Ito wakes up with a sharp inhale. Another nightmare fades away into the back of her memory. There is a smell of mildew and rot, and the air inside is just warm enough to be considered unpleasant. Muggy. She can hear the overlapping chatter of the other children. She glances at the window and sees that the sun is already peeking out over the mountaintops, and she forces herself into an upright position. Her back aches from the stiff mattress. From here, she can see the rubble of the entire academy with its slow-going repairs. Young shinobi work diligently, looking like little worker ants outside of her window. Ito, herself, begins her new job today.

She folds her limbs through the worn, monotone kimono that the orphanage had provided, refusing to spare herself a glance in the one mirror they had to share. She had been selected for her brains, not her beauty, and she didn't want anyone to get that mistaken. She has no belongings to put away, but she neatly folds and straightens the sheets on her bed before she leaves. No one acknowledges her as she slips out the door, no one even sees her.

The breeze nips at her, gently nibbling to warn her and the rest of the world that winter is on its way. She found out quickly that home had not inherently been in Konoha, but rather in the people that had grown to love her. As she walks through the battered streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, she only feels cold. No longer is the kindness and adoration the people showed to Kushina extended to her; she is met with blank, distrusting stares. Ito considers coloring her hair so that she doesn't stick out as much, for this kind of attention was unbearable. She had never felt like a stranger here before, but now senses an unwelcome chill coming her way. She understands that they are in pain. However, Ito realizes with a pang, that they cannot see how she is hurting, too.

After all, Kushina's pregnancy was a matter of great secrecy, they couldn't know how Ito lived for the woman and her baby.

(Just the baby, now)

With the school buildings and administrative offices flattened, most of the Hidden Leaf's paper-pushing had been temporarily rerouted to the Nara Compound. A Chūnin leads her to the main house with a bored expression on his face. The old man is waiting for her here, along with a man she recognizes as the Nara clan head, and his close ally from the Yamanaka. She swallows tightly, their gazes landing on her as she enters the room. Ito steps forward, her feet often braver than her heart.

"I was told you had found a placement for me, Lord Hokage-sama," Ito says, her eyes trained carefully downwards.

"Yes, I have," the old man assures. She does not fully trust him. "We only need to ask you some questions first,"

"Okay," her heart skips a beat.

"You see, everyone that comes into the Hidden Leaf from a rival village has to be processed through T and I," he continues, his eyes warmer than his voice.

(She hadn't been around long, but she knew what those letters stood for, and a shiver goes down her spine)

"Since it was the Sannin Jiraiya that brought you here, those protocols were overlooked. However, the situation has changed,"

She shudders, images of Kushina's and Minato's cold, stiff bodies flashing through her mind. She could still feel the blood congealed in between her fingers, as if she were still clutching their wailing infant to her chest in the aftermath of the battle. The tall, blond Yamanaka man approaches her. She thinks to herself that he looks exhausted and profoundly sad.

"What is your name?" He asks, voice gentle.

"Wakumi Ito,"

"Where are you from,"

"Amegakure,"

"How long have you been here?"

"Eight months,"

"What happened on the night of October Tenth?"

She says nothing. The man glances at his superior, who nods at him. He takes a deep breath and places a hand on Ito's forehead, though it holds none of the affection and comfort of Kushina's warm touch. A lightning bolt erupts across her mind, and she vaguely feels herself being caught as her legs turn to jelly beneath her. She cannot stop the memories from flooding forth, as if he is forcibly dragging them from the banks of her mind.

The day had started off with a sunrise painted by the kami themselves, the air crisp and clean with the hint of winter on its breath. The tenth of the month had arrived with little notice, somehow catching all three of them off guard despite their preparations. Ito wakes when it is still dark, to make sure there is steaming food on the table by the time Kushina and Minato stir. They had both had woken up with a glow to them, their faces shining and bubbling with excitement and joy. They bid their farewell early, the doctors and Anbu eager to usher Kushina away. On their way out, Ito retrieves an Omamori talisman that she had gotten from the the Nara healer in town earlier that week.

"For your safety and health," Ito whispered, gently closing Kushina's hands around the symbol of luck.

