Year Five

Cat out of the Bag

Inokoto couldn't believe her parents was that daft? Really?

She had been sitting listening to them explain, what they had used to do, what they used to be to her like she was two years old or even younger. Like Shikadai hadn't already told her, like Fugaku hadn't already told her, even Naruto's kid had told her some.

"I know."

She said really dragging the o while rolling her eyes at their naivety. She had known all of this, what she didn't know her uncle had filled in for her. He had been quit patient with her since the fight and had taught her a thing or two. He didn't mind answering her questions and he didn't hold back information like her parents were. It was so obvious that she wasn't clueless. Obvious to everyone but them.

"I have, like a thousand history books and it's not like you're not mentioned in all of them."

How could they have been so stupid? Ino looked at Itachi, he had been the one giving her history books, not that she could blame him. Inokoto loved history, reading and learning. How could he have refused her to read history books? Still he could have only given them the ones he read as a child where there was no mention of the recent war and their names apparently.

"And how do you feel about that?"

Ino looked at her daughter. She seemed tense, she seemed to be dwelling on something and if they needed to tell her anything else they would.

"Why?"

Itachi shifted and too looked at his daughter. She knew more than they realized, but that wasn't something that was new to them. Inokoto was always a few steps in front of them and they underestimated her constantly.

"Why what?"

He leaned over the table and looked at his daughter. She was looking down in her lap where she had placed her hands, her hair falling down shielding most of her face that was tense. She wanted to know why.

"Why, why did they fight? Why did mother fight? Why did all those people have to die? Why, when it didn't change anything?"

It had all seemed so pointless to Inokoto. To fight and die for what other people wanted or didn't want. All those deaths hadn't changed much. There wasn't any differences between life now than it was before the war as she understood.

There were still bad guys, her mother's job was proof of that. Bad things happened still. The war hadn't changed anything, not to anyone in the street. Not for those who were dressed in casual clothes, were soft and so happy. It had only changed for those who had fought, and it hadn't made them better.

She had seen old pictures of her mother and she didn't look the same. She had gotten older, and her soul and spirit had been tainted.

"Why did you fight, mom?"

Ino had been expecting that question and had been trying to think just why she was so willing to go through what she had, to suffer, bleed, sweat, cry and almost died in the war. She hadn't thought twice when they called her to the battle field. She was a valuable resource, she wasn't that good at fighting nor that good as a medical but she knew some of both and that was important and had great value for as long as she lived.

She'd never make it though without her team. She would have been dead; she wouldn't have been able to do those things that she did.

"For my family and friends, so that they would survive."

Inokoto looked up at her, eyes glittering but not due to tears.

"Uncle Choji and uncle Shika?"

Ino nodded and Inokoto put that piece in her puzzle about the war. One could fight for friends, so that they would survive.

"For friends."

Inokoto muttered her gaze back on her hands.

"And they want me to learn these things, how to fight in a war if it should happen. I'm not like other children."

Inokoto had been aware of this for as long as she could remember. She wasn't like Boruto, she wasn't like the other children, not like Fugaku, not like Yuuto.

She had heard what the elders had been talking about, she knew they wanted her to start training and going to the academy. They wanted her to become strong like her father and mother. It was expected of her. She was valuable. She could be used to keep her mother and father safe. Still she didn't want to grow up to kill.

There had to be a way around it, it had to be a way to prevent bad guys from being bad. Her father believed that it was right to be bad if something that was good came out of it. She knew all about what he had done, uncle Sasuke had confirmed it giving her more knowledge and details than any book ever had. He had seen it through her father's eyes.

She had at one point believed that that something similar was what was happing that day in the Hokage Tower, that was until one day Sasuke leaked that her father's world was red and black,. Her visions had been in color so she had kept quiet about it.

"No, you're not. Neither was you father, but we don't want you to start the Academy early. We want you to start when you're ready, not when you're pushed."

Inokoto nodded. She was a child. She was still young. She was still older than Kakashi had been, her father had also been young, and her mother on the other hand had started at the normal time and graduated at the expected time.

Her mother had been a normal child. Her father hadn't.

She had read that every generation had one child that was considered a prodigy. Someone expected to do well in life and was pushed through the system at an early age. It didn't always end well for them. They were children when they were forced into a life of blood and death.

Inokoto was different she thought. She wouldn't be forced; she would enter when she was ready on her own will. She knew she was that one person in her generation, she knew her father had been in his and so had her uncle Sasuke been to some degree.

"I can't be held back."

There was a knot in Ino's stomach, her child was four years old and had already made up her mind about what she wanted to do with her life. Sure she could always change her mind, a lot of those who started the Academy either dropped out or never progressed further after passing the exam. Just because she went there didn't mean she would become a shinobi. Still this was something Ino was only telling herself to feel better.

"I want to be challenged."

She must have been bored and Itachi knew that he had been purposely holding her back. He had refused to train her and she hadn't showed any interest in it herself like he had as a child. She thankfully wasn't like him, still he had to admit that she had beaten the crap out of Fugaku and didn't seem the least bothered by her own injuries. Could someone without training do just that?

"But I'm not ready to start the Academy."

Relief flushed through her parents. She had been laying it up to telling that she was willing to start, and to her parents it was still all too early, but to them it always would be too early. Their daughter was precious and they wanted to shield her from all harm knowing it was only a question of time before it all would be out of their hands.

"But I liked it when uncle trained me."

Itachi was leaning over the table again. Sasuke had not once mentioning training her all the times she was over at his place, nor does he ever remembering Sasuke asking for permission to do such. He could on the other hand remember telling his brother not to do the likes of training her because he didn't want his daughter to be part of their shinobi lives.

"Your uncle has trained you?"

"What did he teach you?"

Ino didn't like this anymore than Itachi. She didn't want her child be taught and trained by Sasuke. She swore that he and Sakura would just break her child and any one of them training her was just putting a fast track on that happening. They both remember with dread that time Sakura taught Inokoto to punch.

"You know, ninja stuff."

They didn't know, so they waited for her to speak.

"After I beat Fugaku, he taught me taijutsu and a few jutsus, but now he's only training Fugaku saying he needs it if he's going to the Academy next year."

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Uchiha: Itachi isn't responding, I can only imagine he's reminiscing about easier times when his partner was Kisame who did whatever he was told without arguing. But that actually gave me some sort of idea for a funny chapter I could write, so thank you! The Inokoto and Shikadai cuteness has just begun! Every kid will chase frogs, it's instinct. After the frog fiasco he did lounge and eat, tending to his injury, speeding the healing process. Haha. It might have felt a bit short because it was, this one is about twice as lengthy. But sorry to break the news, chapters will be slightly shorter like earlier in the story.

Smartasswolf: But it wouldn't make up for the sad fact that he isn't the deranged emotionless blood thirsty criminal who killed his family for gags he was set up as in the start of the original story. I miss that Itachi… I mourn evil Itachi, especially since everyone is so okay with him doing despicable deeds just because he wanted to protect his kid brother. That's just my take on it though… I can only say it will backfire on Ino and Itachi in the very long run. I also totally agree with you on that one, it's convenient that she's suddenly able to do this shit, then right back to screaming in the background being almost totally helpless besides looking good.