A/N Hello everyone! Sorry for disappearing for an entire month, holidays are quite the hectic time of the year as I'm sure all of you know. I've been spending time with family and have gone abroad and during that time I quite abandoned my writing. I'm very sorry to say I'm not as tuned in with the characters since it's been almost a month, but I'm working on it, I promise. In the meantime, here is a short kinda filler chapter with some new friends and some old ones. Hope you like it and I'll be back soon with the next Cuunin Exams part!

Happy reading!

Bruce Rosie

Chapter 12. Family.

As we sat around the table at Taka's place, I realized the emotional toll it was taking on me. I was both very happy and having the best of times, and at the same time, I felt like I'd rather be anywhere else. Taka's moms were amazingly beautiful, funny and kind in equal measures; they were both amazing cooks as well, and they were everything I never realized I wanted.

Arisu was a shopkeeper at the main Konoha market. She was not only gorgeous but also stylish and one of the kindest people I'd ever met. Her smile was warm and candid as I'd never seen before, and her long, blonde, curly mess of a mane made her all the more unique and memorable. Her entire complexion was not only far beyond what one would call 'sun-kissed' but was also littered with freckles, giving her already inviting appearance, and even more approachable look.

Miyako, Arisu's wife, was her exact opposite. She shone in a completely different way, her dark skin and luscious black hair complimented her thin face beautifully and even if she didn't have any defining characteristics like her wife's hair, she was by no means plain looking. Miyako was the head assistant at the Konoha migration department, and had the temper and authority of someone who had been dealing with stubborn shinobi her entire life.

They had met in Kusa, where Arisu's family run an onsen. At the beginning of the war, Miyako had deserted her village in Water Country before Mist closed their borders and somehow ended in Arisu's inn. Kusa didn't allow same gender marriage at the time, so they ran away together, and a year later they were married in Konohagakure no Sato.

Because of the economical toll the war was taking on the general population, Arisu left the village with a merchant caravan to try and sell their goods in Suna, while Miyako made herself irreplaceable in the migration office. Six months later, Arisu returned from wind country with Taka, who had been orphaned during the war and abandoned in the dessert to die. Turns out, that Wind Country's economy wasn't in much better shape than the warring countries, and raising every orphaned child had been nearly impossible.

Taka had been raised in a loving family with caring parents and everything a child could need or want. He had been granted his dream of going to Konoha's Shinobi Academy and had worked hard to become a genin. Today, he was my team mate and one of my closest friends, and was now sharing the gift Kami had given him with Hota and I.

"Akane-chan, do you not like soba noodles? I think I have some onigiri left if you would rather eat that."

I looked up at Arisu-san as I realized I'd spaced out in the middle of the conversation, and that in my daze, the dish in front of me had gone cold and drawn Taka's mom attention.

"Oh no, I'm very sorry. I'm sort of tired from today and spaced out. The food is delicious as usual, Arisu-san." I apologized as I took my chopsticks once again and dug into the cold noodles in front of me.

Conversation started once again, but it seemed like Hotaka had noticed something was amiss. I shrugged off the feeling of nostalgia my previous musings had brought up and tried to enjoy what was left of the meal. But for some reason, the feeling stayed with me throughout lunch, and continued to stick with me for quite some time; until I realized that I envied Taka for what he had, and had just never realized it.

After lunch at the Amori's, Hotaka and I said our goodbyes and started to make out way towards the outskirts and to our respective compounds. Since we had just had lunch and weren't particularly in a rush, we decided to take a stroll through Konoha's crowded marketplace. No one spared a second glance to the two children wearing a Hitai-ate, these people lived among shinobi we weren't the first nor the last children under 13 they would meet who had already become ninja.

"Don't you feel it's actually quite sad?" I asked my team mate out of the blue. "That people don't bat an eyelid when children like us are already made shinobi, I mean?" I explained in response to Hotaka's raised eyebrow. "Isn't it sad people are used to seeing child soldiers?"

Hotaka considered my question. Which was very unusual since the existence of the shinobi system was something almost no one questioned, mostly because it was so engraved into our way of living that even considering their disappearance was ridiculous. So when he didn't brush off my question, which was what I was expecting, he took some time to think of an appropriate answer.

