Author note: here ya go… just as I promised, chapter 4 is officially complete and ready to read.

Pairings

KagomeXItachi

"I'm talking."

'I'm thinking.'

Onto chapter four!

TIME TO BEGIN

TWO YEARS LATER…

"Alright class! Listen up! It's time to see if you guys graduate, or if you get stuck with my teachings for another year!"

The normally chaotic class quieted as their heads snapped up to attention.

Kagome and Itachi both looked on with boredom on their face. Kagome's thoughts however, were the exact opposite.

'Crap! Why now!? Why did the test have to be now!? Yesterday was by birthday damn it! If I don't get out of here, who knows! I'll probably blow up half the town!' Kagome thought in a panic as she made sure she wasn't glowing pink. She calmed down slightly when she realized she wasn't.

Itachi looked at his companion with worry, not that he would show it of course. 'I wonder what's bothering her. She seems extremely worried about something. I'll probably find out sooner or later,' he though as he looked back to his sensei.

"When I call your name, come up and follow me. If you pass the test, come back tomorrow morning to meet your Jounin Instructor. If you fail, see you next year. Once you take this test that will determine your ENTIRE future, you may leave and go home," Sensei said purposely scaring his students.

Everyone waited anxiously as their names were called. One by one, each student stood up as they were called. They came back with either a disappointed face, or an extremely happy one. The disappointed face was more common.

Itachi waited patiently for his turn with a look of boredom. Kagome however, looked like she was ready to bolt out the door if she wasn't called soon.

'C'mon, call me already! I need to get out of here!'

She looked up hopefully as her Sensei walked in with another disappointed student. She watched as he got his things and left the room. The Sensei looked at his clipboard as he read aloud the next name.

"Higurashi Kagome. Follow me."

Kagome stood up and followed him into another room. He sat down behind a desk as he watched a nervous Kagome.

"Alright Higurashi. Let's begin the test. Are you ready?"

All Kagome did, was nod a yes.

"Good. Here's the written part of the test. It will test your overall knowledge of a Shinobi." He handed her a paper with a series of questions, and a pencil. "You may begin."

Kagome sat down and proceeded to write things down.

FIVE MINUTES LATER…

Kagome handed him the completed paper. She watched as he looked it over. She watched his normally playful expression turn into a serious one as he wrote something on his clipboard. Once he was done, he looked back at Kagome with the same expression.

"Now, we'll test your transformation skills. Transform into me."

Kagome did a few hand signs and with a POOF! She stood there as an exact replica of her Sensei. She watched as he wrote something down.

"Now, turn into the Yondaime."

She did more hand signs, not even bothering to undo the current transformation as she turned into the Yondaime. He looked at her, and wrote more things down on his clipboard.

"Now, I need you to make at least three clones of yourself."

She quickly undid her jutsu as she formed more hand signs as quickly as possible. When the last sign was formed, there stood five clones, not three. She waited impatiently as he wrote more things on his clipboard.

Once he was done, the clones disappeared.

"Did I pass or not?" 'Hurry up!'

He sighed as he looked over her results. He then looked up as he saw that she was sweating bullets. He looked at her as he began to speak,

"You…Pass."

Kagome sighed with relief.

"Gab your headband and you may leave. Come back tomorrow to meet your team."

Kagome grabbed one of the black headbands on the table as she bolted for the door while her Sensei just shook his head in response, 'What's the hurry?'

Kagome ran in to the classroom as a black blur. That was all anyone could see. She rushed to her seat, grabbed her things, whispered something to Itachi, and jumped out the window in one swift motion.

Itachi just watched her blurry form run into the woods. He registered the words she said to him, 'check your pocket.' Curious, he reached into his pockets and found a note, 'when did she? Oh well.' He shrugged off the thought as he opened it and began to read,

Ita-kun, the brothers said to head to the clearing A.S.A.P. They're waiting for us there. I'm still not sure why, but if we don't show up, they'll bite our heads off. They were both extremely serious about this.

-Kag-chan

P.S. To answer your question, I slipped this into your pocket in all my blurry-ness before I made a mad dash out the window.

