The anniversary of the Kyuubi attack is a somber day for many; Umino Iruka and Uchiha Izumi walk with noticeably lowered heads, as do many others who lost loved ones in the catastrophe. Wakumi Ito is not among them. She forces Minato and Kushina's death scene out of her mind, smothering her sadness for the sake of celebrating Naruto's birthday. She is at the Sandaime's side, where the elders are meeting to decide the baby's fate. They pretend she is not there, but she is listening intently to their gossiping and chatting. She grows impatient, and considers asking why they haven't begun addressing the matter at hand, but then decides not to draw any unwanted attention to herself. There are several Anbu agents stationed around the room, Kakashi is one of them. She can feel his gaze land on her every once in awhile, his mask angled ever so slightly in her direction. It is the only time she dares show any expression on her face, silently conveying her impatience to him. He tilts his head in what she hopes is an acknowledgement.

Finally, the great double doors creak open in a dramatic entrance, and she receives an answer to her question. Ito has to physically bite her tongue in order to keep herself from speaking out, anger causing her cheeks to flush scarlet and eyes harden into cold sapphire. She tastes hot iron in her mouth. His eyes land on her, eyebrows quirking up in mild interest. She stares back venomously, her mind starting to race along with her heartbeat.

"Jiraiya-sama, I trust you faired well in your travels. Thank you for joining us today," The Hokage greets politely, the Sannin grins widely.

"It's always good to come home, sensei!"

(His dazzling smile makes her itch with fury)

"I am also afraid that I have a bit of news myself,"

"Oh? What news do you speak of?"

"There has been a coup in Amegakure," The words chill Ito to the bone, and she puts aside her feelings to pay attention. "Hanzou is dead, and the Hidden Rain has been taken over by an organization called the Akatsuki, led by my former students,"

Ito inhales splinters into her lungs, her heart aching at the thought of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan being in danger, or worse- becoming enemies.

(Orphans must always stick together)

"Hanzou the Salamander? Dead? Preposterous," one of the councilman scoffs. Jiraiya shakes his head gravely.

"I infiltrated the village and saw it for myself,"

They break out into hushed, panicked whispers. Sarutobi Hiruzen is silent, regarding his former pupil thoughtfully.

"And what of the Akatsuki?" He inquires after the conversation dies down.

"They started by promoting infrastructure and helping civilians throughout the village without Hanzou's governing, and eventually that crotchety old bastard confronted them for trying to steal his power. One of them was killed-"

Ito's heart skipped a beat.

"The leader of the three, Yahiko,"

His eyes flicker to her, knowing she had been smitten in the boy's presence when she was younger. She does not give him the satisfaction of seeing the pain in her eyes.

"And the other two have assumed power over the village. Now they seem to be driven more towards assassination and mercenary work,"

"Is the region stable?" An ancient woman asks, the skin around her mouth sagging down heavily.

"More or less. And things here in the village?"

"Repairs are steady, if not a little slow-going," someone Ito does not recognize reports.

"And the seal holding back the Nine-tails?" Jiraiya questions.

(Finally, Ito thinks to herself)

"Stronger than it had been on Kushina," Hiruzen says, a smile on his face.

For the first time in hours, he glances down at his young companion. She is at his side like usual, hands folded neatly in her lap, eyes locked onto a distant spot on the floor. Hearing every word and reading between each line. In wisdom beyond her years, it is the silences she pays the most attention to. He has never seen a child so still and quiet, like the ocean's face on a calm day; riptides of a shrewd intellect, short temper, and sharp tongue churning beneath the tranquil surface.

She is scanning the reactions of the room carefully, analyzing each expression with carefully disguised interest. It is Jiraiya that she lingers on, her brow ticking in irritation.

"And where is the child now?" The sage asks, time slows down for Ito.

"He is under round-the-clock care at an undisclosed safehouse outside of the village," Ito sighs in reliefs at Sandaime-sama's words. "You are the child's legal godfather, Jiraiya-sama, what are you going to do?"

"What on earth do you mean?" Jiraiya says, clutching his chest indignantly. "I am a busy man, I can't take care of a baby,"

(Kakashi's eyes burn into her, a reminder to control herself)

"So what are we to do with him?" One of the council members inquires, disgust apparent on their face.

"Raise him like any other child?" The man suggests, unbothered.

(She inhales, the dam breaks)

"You really bear no responsibility at all towards your favorite student's son, your godson, the hero that saved this village?" Though Ito is small, her voice is not. It rings clearly throughout the room, easily heard. Her face is blank and expectant, awaiting his answer. The elders explode into outrage, but the Hokage silences them with a sharp glance.

