bones and the moment she had an argument relating to efficiency and functionality that he couldn't counter, she won.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I have to bathe you! Looking at you and touching you like that is two very different things!"

Michiko sighed and tossed her jacket on the floor and moved to remove her shirt. Akio immediately grabbed her wrists to stop her.

"Michiko-chan, I know you're very… open about this sort of thing but I really don't want to. We're not dating."

"Akio, have you considered finding another girl?"

"What?"

"I don't think being in a romantic relationship with you would be good. Don't you want to fall in love with a nice, mentally stable girl and marry someday?"

Akio had thought about marriage. He'd thought of marrying Michiko when he'd just started liking her. He'd thought of her waiting at home for him with an amazing home-cooked meal. He'd thought of her carrying his child. But as he knew more and more of her, those dreams faded away and started to turn… a little more inappropriate. Looking back at his stupid dreams, he wanted to strangle his younger self for being so dumb.

"I don't want marriage. I just want to be with you."

"Really? So you're fine if you never have sex? You'd be fine with me going out to pick up a guy for the night?"

The thought of Michiko with other guys instantly filled Akio with a sense of vile disgust and jealousy. He'd dismissed the possibility of her finding a boyfriend but given how casual Michiko was with sex, she might be one of those girls. Akio hated the idea because there was nothing he could do to stop her. Michiko wouldn't change for anyone.

"I… I can handle it."

"It will hurt you."

"You consider my feelings. You don't do that to some random stranger."

Michiko looked surprised but it was quickly covered up. "The only benefit you gain from me is purely emotional. Losing that bond would mean losing you."

"... Michiko-chan, do you love me?"

Michiko gave a hopeless and morose smile, one that she rarely wore. Instantly, Akio knew this was one of her down days. "I love you as much as I can ever love someone."

"Why don't you want us to be together?"

"I'm comfortable the way we are. I've already invested too much energy into my personal relationships. Our relationship is fine the way it is and I don't think hooking up would improve it."

"Then what are we? Best friends? Roommates?"

Michiko shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Our relationship is what it is. There's no need to label it but if you insist on it… then I guess you're my life manager."

"Life manager? What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm not exactly the best at taking care of myself. I don't care about my health or my body. Dying young comes with the job description and I have better things to do. The fact is: you could leave now and you'd be completely fine. I would be a total mess. Yes, I know you're not going to leave but that's just how it would go. I can't love the way you can. I can't stop weighing the benefits and costs of every aspect of my life. I don't go into ninja mode like you or Itachi because ninja mode is my default mode. Even though I can conceptualise your discomfort, I don't understand it. Nudity doesn't have to be sexual. Why are you so adverse to it?"

"It's just weird seeing you like that. I… I love you. Romantically. So seeing you like that would make me… you know." Akio could feel the blush creeping up his neck into his cheeks. "I just can't help it. I don't want to get the wrong idea."

"Akio, I know you jack off to porn featuring girls that look like me. I know you have dirty fantasies about me and I know you sometimes cream your sheets in the morning. I am fine with that and I don't care if you get an erection while bathing me and then masturbate afterwards to the thought of me blowing you in the shower. We've spent nearly every hour of every single day together since you've moved in and I don't plan for that to change. We will run into many situations where my clothes are destroyed and you will get used to it one way or the other. We won't be on the field for the rest of the year and we'll be fairly cushy. If there's a time to get comfortable, it's now."

Akio's brain short-circuited and he couldn't think of anything to say to that. Michiko twisted her wrists and Akio let them go. She slowly pulled up her shirt and tossed it to the floor. Akio felt the heat rising as he looked down at her cleavage, his blush somehow intensifying even further. Michiko unravelled her chest bindings. Akio stared at her naked chest, wondering if he was still sleeping and this was just a weird wet dream. How the fuck had they gotten to this situation again?

"Do you want to touch?"

"... Eh?"

"You've never touched a girl's breasts before, have you? Aren't you curious?"

Akio had been too stunned to think about it but now that Michiko mentioned it… Michiko stood there patiently as Akio slowly reached out and placed his hand on her breast. He gave it a light squeeze. Michiko didn't seem to mind and just smiled at him as he started groping a little harder.

"So? What do you think?"

"What's your size? And why don't you wear a bra?" Akio blurted out. Horror and shame washed over him and he immediately retracted his hand but Michiko just laughed it off.

"Last I measured, I was a B but I'm outgrowing my bras. I do wear bras sometimes but I like chest binding better. I hate it when my breasts get in the way."

"Isn't that kind of bad?"

"Oh? How do you know?"

"Ninja parenting books. I was going to raise Ayano so I needed to learn some girl things."

"It's not good to bind for too long but I just heal myself afterwards."

