Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! This weeks chapter is going to be a flashback to Emiko's memories of Christmas.

"Mama, Santa came!"

Konan groaned at the feeling of someone very tiny bouncing up and down on her bed. She opened her eyes and smiled at the excited, three year old Emiko bouncing on her bed. She sat up and ruffled Emiko's hair. "Go wake everyone up and we'll open presents."

Emiko squealed and ran out of the rooms. The next room she went to was Hidan's. She pounced on the unsuspecting Jashin worshiper, laughing at the string of curses that flew from Hidan's mouth. She ran out before any bodily harm could be done to her, going from room to room until everyone but her favorite person was awake. She tiptoed into the room, coming to stand beside the bed. "It's Christmas, 'Tachi." Emiko whispered quietly.

Itachi opened his eyes, a small smile appearing on his face. He sat up and picked Emiko from the ground, plopping her in his lap. "Merry Christmas, Emiko."

Emiko hugged Itachi tightly. "Merry Christmas, 'Tachi."

"You better get your ass in here, Brat, or else I'm going to open your presents!"

Emiko howled in rage and wriggled out of Itachi's grip, running into the main room. She tackled Hidan and began pulling on his hair. "Don't touch my presents!"

"Get this fucking brat off of me!" Hidan howled furiously.

Itachi walked into the room and pulled Emiko off of Hidan, sitting down on the couch with Emiko in his lap. "Be good, Emiko."

Konan smiled softly before pushing a large pile of presents over to Emiko. "These are all yours."

Emiko squealed and reached out for her first present. She paused before tearing into the wrapping paper to see who the present was from. She looked carefully at the name before looking at Itachi. "Who's name is it?"

Itachi pointed to the first letter. "It starts with an H. Try and sound it out."

"H-Hi-d-an." She grinned up at Itachi. "It's from Hi-chan!"

Emiko proceeded to tear through each and every present she received. She got new dresses, new toys, and plenty of stuffed animals to keep I-chan company. She laughed when Konan threw Pein an angry glare when she saw the sharp kunai he had given Emiko. Once she was done opening all her presents, Emiko hopped down from Itachi's lap. "Everyone, stay!" She ran out of the room and came back a few moments later. She carried presents messily wrapped in her arms. She went to each member of Akatsuki, handing them each a present.

"May we open them, Emiko?" Konan asked, smiling at the excited little girl.

"You have to open them one at a time." Emiko stated, plopping herself back in Itachi's lap. "Hi-chan, you open yours first."

Hidan reluctantly opened his present, growling when he pulled out a bar of soap. "What the fuck is this for?"

"It's to help you clean your potty mouth." Emiko said proudly.

Zetsu was next, slowly opening his present. Both sides smiled when they saw the small, four leaf clover. "Where did you get this?" the white side asked.

"I found it in the forest." Emiko grinned.

Kisame couldn't help laughing when he opened his present of canned sardines. Deidara leapt up and hugged Emiko tightly when he saw the cute clay sculpture of himself that Emiko had made. Sasori smiled at the crude wooden puppet that Emiko had carved. Tobi squealed excitedly at the bouncy ball he received. Kakuzu was happy that Emiko gave him 100 ryo until he went to put it in his wallet and realized it was his 100 ryo. Pein was pleased with the new body piercings that he got and Konan beamed at the gorgeous origami paper Emiko had bought for her.

Finally, it was Itachi's turn. He blinked when he was handed a very tiny box. He looked at Emiko's expectant face, before carefully unwrapping the small box. He opened the lid and carefully lifted the small necklace out of the box. It was a simple black chain with three silver circles spaced out on the necklace.

Emiko looked down, kicking her feet nervously. "I didn't know what you would like and so I made it for you."

Itachi hugged Emiko tightly. "Thank you, Emiko. I'll wear it everyday."

"I look stupid, Sasu-chan."

Sasuke looked up and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "You don't look stupid. It suits you."

Four year old Emiko pouted, tugging on the long white dress she wore. The long sleeves covered her tiny hands and she wore a white pair of sandals. A pair of white angel wings were strapped to her back and a golden halo was attached to her head. "Do I have to do this?"