"A child presumes to speak to me about responsibility?" Jiraiya retorts, regarding her in cold amusement. She meets his gaze without flinching, righteous anger glittering in her eyes.

"You are the one lacking maturity here, Jiraiya-sama. It makes one almost glad the Yondaime died before his hero turned out to be nothing but a flippant, petulant brat. He would have hated to see you disgrace yourself this way," Ito comments icily, Jiraiya's eyes narrow. She knows how to hit where it hurts.

"And do you think you can do better, Ito-chan?" He seethes.

"If you are offering nothing, then anyone can," Ito replies, not missing a beat. "However, you and I both know Lady Kushina-sama intended me to care for Naruto in your absence,"

Their audience bristles, and one man dares to speak out.

"And what makes you think you are capable of doing anything for the jinchuriki, whelp?" He sneers. Her glare shifts to him, then to Kakashi.

(He owes her one)

"Go get me a fish," she commands, he tilts his head and is gone in the blink of an eye. She stands from her seat and bows to the Sandaime. "Lord Sandaime-sama, outside of the hours I spend with you here, I develop my skills as a shinobi. I do this in order to ensure I will be a capable caretaker for Uzumaki Naruto-chan,"

(She is terrified, so many pairs of eyes on her, but she does not shake. She does not falter)

Kakashi returns, a fish flopping helplessly in his hands. She nods, and he guts it with a flash of his kunai. Before its gills stop flapping, Ito focuses her chakra with all of her strength and control. The Hokage and his council, Jiraiya, and each of the guards watch her bestow a miracle upon the dying creature. Before their very eyes, organs are recreated from scratch, rebuilding the fish from the inside out until it is fully reborn. She then folds her hands into the signs Itachi had taught her, casting a water bubble jutsu around the creature so it could breathe. It begins swimming around the room at her control, demonstrating its perfectly whole body to the elders.

"That technique..." Jiraiya starts quietly. "That's Tsunade's!"

The volume in the room erupts once more at the revelation, the Hokage calling for order.

"You have clearly been working hard, Ito-chan," Jiraiya observes. "So I've made a shinobi out of you after all,"

"I inherited my Will of Fire from Minato and Kushina's dying breath, Jiraiya-san. I am sorry to say it is not something you can add to your own accolades," Ito snaps, the two of them ready to go at each other's throats.

Surprisingly (especially to himself), it is Kakashi who steps in to diffuse the situation.

"That's enough, Ito-san. You've proved your point well," he says quietly, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

His voice of reason calms her, and she immediately snaps back into her demure façade. The meeting rushes to finish, having held more excitement and drama than anyone had been prepared for. The matter of what to do with Naruto is put aside once again. Ito is the first one out of the door, dying for fresh air and escape. Kakashi falls into step by her side, seeking to shield the girl from any retribution for her outburst. It is only the Sannin that chases them.

"Wait, Ito-chan, please," he calls, and if anything, her pace quickens. Kakashi looks uncertainly between them.

(It doesn't matter, Jiraiya catches up easily with his long legs)

After he closes the distance between them, she spins around and shoves him violently away. Surprised, he nearly stumbles.

"You are not the man I knew before!" She shrieks. "Leave me alone, I want nothing to do with you,"

"C'mon, kid, please," he pleads. "I know it's been one helluva year,"

"Oh, you know? You know?!" She shouts incredulously, tossing her hands up in the air.

"You don't know anything! Where have you been? You left me here with a ticking time-bomb! I saw the Nine Tails! I stood in the shadow of its flames and watched my family die!" She hollers shrilly, her voice beginning to grow hoarse. "And it's a year before you even bother to show your face! And then when you do, you show up acting like a petulant child and claim that you want nothing to do with Naruto, nor with me!" There are tears shining in her eyes that she stubbornly refuses to let fall.

"Y-you show up and say Yahiko-kun has been killed, and you don't even flinch," she says. "Like you don't care about any of us at all,"

The Sannin looks uncomfortable and ashamed, unable to find the right words to say. Ito shakes her head in disappointment and walks away, another October tenth ruined.

(Ito had pictured herself finally reuniting with the baby today, though part of her knew that had been too optimistic)

Kakashi trots after her, still unsure of whether her actions would have repercussions or not. He escorts her all the way to her apartment, just to be safe.

"Hey, Ito-san," he stops her before she goes inside. "They can't keep him in a safehouse forever. Sooner or later, Uzumaki Naruto will walk freely around the Hidden Leaf. As long as you're ready for him when he gets here, I wouldn't worry too much about it, hn?"