Kushina hid her misty eyes behind a brilliant smile, lovingly brushing Ito's untamable hair out of her eyes. Minato-san had assured her that they would be back before she knew it. Once she was alone, Ito had been desperate to keep her hands busy. She tidied, dusted, and scrubbed. She reorganized Kushina's bookshelf five times over, washed the curtains and drapes, and prepped three days worth of meals (for three meals a day). It still didn't kill nearly enough time, and Ito grew more and more anxious each moment that passed. Afternoon fades into evening. She made a list of groceries and things around the house they might need, and even her errands on the other side of town were completed shortly.

Eventually, she had grown sleepy while waiting for the baby's arrival. A crash rustles her from her soft slumber, but a scream makes Ito's head shoot up immediately. She recognizes the sound of chaos from her early years in Amegakure. Her blood begins to rush through her veins, and her mind sharpens. She moved subconsciously, allowing her feet to carry her into the forbidden study room where Minato hid his spare ninja tools in. In his excitement that morning, thankfully, he had forgotten to lock the door. She rustles through drawers and shelves, eventually stumbling upon one of his specially-marked kunai. It is heavier than she imagined it would be.

She can remember the war vividly as she steps outside. The scent of death in the air is overwhelming. Ito ducks underneath collapsing buildings, slithers throughout the wreckage, and makes her way towards the heart of the village. Wood splinters and pops violently, smoke assaults her nostrils and claws at her eyes. A hand reaches out and grabs her by the shoulder. With a gasp, she spins with blade in hand, prepared to do whatever is necessary. Her attack was stopped easily by a boy with a wild frenzy of silver hair piled onto his head and a mask over his mouth. Relief washed over her as she identified his Leaf nin hitai-ate. One of his eyes glares a deep scarlet.

"Ito-san, the order is to evacuate. You can't go that way," he informs her, his voice tight with an emotion she cannot read.

"How do you know my name?" She inquires, struggling against his grip.

"I am one of Minato-sensei's former students, like you, I was asked to watch over Lady Kushina-sama," he explains, not letting her go. "Also you shouldn't have this, if you don't know how to use it,"

She holds the kunai just out of his reach, a tenacious gleam in her eye. "How hard can it be? I'll make sure to use the pointy end,"

"Children and civilians are to retreat behind the barrier," he repeats, patience running thin. A building creaks and screams as it gets ready to implode.

"Does that include you?" Ito bites back, failing again to free herself from his grasp. He doesn't reply, his only visible eyebrow coming to a dangerous point.

"As a matter of fact, it does," he says finally, voice icy. "So come on, let's go,"

"No!" Ito yells. "You might have to follow orders, because you wear that stupid headband, but I serve no one but Lady Kushina! I will die by her side, if that is what it takes to protect Naruto!"

The boy is taken aback by her passion, but after a moment sighs and gives her a dark look. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way,"

"Then it'll be the hard way!" She snaps, jamming her heel into his groin and darting away from him.

When she gets past the bulk of the rubble, she stops dead in the demon's wake. A beast beyond her own imagination, a nine-tailed fox the size of a mountain with evil crimson eyes lays siege to her new home. Tears sting her eyes, but she grits her teeth and continues to push towards the monster. The closer she gets, the harder it is to avoid the shrapnel and ruination. She ducks and sneaks around the shinobi forces as they fight, crawling over dead bodies and pretending not to feel the bones underneath her feet. She is breathless and hysterical by the time she arrives at the main battle, Minato looking impossibly small as he faces the creature by himself. She can see what is about to happen like a prophecy. It raises horrible, fiery talons high in the air, readying a strike against Minato.

She screams, because she doesn't know what other sound would possibly reach him. She allows her instincts to grab ahold of her, and she throws the kunai with all of her might. He glances in her direction to see his own mark of the Flying Raijin whiz past the beast harmlessly. He blinks, but doesn't have the time to process what is happening. Ito clenches her little fists, ardently hoping her plan will work. The blade clatters to the ground in slow motion, somehow in just enough time for Minato to teleport and the behemoth's attack to miss entirely. Instead, it begins to generate a massive, sweltering ball of energy, the world around them growing dark. Her heart skips a beat. Minato slams his palms into the earth, and a gargantuan toad falls from the heavens onto the fox.

He is by her side in an instant, checking her for injuries, though he is the one bleeding and broken.

"Ito-chan, weren't you told to evacuate?" He frets, both of his hands on the girl's slight shoulders. He tries to signal to one of the nearby soldiers, but she steadies him, a determined fire burning in her sapphire eyes.

"Where is Naruto?" She asks him, looking much older in the dancing light of destruction.

