Ito is buried in a mountain of paperwork at the Hokage's office, but her focus is locked onto another file. It has a difficult genjutsu cast upon it, and is effectively encrypted beyond her levels of deciphering. She recognizes it as the work of Shimura Danzou, the man that she would say hates her more than anyone else. The elders were stubbornly indifferent towards her, but there was less disgust in their sideways looks after her brazen demonstration of strength. Ito is content to be in the background most of the time, but when she needs it, she knows how to steal the spotlight. She can command the attention of a room with her face alone, it is a power she chooses to use sparingly. Danzou is the one that openly stares when most people choose to ignore her. His lip curls into a sneer, undoubtedly scheming and plotting Ito's demise. He makes her blood run cold and her skin feel clammy and her gut insist that she is in danger. She asks Kakashi about him one day, and he tells her to avoid the wrong side of what that man wants.
(He also begins dragging her out of bed an hour before dawn each day and makes her train with him. He is not as nice as Itachi)
After marinating on the encrypted file for awhile longer, she hands it to the Sandaime and watches his reaction carefully. She memorizes the hand signs that he uses, though he completes them quickly. Just beyond her reach, the words shuffle and rearrange themselves to reveal Danzou's secrets. His correspondence with the Sandaime has increased exponentially lately, along with whispers of a darkness eating at the Hidden Leaf. Ito had been able to gather enough of her own evidence to put together much of the story. Before the other Sannin defected from Konohagakure, he had been responsible for the disappearance of dozens, if not hundreds, of children. This included many clan children, especially from the Uchiha and Hyuuga for their visual prowess. He needed bodies and DNA for his experiments, many of which turned out to be the byproducts of twisted, forbidden jutsu. Though he was long-since gone now (Ito had found out later from Kakashi that he had been hunting the Sannin himself the night he crashed at her apartment, and he bought her ramen for three months straight to make up for it), the disappearances had started again. The Sandaime's thick, unruly eyebrows furrow to a point, the corners of his mouth jutting downwards. Ito figures it is not good news.
It is a matter of great relevance to her, because it is little Sharingan-carrying children that are going missing.
Anything that is important to the Uchiha is of the utmost importance to Ito (they hold her loyalty now, especially with Jiraiya's betrayal).
The rest of her workday drags on, and around sunset the Hokage finally dismisses her. Ito considers it an urgent matter, and though Itachi is currently nations away, there is one other person she can report to. Uchiha Shisui lives on the edge of the compound, facing away from his neighbors to give him the maximum amount of privacy. She hesitates before knocking; since he is never expecting visitors, it's hard to predict what state you'll find the older boy in. He opens the door before she can muster the courage, curls tumbling freely without his headband present.
"Well, well, so you've finally come to your senses," he says cryptically, giving her a knowing smile. The confusion is apparent on her face. "You've finally come to choose me over Itachi. Ah, poor boy's gonna be heartbroken,"
"I truly have no idea what you are talking about, Shisui-san," Ito replies, one eyebrow raising in a severe arch. "I need you to teach me how to break a very complex genjutsu,"
Fun and games forgotten, he studies her for a moment. "So it is true, you are spying on the Hokage for Itachi,"
"Of course, I insisted on it. It was obvious he did not want to bear that burden,"
"You know they could have you killed over this?"
"That is of no matter to me,"
He hums thoughtfully and ushers her inside, and she is surprised to find it extremely clean and well-organized. Shisui makes it easy to forget he is also a brilliant shinobi, hiding his deadly skills behind jokes and pranks. Ito knows that there is no one Itachi trusts more.
"Tell me more about this genjutsu,"
"Is it true that with your Sharingan you can reverse engineer any jutsu?" Ito questions.
"Yes,"
"Good. I memorized the letter that Lord Danzou sent to the Sandaime this morning and the hand signs he used to release the genjutsu. With this information, could you cast a reverse genjutsu upon it to see what it really said? I have a hunch it is about the missing children. It is the Root faction of the Anbu responsible for investigating, no?"
"So you are a good little spy, too," He muses, handing her paper and ink. She begins copying it word for word, exactly, no mistakes. She has an excellent memory. She hands it to him, and he reads over the simplistic, repetitive sentences. "And the hand signs?"
She shows him: ne, hitsuji, uma.