"Michiko-chan…"

"I know, I know. But I don't plan on getting pregnant and I'm not naturally pretty. If I'm going to seduce anyone, it'll be with a mask of makeup and I'll be able to cover everything up. Are you going to bathe me?"

"I… I… I'll wash your back. And your hair. And your face. And your arms. But you can wash the rest yourself."

"I guess that's fine as a first step." She turned and walked to the bathroom. Akio gulped as the realisation of what he'd just agreed to started to sink in.

Michiko turned around and gave him a smirk. "Come on in."

Itachi knew he was being tailed. But since his two stalkers were the Kazekage's children and they were, in turn, being tailed by ANBU, Itachi hadn't bothered. However, he was quickly growing tired of it. It didn't matter that they were weak, being constantly aware of their presence put Itachi on edge. It had been going on for a full week and since this behaviour showed no signs of abating, Itachi decided to confront them.

The two kids jumped back in shock as Itachi appeared in front of them. "Why have you been tailing me?"

The sister, Temari, recovered quickly and stood straight while her younger brother clearly displayed uncertainty. "What have you been doing with my little brother?" She demanded.

"Why do you ask?"

The younger brother looked at him with suspicion. "Gaara's been acting weird and you and your team are behind it."

Itachi obviously couldn't tell them what was going on if the Kazekage hadn't deigned to tell them. "Why do you care?"

The younger brother shrank back as his sister stepped forward with an irate look on her face. "I am the eldest! It is my job to take care of my dumb little brothers!"

Itachi glanced down at her passively, letting a tinge of condescension slip into his tone. "I see you've done a passable job, all things considered."

The little girl glared. "You don't know anything. What did you do to him?"

Itachi hadn't spent much time with Gaara so the girl was probably questioning him because she couldn't get a hold of Michiko. The girl wasn't going to get any information out of him. She would give up in due time. "Ask him yourself."

Itachi left, making a small note to tell Michiko of this minor annoyance.

Itachi arrived back at Michiko's apartment after a long day of work and was surprised to see her lying in bed sleeping with Akio sponging her forehead. He knew Michiko had been sick in the morning and the fact that she couldn't heal it away probably meant that overworking and malnutrition had taxed her system to the point where iryoninjutsu would just be added stress. This also meant that it was long coming and Michiko had been staving it off for as long as possible with iryoninjutsu. Despite the only recourse of recovery being rest, he hadn't thought that Akio could actually succeed in getting her to stop working.

"How is she?"

"Just stress and exhaustion. She'll be fine after a week in bed."

"Easier said than done."

Akio shrugged. "She's already agreed to it. We're having porridge for the next week. It's in the rice cooker."

Itachi headed to the kitchen to scoop porridge for himself, inwardly impressed at Akio's feat. It was something he doubted anyone else could accomplish without heavy leverage on Michiko.

After finishing the bland chicken porridge and drinking some tea, he dumped the dishes in the sink when Akio came out of the bedroom at the same time.

"Can't you wash your own dishes?"

Itachi blinked as he looked down at his bowl. It had never occurred to him that he should've. In hindsight, he had been fairly foolish for not considering it. "Hn."

Itachi took the dish sponge, squirted some soap on it and started washing his dishes. Akio watched him as he finished up.

"Wash the teapot too."

Itachi decided to oblige and started to do so when Akio sighed. "Use the thin brush for the spout. It's above you."

Itachi looked up to see a long, thin brush hanging from a hook on the cabinet. He could feel Akio's judging eyes at the back of his head as he cleaned the teapot and wiped his hands off.

"God, Itachi. Have you ever washed dishes in your life?"

"No."

"What?"

"I've never washed dishes before." His mother always handled everything and when they were on the field, Michiko provided the meals. Akio was the one who took care of the house now.

Akio stared at him incredulously. "Have you cleaned before? Cooked at all? Do you do anything around the house?"

"I babysit my brother on occasion. I know how to do weapon maintenance but my Mother usually handles it."

"But you had to stay on your own for a few days before coming here, right?"

"I was in a dormitory. I merely had to take care of my bed. I ate out." It had also been the first time he had folded his own bedsheets.

"What about when you move out?"

"The main house doesn't move out. My little brother will have to when either of us marry but he will have a wife or a maid to take care of him."

"What about your parents?"

"The main house stays under the same roof."

Akio wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather do my own chores than live with my parents for the rest of my life. Stupid traditions."

Itachi held down his defensive reaction. In truth, he would like to experience living independently but not at the expense of losing training time by doing mundane chores.

"Having the whole family together fosters positive family relations and allows bonding between generations." He would've liked to know more about his grandparents but they'd both died young.

Akio snorted. "Bullshit. Not in an Uchiha household. No Uchiha man would back down and generations are too different. They'd just infight and the girls will get caught in the middle."

