When Itachi woke, the moon was still high in the sky. He sat up, looking for what woke him. It took less than a second. Shisui and Kaede were still sound asleep, but Koka was not in the room. Quietly but quickly, the Uchiha heir got to his feet and left the room, searching for Koka.

Her presence was hard to detect, even for him. He would have been worried, but it was one of those natural things about Koka. Like camouflage. Her body's self-preservation, and a skill he had secretly been helping her refine.

When he found her, Koka was sitting on the grass outside, looking up at the moon. She gave no acknowledgement of his arrival though she knew he was there as he sat beside her. They sat in silence, Itachi waiting for what Koka wanted to say.

"Itachi, do you want to change the world?" He blinked at her. That was not what he had been expecting. But her eyes were looking into his own, waiting for his reply. Itachi though about his answer.

"I want to be able to live peacefully with everyone. If I have to change the world to do that, then yes." Her sollom expression did not change as her eyes searched his face. Her next words set him on edge.

"None of us were supposed to live past twenty-two." She ignored his reaction as she continued, looking back up at the moon. "Shisui would have died at sixteen. Kaede would have died at nineteen. You would have died at twenty-two."

Itachi's mouth felt dry. "And you?" He forced himself to croak out.

"I would have died last year. I would have died next year. I would have died at ten, tweleve, and fifteen." There was no change of turn as she spoke about her death. Itachi was forced to wonder how often she had seen herself die.

"Itachi. One drop of water will create a ripple. That ripple will create more, altering the flow of the water." Just like that night three years ago, Itachi was struck with the thought that Koka felt like an adult.

"Who are you, Koka?" Itachi was answered with a smile so sad, his own heart clenched. It was the second smile he had seen from her, but far different from the first one.

"I am the one who will change this world."

Itachi stared at her as Koka made her statement. There was no pride, no bragging. Just sad acceptance. He did not like it, not one bit. He made his next move without thinking.

Koka let out an undignified and surprised yelp as Itachi dove at her, tackling her over and clinging to her like a koala bear. She was unable to move and he would not release her.

"What are you doing?" Koka huffed as she struggled.

"I declare myself your personal protector." She craned her neck to look at him but was unable to do so.

"Protectors don't knock over their charge and latch onto them like a damn monkey." Koka huffed again, trying to break free from the much stronger genin, but Itachi was adamant.

"They do if their charge is in danger."

"The only danger right now is my lung collapsing."

"I'd stop before that happened." Itachi refused to let up as Koka continued to struggle.

"I didn't like that smile." Itachi confessed

"I don't like your clinging."

The two of them continued back and forth with their bantering, unaware of the eyes who had been watching.

Shisui rolled his eyes at their behavior, but did nothing to stop them. He had heard everything Koka had said. He felt no need to show his presence. Somehow he knew Koka already knew that Shisui was hiding just out of sight.

Shisui returned to his futon. The boy stopped and looked at Kaede, checking on her. The girl was still sleeping soundly, to his relief. He would do anything to keep the peace that the four of them had. The four of them had found sanctuary in each other. Shisui would need to step up his game as well. He would not let anyone take what they had away from them.

The next morning Shisui and Itachi woke early for their training. Itachi and Koka had returned to their futons after Itachi had finally let the younger girl go. The two genin quietly got ready for the day and walked to the kitchen, careful to not wake the two girls who were still sleeping. The girls had another hour before they had to get up and tend to the shrine, and the two of them coveted their sleep. Neither boy wanted to face their wrath.

When Shisui and Itachi entered the kitchen, Heiwa was already up. The older woman was over a stove and cooking various things. She pointed to the table, where a breakfast had been put out for the two boys. Shisui grinned and dashed over to the food, calling out his thanks for the food. Heiwa shook her head at his antics as Itachi thanked her and moved to the food at a slower pace.

The two of them ate their food in contented silence. Itachi's eyes wandered over the kitchen, catching sight of a calendar on the wall. Familiar writing was on several of the days.

"Heiwa-san, what's on the calendar?" Itachi was curious.

Heiwa looked up to see what he was talking about before humming in understanding. "Koka writes down what visitors will be coming when and why. It helps us stay prepared for events and normally unpredictable occurrences."

"Amazing." Itachi had a lot of pride for his friend. Heiwa nodded.

"Very. Her and Kaede will be highly capable shrine maidens when they are older."

"Heiwa-san, what do they do as shrine maidens?" It had only now occurred to Itachi and Shisui that they had very little knowledge about what their friends did.

"They help maintain the shrine and as they get older, they will begin to greet guests and hear their requests. The two of them are still learning but eventually they will perform sacred rituals and dances. As more orphans come to live here, the older girls will be looked to for help and guidance by the children. They will tend to those who need help and will one day run the shrine themselves."

Itachi and Shisui were in awe. Their friends would be very important to the village one day.

When the two boys arrived at the training grounds, their good mood was quickly dissipated. At the shrine they were able to forget it, but here they were not.

Kumokin was ignoring them in favor of doing his own thing. Yukiko was fawning over some boy she had brought. A civilian by the looks of it too. Itachi and Shisui exchanged a look. It was going to be another long day.

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