His eyes deepen to the purest red Ito has ever seen, and his hands complete the opposite signs: uma, ushi, ne. The surface of the paper shimmers, suddenly reflecting different letters back at them. He scans it quickly, then sets it alight in his hands. The ashes crumble to the carpet, and Ito swallows. It must not be good news.
"You really are something, Ito-san," Shisui tells her after a moment, somewhat impressed and somewhat unnerved by the child. "Please, I cannot express my appreciation enough that you are protecting Itachi, but be careful. You are putting yourself in a very perilous situation,"
"My life has been one perilous situation after another, Shisui-san. I grow stronger every day," and it's the truth. The village's top shinobi had made themselves responsible for her training, and she had always been a fast learner. He smiles at her, a genuine, honest smile.
"If you ever need anything, Ito-san. Look for a crow and do this: I," he shows her the sign for boar. "Then say either Itachi's name or my own. We owe you a great debt,"
"It is I that owes everything to the Uchiha. Not the other way around, Shisui-san. Enjoy the rest of your evening," she bows and departs. He stares after her fading form for a long time, the puzzle pieces clicking together in his mind. No wonder little Itachi-kun was so smitten with the strange girl.
She is at one of her nightmarish training sessions with Kakashi, though instead of it being painfully early in the day, they had taken to the training grounds in the late evening. A few other Chūnin and Jonin are hanging around, curious to see the girl that had been making waves in the Hidden Leaf. It was also considered quite a spectacle just to see the silver-haired nin out regularly interacting with another person, and there were many rumors circulating about their relationship, a wide array of mostly preposterous hypotheses.
(Plus, anyone that had seen Ito and Itachi in the same room together knew that was a sure thing)
He was being especially harsh on her today, catching wind of rumors that the Hokage wished for her to participate in the upcoming Chūnin exams this autumn. After all, she is twelve and more skilled than any other Genin of this generation, and she would have the advantage as they take place in the village this year. Ito wouldn't doubt if the Sandaime himself had put Kakashi up to the task. Itachi had taught her many tricks, some of which she could do, and most of which she couldn't. The shadow clones ended up being the most helpful tool on her belt, but she was growing tired quickly from using them. She couldn't get a moment to recuperate, he was relentless. And fast.
(Even without his damn Sharingan)
Eventually, Ito makes a mistake that she pays for dearly. The bastard catches a sloppy attack, his eye narrowing as he grips her wrist. A harrowing crack splits the air. A moment of fear comes and passes, replaced quickly by anger. Ito yelps, and various members of their audience jump to their feet. She has never felt pain like this before, and she realizes with a pang, that it is necessary. She cannot be phased by broken bones on the battlefield.
"Holy fuck, Kakashi did you just break her wrist?" It's Sarutobi Asuma that speaks up, looking at the boy in utter disbelief. Everyone knew he was a bit extreme and a little unstable, but even he should know better than to seriously injure a child. Kurenai begins shouting at him too, but Ito cannot hear past the pain. Genma kneels by her side, examining the damage.
"Too far, man, not cool," he mutters. Kakashi looks unoffended.
"Heal it and get up," he commands, ignoring everyone else, only looking at Ito. She zeroes in on his voice, wanting to tell him to kiss her ass and go to hell, but it's so even, so steady. Inherently soothing. "Heal it and get up,"
She grits her teeth, uses her other hand to focus chakra on the snapped carpal bones. The pain eases, and she forces herself to her feet. There is pride in Kakashi's eyes when she meets his gaze. Their audience falls silent, some of them looking ashamed they had doubted the Copy Nin in the first place.
"Your greatest strength lies in the ability to fix yourself. A good medic-nin has infinite chances to defeat their opponent, and most shinobi you encounter at the Chūnin exams haven't picked a specialty yet. Few would be able to match your abilities," he tells her. She nods, pure determination returning the strength to her limbs.
Their sparring resumes, Ito's strength and confidence boosted tenfold. Her audience begins to cheer her on, it is the first time she recognizes them as comrades. No one tells Kakashi to take it easy on her again, she didn't need them to step in. To herself more than anyone else, she proves that she doesn't need shielding. After she calms down, she begins to analyze his movements and predict them. With a smile on her face, she marks an improvement in accuracy, landing two hits in a row on him.