Sasuke stood up from the couch, walking over and scooping Emiko up into his arms. "You agreed to help the Academy with their Christmas program."

Emiko crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't think they'd make me sing a solo." She looked fearfully up at Sasuke. "Are there going to be a lot of people there?"

Sasuke shrugged and walked out of the house, making sure to lock the door. "Probably. All of the Rookie Nine and Lee's team are coming since you're going to be singing." He sighed when he saw the terrified look on Emiko's face. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. After the program, we're going to Shikamaru's house for the Christmas party."

Sasuke carried Emiko all the way to the Academy, handing the terrified girl over to Iruka. He then went into the auditorium and found a seat in the front row. Soon, he had Naruto and Sakura on either side of him. The lights dimmed and the curtains drew back, revealing all of the Academy students standing on high rises with Emiko standing at the very front and center of the stage.

Emiko couldn't see anything. All she saw were shadows of people in the audience. She began trembling, completely forgetting what she was supposed to sing. Then, she saw him. She leapt off the stage and into the lap of the unsuspecting Sasuke.

Iruka came out onto the stage then, trying to keep himself from joining in the laughter of the crowd. "Why don't you come up here with her, Sasuke?"

Sasuke growled before reluctantly standing up and walking onto the stage, Emiko curled up in his arms. He walked into the spotlight and lifted the microphone up to Emiko's mouth. "Do you want me to hold it or do you?"

Emiko carefully took the microphone from Sasuke. She looked out at the crowd and began singing softly. "I don't want a lot for Christmas/ There's just one thing I need /
I don't care about the presents /Underneath the Christmas tree/ I just want you for my own/ More than you could ever know /Make my wish come true /All I want for Christmas is... You…."

The entire audience cheered and clapped as Emiko finished her song. Naruto jumped onto the stage and yanked Emiko from Sasuke's arms. "You were awesome, Emiko!"

Emiko giggled and hugged Naruto tightly. "Are we gonna go to the Christmas party now?"

Sasuke took Emiko back from Naruto. "We have to go back to the house and get the presents."

Sakura had now joined the group on the stage. "You got me a present, Sasuke-kun?"

"No." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Emiko made everyone presents, including you."

"Oh." Sakura said with a slight edge of disappointment. She quickly shook it off and smiled at Emiko. "Thank you, Emiko."

Emiko grinned. "You're welcome, Pinky-san. She tugged on Sasuke's hair. "Hurry up, Sasu-chan! I wanna go to the party."

Sasuke put Emiko down, holding her hand in his as they walked through the snow covered streets of Konoha. Emiko tugged insistently on Sasuke's hand, dragging him to the house. She practically kicked the door down and grabbed all the wrapped presents, tossing some at Sasuke for him to carry. The two then went back out into the cold, Emiko still in her angel costume.

"It's about time you two got here." Naruto beamed at the two as they made their way into the Nara's living room.

Emiko put all of her presents under the tree. She blinked, looking around curiously. "Is Pervy-san here?"

Sakura looked up briefly from attempting to push Sasuke under the mistletoe. "No. This is a party for us genin, and chunin." She added quickly, looking over at Shikamaru.

Emiko looked thoughtfully down at the present she had bought for Kakashi. She shoved Sakura out of the way and stood in front of Sasuke. "Can I take this to Pervy-san?"

Before Sasuke could respond, Naruto had lifted Emiko up and shoved her into his arms. "What the hell, Dobe!?"

Naruto laughed and pointed above the furious Uchiha and confused child. "You have to kiss Emiko."

Emiko and Sasuke both looked up to see the small, offensive plant dangling above them. Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave Emiko a quick peck on the cheek. Emiko glanced over at the furious Sakura before an evil idea came to her mind. She leaned in and quickly kissed Sasuke on the lips.

Naruto howled with laughter at the shocked look on both Sasuke and Sakura's faces. Emiko wriggled out of the stunned Uchiha's grip and skipped out of the house towards Kakashi's apartment. She skipped happily up the stairs to the fourth floor, knocking on Kakashi's door quickly.