P.P.S. Raizen told me to tell you, "WHY THE HELL ISN'T 'IT' HERE YET?! MY PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN BOY!!" No idea what it means, but…I really need to teach him some manners on bad language…

Itachi's eyebrow rose as he read the note. He shook his head, 'We need to teach that wolf some manners. Period. Sure I'll go to the clearing as soon as I pick 'it' up. So no need to yell at me you damn wolf. I wonder what he wants.' Eventually, he was lost in thought.

WITH KAGOME…

She ran through the forest as made her way to a clearing. She burst through the trees in a mad dash. She couldn't stop in time as she fell into the clear lake. She looked around under water, as a couple of Koi Fish swam away from her. She swam to the top of the surprisingly deep lake. She gasped for air as she made it to the top. Once she got some air, she swam for the shore.

Before she knew what was happening, she was lifted out of the water by a set of jaws. They set her down, and she looked up only to look at Raiden's amused face.

She gave a goofy grin, "So, did I beat my record?"

"You sure did. You haven't fallen that far into the lake yet. Your record is the middle of the lake. You need to learn to slow down," responded Raiden as she rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrassment.

"Where's Ita-kun?"

Both wolves looked at the wolf who stepped out of the shadows. It was an angry looking Raizen.

"Still in class. He still has to take the test to see if he'll graduate from the academy. Why do want to know Raizen?"

He growled in response.

"Don't worry, I know he'll pass. So he should be here soon. Why are you so grumpy in first place?"

"Raizen already knows that Itachi-san will pass the test. I still don't why he's angry. He's such a pain in my butt."

"Shut up Raiden. Until the Uchiha brat gets here with 'it', leave me alone. Wake me when the Uchiha gets here."

"'It'? What do you mean by it?" Kagome asked Raizen.

"None of your business."

Her eyebrow rose as she whispered to Raiden, "What crawled up his butt and died?"

Raiden looked at Kagome, "I have no idea. He's been like this since he talked to Itachi yesterday."

"Strange, he's rarely like this. Last time he bit our heads off was when your mother died."

"Yeah. He stayed like that for a week. He wouldn't talk to anyone, and every time he did, he yelled or something. Seems like we have to wait for Itachi-san. It appears that he knows what's going on."

"Well, until Ita-kun shows up, I'm going to swim in the lake so my clothes can dry off," she said as she began to rummage through her things.

"Did you bring your swimsuit?"

"Yep! I didn't forget it this time" she answered as she pulled out a red swimsuit from her bag. She ran behind a bush and in a couple of minutes, she was already changed. She placed her clothes on the ground in the sun. Once she placed them on the ground, she ran towards the lake.

She dived in after taking a deep breath, then began to swim under water. She began to remember the day they discovered the clearing.

FLASHBACK

One year ago…

"I'm bored."

"Hn"

Kagome looked at her taller companion, then looked up and fell backwards onto the grass. She watched the clouds float by before speaking up.

"You know this is your fault."

"What's my fault?"

"The fact that we're in the middle of the forest."

"And how is it my fault we're out here?"

"You pulled Raizen's tail. You're not supposed to do that unless you want to get yourself killed. Now thanks to that, we're hiding from him. Thanks Ita-kun."

"Your welcome Kag-chan."

Her eyebrow visibly twitched at his behavior, "You know, if he catches us, I'm letting him eat you."

"Hn."

"Great…we're back to one syllable."

"Hn."

"ARGH! You're hopeless!"

"Hn."

"Why do you do that?! Do you enjoy getting a reaction out of me?!"

"Yes."

Kagome blinked with disbelief on her face, "What?"

"Your short temper is amusing," he said with a smirk.

"Why you cute bastard-" she began to walk towards him ready to strangle him, but stopped when he began to speak.

"You think I'm cute?" Kagome turned a light pink at the words that came out of their mouths.

"I really should strangle you. You know that?"

"You couldn't." 'Just like I won't be able to kill you…no matter how hard I try.'

"I hate you."