He vanishes into thin air seconds later, leaving Ito to ponder his words for the rest of the evening.


After Itachi joins the ranks of the Anbu, their already-limited time together is shortened even more. Often when they find time for each other, it is only so that she can give him new information to fend off his parents (mostly his father). She learns not to expect him before his missions anymore, accepting the mystery-shrouded life that her friend has adopted without much of a fight. She tries to ignore how lonely it is without him. A light tapping at Ito's window rouses her from her slumber. The source of the disturbance turns out to be a crow with particularly intelligent eyes, pecking fervently at the pane of glass. It holds a scroll in its beak, and she urges herself to get up and retrieve it. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she scans over its contents.

Ito-san,

are you really about to spend the first moments of the new year snoring?

meet me at the gates

U.I.

Her heart begins to flutter in her chest excitedly, a smile creeping onto her face. He must have returned from his mission at some point earlier in the evening, and it's been awhile since they've seen each other. She scrambles into a kimono, pulling an extra robe on to protect herself from the frosty air. Her feet crunch in the fresh-fallen snow. At the rate she is traveling, it is not long before the village's entrance is within view. He is waiting for her with a bored expression on his face, but his dark eyes light up when she approaches.

(They both look forward to the tight embrace they know awaits them)

She has a hard time pulling herself away from his warmth, shivering after a wintry gust blows flurries of snow around them. He's gotten a few inches taller than her now, so she has to look up to meet his eyes. She takes note of the purpling and bruising beneath his eyes, of the stress that is marring his face with age. She knows the weight and pressure on him is only growing, and it breaks her heart.

"This better be worth it," she teases, dying to see his smile.

"And if it is not, what are you going to do?" He replies, a mischievous smirk slathering itself across his mouth. She cannot quell the girlish butterflies in her stomach.

"Oh trust me, you don't want to know," she grins. He shakes his head and begins pulling her along the path.

"There's something- or rather, somewhere- I want to show you," he explains, his gaze is almost uncomfortably warm (almost). She leans into him as they walk, trying to suppress her shivers. He shoots her a sympathetic glance, taking her hand in his and interlocking their fingers. Ito can feel her cheeks turn pink, but he doesn't seem to notice. They fit together snugly, innocently, just as she imagined they would. Heat radiates from his palm, and she realizes that he is using his chakra to keep their hands warm. Her heart feels like it has melted from the proximity.

He leads her diligently through the forest until it opens into a wide clearing. Blankets of snow swaddle the earth in sheets of pure white, the sky deepening to an endless blue in contrast. There is a pond, frozen over with a beautiful, crystal sheen. The bushes and shrubs don icicles like the diamonds of a chandelier, sparkling and shining in the moonlight. It looks like a scene out of a fairytale. Ito is breathless, staring in wonder. Itachi's eyes never stray from her face.

(He needed this. He needs her and the light in her heart)

"This," she starts, facing him finally. Her aquamarine eyes reflect the stars shining in the sky, glittering like gemstones. Her hair, a frosty shade of periwinkle, tumbles just past her shoulders in unruly waves. Her crooked smile and her crooked teeth, the way it brightens the very atmosphere, a perfect example of wabi-sabi. Itachi has never found any girls particularly beautiful before, but if there would be anyone...

Wakumi Ito was stunning to him.

"Is exquisite," she tells him, pressing frostbitten lips to his cheek in a sweet kiss. "Thank you for showing this to me,"

Both of them flush red, the two of them smart enough to know that they're bumbling into more-than-friend territory. They break away from each other moments later; Itachi's hand finds its way to the back of his burning neck ruefully, Ito nervously fumbles with the hem of her kimono.

"This is my favorite place in all of Konoha," Itachi informs her, she tries to conceal how honored she feels.

"I think it is mine, too, now," she smiles. "Itachi-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu," she sings.

"Happy New Year, Ito-chan," he tries out the term of endearment on her name, and he decides that he likes it.

They spend hours in Konoha's winter wonderland, catching snowflakes on their tongues and pelting each other's shadow clones with snowballs. The sun is peeking over the faces of Hokage Rock when they finally stumble back into the village, nearly frozen to death, but with spirits invincibly high. Ito collapses into her bed, unable to pull the smile off of her face for hours. She finds comfort in the fact that, Anbu or not, the connection between her and Itachi hasn't faded. In fact, if she is honest with herself, she knows that her feelings grow stronger every day.

Ito falls asleep thinking about the way Minato-san looked at Kushina with pure, ardent adoration gleaming in his eyes.

(The same lovestruck gaze is in her dreams tonight, but it comes from Itachi instead. He is looking at her)