"The clan head's word is final." Having a central authority to which all disputes could be settled with was useful. It was a pity that Fugaku wasn't the most impartial.

"If your head's stuck up your arse so far that you couldn't taste the stink of that bullshit then it's no wonder you're standing here wondering where you fucked up."

Itachi hated it when people threw foul insults without considering the situation. Itachi would be seeing him every day and Akio was the one who made the food. It wouldn't do to worsen relations. "I am well aware of my clan's flaws."

"Oh really? Well then that just makes it worse! You know you're getting spoonfed crap yet you kneel down, blindfold yourself and wait with your mouth wide open for more. I don't get you. How can you be loyal to those backstabbing, self-centered and power hungry little cunts?!"

"In spite of everything, we are family. I was born into the highest of nobility. The main house leads and protects, the branch house serves and submits. As per my birthright, it is my duty to care for all those who share my blood."

"So in exchange for a big house, a trophy wife and some fancy eyes, you're willing to bow to those war-crazed hyenas? I knew you were a hypocrite but this just takes the cake!"

Itachi couldn't listen to this any further. "My life and place in this world were determined before I was born. A free man like you would never understand."

Akio snorted derisively. "Free? Aren't you supposed to be the mature genius here? None of us are completely 'free' if that's what you're talking about. Everyone of us is hindered in some way by our birth. I was part of your shitty clan once, remember? Michiko-chan's got plenty of people weighing her down but unlike you, she's fighting. She fought for me and that's why I'm here today. I don't care for your reactionary pacifist bullshit. You can sit there and whine all day about your fate and how unlucky you are but I'm not having it."

Akio was the one who aired his opinions first but Itachi wasn't about to fan the flames even more. "The feeling is mutual."

Itachi headed straight to the bathroom to avoid further argument. He wondered whether he should check his food from now on but decided against it. Akio hadn't been that petty before and blatantly displaying his distrust in front of Michiko would be in bad taste. He was fairly sure Michiko would object to Akio doing so and Akio would know that. In Itachi's opinion, Akio wasn't any less of a slave than Itachi was. Akio could never be able to leave Michiko's side even if he wanted to. Michiko just gave Akio enough autonomy and power to make him feel in control.

After finishing his bath, Itachi realised that he had not brought clothes in with him. Deciding that it didn't matter, he towelled himself dry, blew dried his hair and walked to the bedroom to retrieve some clothes. Akio was still beside Michiko changing her towels. Itachi put on his shirt and shorts and headed to Michiko's bed but Akio stopped him.

"Sleep on the couch tonight. I don't want to take care of two sick people."

Itachi hesitated. It was true that Itachi had a frail immune system. Michiko wouldn't be able to heal him since using her ill chakra on his chakra system could make it worse. The hospital was overrun with patients who had missing limbs and deep burns so no one would entertain someone with a fever that would fade by itself. Still, Michiko had ordered him to sleep with her every night. He could work through a fever if needs be.

"I have my orders."

Akio rolled his eyes. "God, the two of you are stupid. I'll never get you ninja. If you get sick, it's your problem."

"Duly noted."

Itachi slipped under the covers of Michiko's bed to find that she was completely naked. He snuggled a little closer, well aware of Akio's piercing gaze. Calming his chakra and breathing, Itachi drifted off to sleep.

Akio and Itachi were woken up by Michiko's coughing fit. She sniffled, grumbled sleepily and turned over to hugging Itachi tightly. They both fell back to sleep. Akio changed Michiko's towels before returning to his bed. Sometime later, Itachi woke the three of them up with his own coughing fit. Akio gave an accusatory grunt but they all fell back asleep.

At 6 am, Itachi had to start preparing for work and it was clear he had a fever. Akio was just starting to wake up and Michiko was still out of it. Unable to break free from her grasp, Itachi asked for his help. With only a glare and an 'I told you so', Akio slowly loosened Michiko's hold. He began making rice, steamed eggs, salmon and miso soup for breakfast while Itachi showered, meditated and sharpened his weapons. Akio then made riceballs for lunch, wrapping the panda patterned ones and placing them in the fridge while packing the plain ones into a bento for Itachi.

When he was done, he kept Michiko's portion and the two of them ate in silence. Itachi left soon after without cleaning his dishes. Put in a slightly foul mood at spending more than ten minutes in Itachi's presence, Akio cleaned the kitchen and did the laundry. Seeing as Michiko was still asleep, he went out to buy groceries and medicine.

He was instantly hit with a wave of heat as he stepped out and he hurried to the market place as fast as possible. Purchasing his food and medicine, he headed back quickly when he became aware of Gaara tailing him. Akio took refuge in the shade in a narrow alleyway and waited for Gaara to show up.

Gaara landed in front of him. "Hello, Akio-san. Where's kaa-chan?"