"THE POWER OF YOUTH WILL PREVAIL!" A comical voice declares, achieving a volume that far exceeded any other voice. Gai Maito joins the crowd, transforming into Ito's personal cheerleader in her match against his eternal rival.
"That's right, old man," Ito teases, her feet suddenly feeling fleet and light as she begins to fight with the same grace she shows against Itachi.
"Alright, Ito-chan!" Kurenai calls, Ito's heart warms.
"Where did this come from all of the sudden?" Tuts Kakashi, lifting his hitai-ate. The smile falls slowly from Ito's face, Itachi never uses his when they spar. "Scared, little girl?"
Her gaze narrows. "You wish,"
He moves faster, but doesn't hit her as hard as he did before. She can tell by the look in his eyes that it had been a one time thing to prove a point, now he was being almost gentle. Regardless, when the pain begins to slow her down, she substitutes out and heals herself. Each of these small pauses, she takes a second to strategize. Eventually, she will run out of chakra, certainly much before he will. She'll have to outsmart him, and the only way she can do that is by using a different tool.
"Nokiri! Heavy fog jutsu!" Ito cries, folding her hands into the appropriate signs. She can hear everyone's exclamations of shock and awe, and it makes her smile. The area is swamped in a thick, moist, cloud. It's designed to impare her opponent's vision and hinder their movements, but if nothing else, it catches Kakashi completely off-guard. While his back is turned, she charges at him, thwacking him across the back of his head with a chakra-infused roundhouse kick. He stumbles out of the mist, where a clone is waiting to cast the water prison jutsu. Before he has time to avoid it, Ito grabs ahold of the moisture in the air and condenses it into a solid cage around him. He bows his head, defeated, then disappears in a puff of smoke.
(Ito's jaw drops)
The cocky bastard saunters up to her, hands shoved in his pockets. "That was rather excellent, Ito-san," he says in the exact same tone he would have used to describe mediocrity. "I had no idea you could use mist-style jutsu, I thought you were from Amegakure?"
Ito realizes how much attention is suddenly on her, she resists the urge to shrink back.
"Ame is all that I can remember. I discovered this ability training with Uchiha Itachi-kun, he was trying to teach me the water bullet technique, but I could only puff out little clouds," she explains.
"Ah, so that is where you're getting your little tricks from," he says, raising his eyebrow at her (Sharingan hidden away). "My, aren't you the popular one?"
They all go out for dango together, even Kakashi, though he spends the whole time reading his filth in the corner. Ito listens and munches away happily, enthralled by the stories they were swapping. She realizes that it is a sign of trust, of acceptance, that she has been invited into this conversation. They are sharing pieces of their own histories, parts of themselves to give to her freely. She accepts the bits and pieces, and she tucks them away for herself. As part of the Hidden Leaf belongs to her, so does she belong to the Hidden Leaf.
She signs up for the Chūnin exams just as Itachi had, the Sandaime giving her special permission to compete as a solo Genin. The paper test is nothing to her, she works through it quickly and correctly. She even goes so far as to encrypt it with a genjutsu similar to Danzou's design, so no one can cheat off of her and get them both kicked out. Morino Ibiki had never seen anything like it, taking note of the girl's name. She had the mind of a true spy.
The Forest of Death did little to phase her, Itachi had taken her here many times, scoffing at the notion that it was dangerous. Her appearance turned out to be her saving grace here; small, weak and alone, it wasn't long before a rival team targeted her for the Scroll of Heaven she carried. She bamboozled them with her fog, weaving between them so their attacks would hit each other instead. She was one of the first contestants to make it back with both scrolls, the news sweeping through Konoha like a tsunami. Jiraiya's little bird, Kushina's girl, that odd little thing that had moved into their village, breaking records at their Chūnin exams.
(Shimura Danzou's lip curls)
Three familiar faces greet her before the preliminaries. Kakashi, looking as awkward as ever; Itachi, a reserved smile on his face; and Shisui, as per usual, attached to Itachi's hip. She feels her nerves begin to quiet before she even reaches them, their faces alone enough of a comfort.
"You're paired against some kid from the Hidden Sound, no one knows him. He's a rookie competitor, too," Kakashi informs her, she thinks about what this means.
"They use percussive attacks," Ito says, they nod. "Does water still affect how the sound waves travel?"
"Always so smart, Ito-chan," Itachi hums, she fails to conceal her blush. Kakashi and Shisui share a look.