Kakashi slowly opened the door, blinking at the sight of Emiko dressed as an angel standing on his doorstep. "What are you doing here, Emiko-chan? Shouldn't you be at the party?"

Emiko held her wrapped present up to Kakashi. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present."

Kakashi took the messily wrapped present, smiling brightly at Emiko. "Thank you, Emiko-chan."

Emiko rocked nervously back and forth on her heels. "Open it!"

"Why don't you come inside. I'll give you your present and then I'll open mine." Kakashi smiled as Emiko happily bounded into his apartment.

Emiko plopped herself down on the small couch in the living room, beaming up at Kakashi. "Why'd you get me a present?"

Kakashi sat next to her, still holding the present she had given him in his hand. "I just thought so a sweet girl like you deserved a present." He put his present down on the couch and walked into his room, coming out a moment later with a small, neatly wrapped box. He sat back down beside Emiko, handing her the present. "Go ahead and open it."

Emiko tore into the paper, looking curiously up at Kakashi when the paper revealed a plain, square white box. When Kakashi nodded at her, she lifted the lid and gasped. She pulled a small golden locket on a golden chain out of the box. The locket was in the shape of an oval, with a small key hole in the front. Emiko frowned as she attempted to open the locket. "It won't open."

Kakashi smiled. "Do you want to know what's inside the locket?" He smiled at Emiko's rapid nod. "It's a picture of you, your mother, and your father."

"Where's the key!?" Emiko cried urgently.

Kakashi chuckled. "I'll give you a hint; your mother gave it to you years ago."

Emiko pouted. "That's not a very good hint." Emiko decided she'd figure it out later. "Open your present, Papa!"

Kakashi blinked. "Papa?"

Emiko's eyes widened and she blushed slightly. "Sorry, Kakashi-san. It just kinda slipped out. I miss my Papa."

Kakashi smiled before hugging Emiko. "It's okay." He opened his present, stunned when he saw what it was. "How did you get this?"

Emiko grinned. "I told the lady at the bookstore that it was for you and she gave it to me."

Kakashi laughed nervously at the latest copy of Icha Icha Paradise that now lay in his lap. "You better get back to the party."

"Yeah." Emiko put the locket on before hopping off the couch. "Merry Christmas, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi smiled as he watched the small girl run out of his apartment. "Merry Christmas, Seika."

Emiko kept her eyes shut, wanting to stay in her dream world. Her memories of the past comforted her and kept her from remembering what was going on in her present. She frowned when she felt someone shaking her.

"Emiko, you need to wake up." A familiar and much loved voice whispered to her. "I need you to take care of Sasuke. It's time to wake up."

Emiko's eyes shot open. There was no one in her room. She looked over to the empty side of her bed. She reached out and gasped when she felt how warm the spot was, like someone had been lying there. She buried her face in the pillow on the empty side of the bed and her eyes widened. She would recognize that scent anywhere. Tears formed in her eyes. "…'Tachi…"

She sat up and looked over at her bedside table where her locket and charm bracelet were. She blinked curiously when she saw a white piece of paper resting on top of her charm bracelet. She picked the paper up and read the writing scrawled on the paper.

The key.

That was all it said. Emiko looked over at her charm bracelet. She picked it up in her right hand and held her locket in her left hand. She inspected her bracelet, noticing that the stem of the Konoha leaf was tiny enough to fit into the keyhole of her locket. She carefully placed the Konoha leaf stem into the keyhole, turning it slightly to the right and grinning when she heard the click. Slowly, she opened her locket, gasping when she saw the picture. Tears formed in her eyes but she quickly wiped them away when she heard her door opening. She closed her locket, frowning when she saw Tobi walk into her room.

"It's time for you and Sasuke's team to go on your mission." Tobi said, casually.

Emiko nodded before putting both her bracelet and locket on. Something inside her told her not to mention Itachi's scent on her pillow or who her father really was. She had to talk to Sasuke, alone.

So, it's 12:42 on Christmas Day and I've finally finished wrapping all of my families presents and writing this chapter. Could Itachi really be alive? Who is Emiko's father? Review and ye shall receive answers.