We walked in silence as my team mate considered my question. Civilian schools were resuming their classes for the day, and their students roamed around the market in groups, killing time before they had to go home and do their chores. Hotaka had never had the opportunity to live a simple, quiet life that our civilian counterparts did, but for some reason it was not something he ever complained about. Maybe it was a Hyuuga thing…

As for me, had I chosen to obey Obaa-chan's wishes, I would have lived the carefree life these children were living. But my ambition remained and my will to protect my loved ones was reason enough to convince me that I'd made the right decision. Civilian life had never been meant for me.

"Well, if you think of it, it's only sad if 'child soldiers', as you have chosen to call us, had been forced or tricked into becoming shinobi. Since most people I know became ninja of their own free will, I don't think it has to be a bad thing" Answered Hotaka finally. "But I guess it is sad that the world needs shinobi at all."

I thought over Hotaka's words all the way back to my house. It was unfortunate shinobi existed at all, but they were here so people could feel safer, weren't they? Weren't we?

I opened the front door and was met with the smell of something cooking. Because it wasn't burning, I thought, it couldn't be Shisui. It didn't take me long to connect the dots once I heard a familiar voice coming from the kitchen. I left my sandals by the entrance went on to meet the men n the house, but what I thought would be two, turned out to be three people.

As I had suspected, Itachi stood by the stove, steering at pots here and there while chopping some vegetable or other in the mean time. What I had failed to anticipate was the third person sitting at the table with my brother discussing what I gathered were the parameters for a mission.

"Yo!" greeted Kakashi raising his hand without looking up from the parchment he was reading.

"Itachi-san here was getting anxious that you hadn't arrived yet." I heard the reprimand in my brother's voice as he smiles before standin up and coming over to greet me.

He pressed his lips to my forehead and muttered a soft 'Okaeri' when I announced myself. When Shisui pulled away, I saw Itachi standing behind him with a disgruntled look that didn't quite match the pink apron he had borrowed. His fists were at his hips and if one considered he was grabbing a wooden spoon rather threateningly, he looked like a retired kunoichi about to scold her child. Shisui chuckled at the sight and made his hasty retreat to the table, reclaiming his seat next to Kakashi and getting back to work immediately.

I smiled lightly.

"Where were you? I looked for you once our team was done and I couldn't find you anywhere."

Knowing Itachi, he probably wanted to share his run at the exams with me and compare it to my own so that he could have more information to work with, evaluation methods could tell you a lot about the nature of the examination system and what was expected of us. But since I wasn't there, he probably had already figured it out on his own anyway, although he had expected me to provide a second opinion.

"We went to Taka's for lunch. Did you want to discuss the exam?" I asked as I took a seat next to Kakashi and poured myself a cup of tea.

"I wanted to spend time with my best friend actually. We haven't had much time together with how hard we've been training."

Shisui chuckled and Kakashi let out an exhale that was suspiciously like one, making Itachi go scarlet.

"I know, I haven't seen Hana in a while either. Maybe when all of this is over we can have an entire day to ourselves- Brother, please. Stop making fun of Itachi, you are making him uncomfortable. You too, Kakashi-san."

It seemed like my plea for quiet had had the opposite effect, because Shisui burst out laughing harder than I'd ever seen him do and Kakashi started shaking silently in an attempt to regain his composure. Itachi, on the other hand, turned away to resume his stress relief cooking without another word.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was it that was this funny. Yes, I knew my brother thought Itachi liked me, but I knew better; and even if that were the case, I still didn't think it was something to laugh at him for.

"Care to explain what is it that is making you two laugh like hyenas?" I asked once my patience had run out. "Because, whatever it is, it's making him uncomfortable and I'd like it to be over and done with."

Itachi continued to ignore the rest of us, apparently not caring wether they told me the reason behind his sudden bashfulness. On the other side of the room, Shisui continued to laugh and, unable to control his outburst, motioned Kakashi to explain. The last member of the company was able, if barely, to control his shaking shoulders before sitting straighter and facing me.

"Aparently, your friend here doesn't like trusting just anyone with the protection of his loved ones, so he did a little… investigation regarding your team." He chuckled at his own choice of words. " And he came across a very interesting piece of intel he didn't like much. Being the caring friend he is, apparently gives him the right to interfere in your life and decide who is allowed to have a relationship with you. One closer than his, that is..."

"Oh, spit it out, Hatake!" yelled my brother finally quieting down and whipping the mirth from his eyes.

"It seems like the Huuga kid has a crush on you, and Itachi-san here doesn't like it one bit."