"Try to avoid using a variety of jutsu in this round, you'll have a few weeks to train before the finals, but that's when you're going to need the most tricks up your sleeve," Shisui advises.
"The worst thing you can do for yourself at this point is underestimate your opponent. Let them continue to self-sabotage themselves that way against you," Itachi adds.
"Otherwise, kid. Good job," Kakashi says, a faint crinkle at the corner of his eye. She wonders if that is his version of a smile.
The Sound shinobi is a few years older than her, and a bit overzealous. He incorrectly assumes that taijutsu isn't her forte, an easy mistake to make.
(But a mistake, nonetheless)
Sparring with Anbu agents will indubitably give any Genin an edge at hand-to-hand combat. Not to mention, there was a new close-range technique she had developed. After he embarrases himself trying to knock her out with brute force, he tries to use the gadget on his arm to cast a musical genjutsu. She sighs, a little disappointed that he turned out to be so predictable.
Her hands move faster than his, "Mizuma Tsuge, water whip jutsu!"
A tendril of water shoots out from her palms, coating his entire arm no matter how he struggled. The notes become wholly ineffective, distorted strangely by the liquid. She focuses her control, lifting the flailing boy high in the air and tossing him fifty feet across the arena, humiliatingly out of bounds. She almost feels bad when they carry him out on a stretcher, but the cheers clear her conscience. They are celebrating her, and for once, the attention does not make her feel sick.
She and Itachi celebrate on their own that night, fingers loosely interlocked as they carry their takeout to the spot by the pond.
"Even father was impressed," he informs her, beaming.
After that, she doubles down on her training. Several shinobi around town have volunteered to train with her, some share stories about Minato-san with her while they spar. She cherishes those moments. Others teach her how to utilize different ninja tools, or show her useful seals. Kakashi, Itachi, and Shisui, the local prodigies, focus on her ninjutsu. The Sandaime attends a few of her training sessions, and she even gets a nod of approval once.
By the time the finals arrive, she feels certain that she is ready.
Since she completed the first phases of the exam with flying colors, she knew that her final match will be a shinobi that made a similar impact. She has been eyeing this Hidden Sand shinobi for awhile, and it is no surprise to her when their names are side-by-side. She is thankful to have the elemental advantage again, but she knows she can't rely on any water techniques. Thankfully, there was something else in her wheelhouse. During her month of training, a scroll had appeared on her porch. It had the Hokage's seal on it, and when it unraveled, there was Tsunade's neat and familiar scrawl. The girl approaches her and Ito sizes up her opponent.
This battle is much more difficult for her, as they are infuriatingly evenly-matched in skill. Neither girl gets anywhere with taijutsu, both of them left panting and frustrated. Ito leads her into a paper bomb, she retaliates with a wind shuriken. Ito narrowly dodges, forced to take the defensive. She grits her teeth, watching her advantages slip away from her. The best option becomes baiting the girl into a final blow, one that would waste the rest of her chakra reserves. Finally, her opponent grows brave and impatient enough to try a brass full-frontal attack. Ito braces herself, forcing herself not to sub out as she is swept forcibly into a pillar of sand. She feels her ribs crack below her beating heart, shards and splinters of bone cutting into her lungs. She winces, holding her breath, hands shaking as she places her fingertips to the area of damage.
She can feel the intensity of Kakashi's gaze from across the arena. Out of all her comrades, he is standing (posture completely straight, so he is towering over everyone else for once). Their eyes meet.
(Heal it, and get up)
The girl, who has let her guard down in triumph, is flabbergasted to see little Ito stand (stronger than before).
Six hand seals: ushi, saru, hebi, tora, uma, inu. "Gekido kawa! Furious river jutsu!"
Both her palms slam into the ground, her energy replenished and wounds mended. The ground erupts, breaking open into a wide chasm. Her chakra reaches to the bedrock, where a powerful underground river courses through Konoha. It spits out of the earth like a geyser, flooding the arena with its rushing current. The sand shinobi begins to flee, running into a clone's awaiting arms.
"Nervous system rupture!" Ito cries, striking the girl in the side of her neck. She stumbles, struggling to stay on her feet, her face twisted in confusion. She ends up running straight into the force of the wave, betrayed by her own mind.
Ito goes home a Chūnin.