"She's sick."

Gaara looked alarmed. "She's sick? She's hurt? How? Who?"

Feeling Gaara's chakra level rise, Akio immediately tried to soothe his worries."She overworked herself. She'll be fine soon enough."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I have medicine at home."

Akio held up his plastic bag. "So do I."

"Oh." Gaara frowned and pouted. "Can I go see her?"

"Did the Kazekage allow you to?"

"... No."

"Then you can't."

Gaara pouted some more. "But I want to go."

"Well, you can't. You'll get sick too."

"I won't get sick. I never get sick! I can help!"

Akio sighed. "That's not the problem. Just go home. You can play with your uncle and sister."

"Fine." Gaara grumbled before leaving. Akio waited for a while before leaving.

By the time he returned, Michiko was already up and finishing breakfast. She was still a little grumpy and groggy from sleep. Akio packed the groceries away and placed the pills he bought on the table in front of Michiko. Michiko ate the last of her breakfast before swallowing the pills. Akio took out the thermometer to check her temperature. It had gotten even higher.

"Have you bathed yet?"

Michiko shook her head.

"You want to wash up on your own?"

Michiko stared at him expectantly.

Akio shifted uneasily, remembering yesterday's bath. He had popped a boner almost immediately. Michiko didn't comment on it but it was still embarrassing. "We can do it like yesterday?"

Michiko nodded, got up and headed to the bathroom with Akio following behind. Michiko started stripping and Akio looked away. He busied himself with removing his weapon pouches and other equipment, not wanting them to get wet.

Michiko dumped her clothes in the laundry basket and moved to shower. "You sure you don't want to strip to? You'll get wet."

Akio's eyes darted around a little before fixating on Michiko's face. "But- I'm- I can't-"

"I've seen an erect penis before, Akio. It's nothing special. No need to be so shy. I'll help you wash up if you want."

Akio felt his bits twitch as an image of Michiko using her hands to… do inappropriate things to his junk flashed through his mind. "Em… I- no- you can't- you- you- wait, what? What?! You've done- but how? Who? How?! You're 13! Did you- were you-..."

Michiko sighed. "Don't go jumping to conclusions. I've had my fair share of sexual encounters, both good and bad. I'm kind of tired of it and I hate being a teen. I know this is new and all to you but this is all just-" Michiko cut herself off with another sigh. "I just want to get this over with. Maybe you could pick up a girl?"

Akio instinctively balked at the idea. "I can't do that! That'd be cheating on you!" Akio blinked and reeled back from what he'd just said. "I mean, I know we're not… dating or anything but it just- it just feels wrong."

"Even if we were dating, it's not cheating if I've said it's fine. I'm sure you can find a girl who's willing to help you out. You're a fairly good looking guy when you don't scowl. Which is almost all the time but at least you can learn how to smile more if you're not successful."

"But… I don't want to have sex with some random girl. I've never really wanted to do it… before you. I mean, I found some girls pretty but I hated girls and they were all dumb and stupid. I know it sounds really girly but I don't want it to be a silly fling. It's just- I don't want it."

Michiko scanned him, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed as she often did when facing a puzzle. "I suppose sex just isn't special to me. Are you the wait-until-marriage type?"

"I-I think so? Maybe not marriage but I want to be dating them for a while. I don't want to rush it and get a disease or something. Or get the girl pregnant. Okay so maybe I'd wait until marriage. Just in case. I don't know. I guess it depends. If the girl wants to wait then that's great. I think."

Michiko paused for a moment before replying. "That's cute and all but be aware that tying love and sex together disadvantages you. It's not that important for you but a girl can get to places if she flashes her tits and spreads her legs at the right time for the right people. It's a useful skill to have."

"But you're not that type of girl, right?"

Michiko shrugged. "So are you going to bathe me or what?"

Akio had a brief moment of pride as he realised he'd spent two minutes before a naked Michiko without an erection but the usual wave of embarrassment crashed down a second later. He opened his mouth to try and string words together before thinking better of it and mutely reaching for the shower head.

He turned the shower on and wetted Michiko's hair before massaging shampoo and conditioner into her scalp. As he began washing her shoulders and back, he felt his heat rising and he had to make a conscious effort to slow his breathing. He made sure to clean her as thoroughly as he could while avoiding her private parts, cleaning her feet and stomach but not going anywhere below the hip or above the knee. By the time he was done, he was extremely… uncomfortable.

"I'll- I'll leave now so you can do the rest."

Akio stepped back but Michiko grabbed his arm. She looked up at him, stepped forwards and hugged him.

"Listen, Akio. I-" From her expression, Akio knew she was trying to tell him something serious but his poor, poor adolescent mind was already in overdrive and Michiko's wet, naked body pressed up against him tipped him over the edge.

Akio fainted.