"Ito-chan, you could die," he says simply, knowing that his own fate is already certain.

"That is of no matter to me," the child replies coldly. His heart breaks for her and for his son. He weighs his options.

"You must do exactly as I say," he mutters, wrapping his arms around her tight as he prepares to teleport them. He whispers instructions into her ear, tenderly stroking her hair the same way one would comfort a lamb before its slaughter.

She stumbles when they land, fighting to quell the nausea in her stomach. Minato looks close to collapsing, but she forces herself to do as he said. She finds Kushina just inside the safe house. The woman is bleeding heavily, her hair spilling out messily around her. Her skin is gray, but there is a soft smile on her face as she nuzzles her infant boy. Ito gasped in wonder, her heart softening at the baby's even breathing. His face is shaped like his mother's, but it is Minato's golden hair on his head.

"Kushina-san," Ito greets, voice thick with grief.

"Ito-chan, my love, how did you get here?" Kushina mumbles sleepily, succumbing to her injuries.

"Minato-san is outside with the beast. He told me that he needs your help," Ito replies, squeezing her eyes shut so the tears wouldn't fall.

"Ah, I understand," the woman nods, quivering as she forces herself to sit up. She tenderly places Naruto in Ito's arms, and the girl freezes. She knows that he is the most precious thing that had ever been held in her hands. "Please wait here until we call for you,"

She does. Ethereal chains spill out from Kushina's body, caging the world in a golden prison. She watches while Minato explains the same plan to his wife that he had to Ito, and she is not surprised when Kushina protests. Ito begins to cry softly, the emotion she had been holding off for so long starting to rack through her. The Nine Tails seems to sense his intentions, and in a moment that will haunt her for the rest of her life, she feels its attention land on her. She backs up, curling her own body around Naruto protectively and standing in a doorway where the tremors didn't shake the safehouse as much. An impossibly loud crash shatters her eardrums. Dust and wood splinters explode, littering Ito's arms and legs with cuts and slices. She whimpers, feeling the walls crumble around her. Ito does not dare look up, feeling the demon's horrible lust for the child. She readies herself for death, Naruto somehow sleeping soundly in her arms. But death does not come.

Minato and Kushina, hand in hand, take the blow that was meant for Ito and Naruto.

She can't hold herself back any longer. Their blood spills forth, falling with a sickening splash upon the grass. A scream tears from her throat. She wails until blood spatters her lips from her ripped esophagus.

Kushina shushes her. "Ito-chan, don't worry, y'know," She smiles.

"Bring Naruto to us," Minato says softly, and Ito cannot look him in the eye as she hands him his child. She does not listen to their sweet nothings and promises, it is a private moment between them and their child; instead she tries to commit the only time the four of them will spend together to her memory.

"Ito-chan, thank you." Kushina's last words were to her. The ghostly blade, as big as the thickest trees in the forest, pierces through her adoptive parents and into the Nine Tailed Monster. She feels the energy surge through the air, Naruto begins to cry. After a dragged out moment, it's over, leaving the world in an uncomfortable and heavy silence. She falls to her knees beside them, and tenderly retrieves the baby, and they cry together.

She doesn't notice the old man approach, his hand on her shoulder startling her away from the spine-chilling scene. Minato's last words are to him, although she is too numb to hear. Ito is passed off to the Shiranui boy, whose face was abnormally gaunt and serious. He looks both very young and very old, and she realizes he must have just made the cut to fight instead of evacuate.

"C'mon, Fishbone," he mutters, dragging her away from the tattered remnants of her family. Someone yanks Naruto out of her hands, and she screams, but is removed quickly from the situation. The next few days are a blur. She doesn't see Naruto again.

The memories slow and stop, fading to a whiteness before she is able to open her eyes. When she comes back to reality, she is surprised to feel the wetness on her cheeks and the scratchiness of her throat. From the men's faces, she knows that she cried and screamed in time with the recollection of the disaster. She feels dizzy.

"Lord Hokage, this girl is a hero. I'm done here," The Yamanaka sighs, face contorted with more grief than before.

"Wait, Inoichi-san, were you able to see what happened with the seal?" The old man questions, his eyes narrowed at Ito.

"It seems he could only fit part of the Nine Tails into the baby, so he sealed the rest within himself before he died,"

Ito blinks, and she reminds herself why she is here in the first place.