"I love you too." His eyes widened at the words that slipped out of his mouth. He noticed Kagome stopped mid-step. Her hand still in the strangling position. He mentally slapped himself.

"Uh…"

They were both thrown into an awkward silence. It was soon broken by a loud voice that boomed through the trees.

"ITACHI!! KAGOME!! COME OUT SO I CAN KILL BOTH OF YOU!!"

"Crap," Kagome said, thankful for the interruption.

"I suggest we run."

"Good idea." With that said, they took off.

They kept running away as the voice got closer. The voice would sound like it was coming from a different direction every time they heard it. It seemed like it was leading them somewhere. Unfortunately, they were too busy running to notice. They kept running from the voice until they saw a far off light.

"Head for the Light!" Kagome yelled dramatically.

'And she makes fun of MY behavior."

They soon made it to the light. They were in such a hurry that they barely managed to stop, at least, Itachi stopped. Kagome tripped flew and landed in the edge of the lake. Itachi ran over to where she fell. The water was so clear that he saw Kagome trying to rise. He leaned over and reached into the water. Once he felt her arm, he pulled. He pulled a little too hard. Due to the force of his pull, and her jump out of the water, she landed on him, knocking him to the ground.

"We tend to land a lot in this position, don't we?" Itachi asked.

"We do, don't we. Sorry about that," she said as she lifted herself off of him. When he got up, with her help, they took a good look around. They were in the middle of a large clearing.

As they looked around, they noticed the sun had already set, and the moon was up, casting it's glow throughout the clearing. They saw fireflies fluttering around and above the lake making it look like a shining diamond.

A pair of golden eyes looked on before whispering into a microphone, "Cue the hypnotic fish."

They noticed a ripple in the lake, and walked, almost hypnotized, towards it. As they came to the edge of the water, they saw pure white Koi fish swimming invisible patterns under the water.

The mysterious voice whispered again, "Cue the black and pink fish."

Mysteriously, a black and red Koi, followed by a pink and blue one appeared. They began swimming around each other, circling the moon's reflection.

"Cue the voice."

Suddenly a soft voice began to speak. The voice said three words that neither one would ever forget.

As they watched the circling Koi, they heard someone speak.

"Always and Forever."

The golden eyes danced with happiness as they looked at a lone cloud in the sky. Almost as if the eyes were controlling the cloud, it moved in front of the moon, blocking the moonlight, causing the six year olds to snap back into reality.

They both shook their heads as they said,

"What just happened?"

Kagome looked at Itachi and said,

"I don't know, but I suggest we head back. Your mom will worry."

"Yeah. That'd be best."

They both walked off into the forest. As soon as they disappeared into the shadows, a familiar golden-eyed shadow appeared in the clearing.

"Good job. We're done here for now."

"For now? As much of a pain in my butt you are, that was fun."

"It was, wasn't it little brother?"

Another shadow walked into the clearing and approached the other.

"As much fun as that was Raizen, don't do this often."

"Often? Fine. Since you rarely let me do anything, I'll take advantage of your permission."

Both figures smirked as they disappeared, leaving the clearing empty.

END FLASHBACK

'I remember we came back many times after that. we managed to keep this place a secret for a year. 'Always and forever.' That quote, I'll never forget that quote. It seems as if my feelings for him grew stronger since that day…good thing no one knows, or that would be bad.' Kagome went underwater and the two Koi circled her. She swam forward, and the black one was swimming next to her on her left, while the pink one was on her right.

'Kagome…Kagome…KAGOME!'

Kagome swam up to the top of the lake.

"Will you not do that! The last time you did that, you freaked me out and I almost drowned! Anyway…what is it?"

Raiden looked at her.

"Itachi-san is here."

"Ita-kun!" she yelled as she swam to the shore to greet him.

Raizen woke up when he heard her yell. He was going to snap at them, when he realized that Itachi, had arrived.

"ITACHI!! DO YOU HAVE IT?! I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT…SOMEONE'S DYING BY MY HAND TONIGHT!!" He snapped.

"Calm down wolf, and technically, you don't have hands," Itachi calmly responded at the irritated wolf, "Besides, I have it right here. They even wrapped it as an apology for it being late."

Raizen visibly calmed down, "Good. That means no one will die tonight."

"Raizen, move…please?" Raizen looked at Kagome, then stepped out of the way. She smiled as she ran and tackled Itachi, knocking them both to the ground by the force of it. She was laughing lightly to herself as she looked at him.

"Did you pass?"

"Of course. Did you think I wouldn't pass?"

She smiled as she hugged him even tighter.

"Of course not! I'm just so happy for you!"

Itachi started to turn blue.

"Um, Kagome-chan…"

"What?"

"You're going to kill your boyfriend."

She was confused for a moment before looking at her said 'boyfriend'. His eyebrow was twitching, and he was turning an interesting shade of purple-blue. She released him instantly. As soon as he was free, he was gasping for air.

"Sorry about that. I was just happy."

"It's alright…nice to know you care."

She rubbed the back of head again, "Hehe, sorry…oh! I'll be right back!" Kagome ran to her clothes to find them dry. She smiled as she grabbed them and ran into the forest.

"I take it she fell into the lake again."

"Of course."

"You guys talking about me again?" Everyone turned around and their eyes met the sight of Kagome walking towards them in dryer clothes.

"Nah…just saying that you fell into the water again," Raizen said in a teasing manner.

"That, and we're just telling Itachi-san that you broke your record."

"How far did she go this time?"

"I made it to the middle of the lake!" Kagome answered with a proud look on her face.

"Alright enough. We need to talk, so cut the chit chat," everyone raised their eyebrows at Raizen's impatient behavior.

"The sooner we get this little talk over with, the sooner I can get some important business over with. So sit down, shut up, and listen. Got it?"

Kagome and Itachi just nodded.

"Good. Now sit," he growled, making them sit, while Raiden sweatdropped.

"Itachi, Kagome, I need both of you to never leave each other out of your sight for the next few days," Raizen began, but stopped when he saw Itachi's confused look, and Kagome's panicky one.

"Right, forgot, Itachi doesn't know yet. Raiden, please explain why."

Raiden stepped forward and began to explain, "Before I tell you anything, you must promise us you won't breathe a word of this to anybody. The last thing we need is someone who knows our secrets. Kagome-chan could be killed right under our very noses. Do you promise us this?"

All Itachi could do was nod a yes under the wolves' piercing look. 'If I lie, they'll rip my head off in an instant.'

"You got that right kid."

Raiden stepped on Raizen's tail, causing him to shoot up. Once he was on the ground again, he was holding his tail in a teddy bear-like fashion.

"What was that for?!"

"Let me continue my explanation, or I'll bite next time."

Raiden's eyes widened as he looked at his tail, "No…please…carry on…my tail's too sensitive for that."

"Good, now, as I was saying…You see Itachi-san, at certain times in Kagome's life, her chakra network will try to develop itself into a stronger network. In order for it to grow and develop, it forces all of the chakra out of her body at a rapid rate. If it manages to escape into the air, it will cause a devastating explosion, killing Kagome-chan.

Normally, when the chakra escapes, we are able to absorb it and release it into the earth. However, when it escapes under these conditions, we can't absorb it. The only way for the chakra to become harmless is if another person absorbs it and releases it into the earth. That's where you come in. you are the one who has to absorb it. It will not harm you if you do as I say.

So, for the next few days, you two are not to leave each other's sight. Until Kagome-chan glows pink, she is not to leave your sight. The only exception for this is, the bathroom. Understand everything I just said?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good. You may begin now."

Itachi and Kagome both raised their eyebrows, "You mean he has to watch my every move?"

"Yep."

"Crap."

"You better get used to it Kag-chan, because you're gonna have to deal with this 24/7."

"24...7...I'm starting to feel like a dog on a leash."

"I suggest we get used to this. If we managed to stand each other for the past two years, we can stand another couple of days."

"You're right…as usual…you need to stop being right."

"Hn."

"You need to stop doing that too."

"Hn."

"Oi! Kid, can we get this over with already?"

"Fine."

Kagome and Raiden both looked at them in confusion as Itachi pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small box, wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper, with a golden bow on top.

Suddenly, Raiden smirked, and looked at Kagome's surprised look. He then looked at Raizen's proud look.

Itachi held the present out to Kagome with a small smile on his face, "For you Kag-chan."

Her eyes widened as she gently took it from his outstretched hand. She admired it for a moment, before carefully unwrapping it. Inside was a small, golden box. She opened it, and inside, was a golden bracelet. She took it out as she looked at with awe.

"Smells like it's solid gold." Kagome looked at Raiden's surprised looked as he caught it's scent. Kagome looked at Itachi, and noticed his small smile. Suddenly, a grin appeared on her face as she tackled him to the floor with a light laugh. His smile grew as he managed to catch her, instead of falling over. She hugged him like there was no tomorrow. She hugged him even tighter as she felt his arms wrap around her in a small hug.

They were completely oblivious to wolves' mental conversation.

'You planned this didn't you?'

'Of course I did. It's been two years, and I finally convinced the guy to sell the damn thing. It's hard finding a good gift.'

'You actually got Itachi-san to agree to this?'

'Nope.'

'It was by force?'

'Nope.'

'Then, how?'

'It was his idea.'

'It was?'

'Yep! I found him a few days ago looking through shops trying to find something.'

'How did you talk to him? It's almost impossible to talk to him in public.'

'I know! He wouldn't answer me out loud. I ended up talking to him through his head,' Raizen looked at the laughing seven year olds, 'sometimes, I wish he wasn't so cold. It would make my life easier. It's actually very interesting.'

'What is?'

'The fact that he only shows his emotions to us, and if there is no one around.'

This made Raiden look at the laughing kids, 'You're right. So, back the subject we were talking about…'

'Oh yeah! Anyway, I discovered he was looking for a present for Kag-chan. I suggested jewelry. After my little 'suggestion', we went to the jewelry guy. A few days later, we found the bracelet, but he wouldn't sell it. So we got into an argument. Eventually, I 'convinced' him to sell it without any casualties. Itachi paid for it. Turns out he'd been saving up for a long time since he's to proud to ask Uchiha-san for money. It was supposed to be ready by Kag-chan's birthday, but the man was out of town. That pissed me off. Apparently, he came back today, and wrapped the bracelet for free as an apology.'

'So that's why you acted like something crawled up your butt and died.'

'Hey!'

'It's true! You were snapping at all of us.'

'Sorry…' Raizen's ears and tail drooped considerably, 'I'm really sorry…'

'It's alright, just look at how happy you made them. C'mon, lighten up.'

'Thanks.'

'You're welcome. Anyway, what do you say we get their attention?'

'Right, it's getting late. Uchiha-san will have my head. Why is it that Uchiha-san always go after me, instead of you?'

'Maybe because I'm more responsible…'

"Oi! Ita-kun, Kag chan, wrap up your little love-fest and let's go home before your mother gets worried."

Raizen sweatdropped as he was glared at.

"Why am I the one who gets glared at?"

"Because you're an idiot who doesn't know when to quit or shut up."

"Ita-kun! I'm hurt! How cou- OW!!" Raizen jumped up as Raiden bit his tail.

"Raizen, shut up, and let's go."

"Fine…just leave my tail alone and I'll go."

Chomp!

"Ok! Ok! I'll go! I'll go!"

"Good…Now, Itachi-san, Kagome-chan, are you coming?"

"Oh! right! Just a second!" They said at the same time as they grabbed their things, and followed the arguing wolves.

TO BE CONTINUED…

So far so good? If so, Yay! If not, I'll work harder for you all! Anyway, see! Just like I said! Chapter was typed, completed, and updated just like I said. It's also longer, weird. Seems that when I promise a chapter as a reward, it's longer and on time…strange…Hope you liked it!

Read and review! (The chapter will be updated quicker if you do.) :D it's a smiley face...hehe...i'm an idiot...smiley face...hehe...

-Me