Fact time! A year has passed since last chapter. Koka is now 7, Itachi is 8, Shisui is 11, and Kaede is 12.
Koka made no comment as Itachi dropped down on the engawa outside of her study room. The sliding doors were open, exposing the room to the garden as she worked. In the year since Itachi and Shisui had been assigned their team, the boys frequently came to the shrine after training.
While Yukiko had finally begun to take training a little more seriously, the girl was still severely lacking in skills and strength. Their sensei had only gotten worse as time progressed. There were now times he disappeared in the middle of their training times, and even more times when the man did not show up at all. Itachi was surprised they received any missions above a d-rank.
Itachi sat on a cushion as he observed the room, spotting every new detail from his previous visit. The Uchiha was positive Koka moved things to different spots every day while he was at training. Different books would be in different places on different shelves, as if she took the shelves themselves and moved them before reversing their content orders. Pens and brushes would be in different holders each day, pillows and cushions would be swapped out with different one he had never seen before, the kotatsu in the center of the room would have different cloths covering from time to time, and once her entire desk had been moved from its place beside the window in the corner.
"Kaede's making stew tonight." Itachi looked at her as she spoke, though her eyes were still focused on what she was writing. Itachi stood and walked over to his friend, peaking over her shoulders.
"What's that?" Her brush never faltered as she wrote.
"A report for the shrine. Things are easier to remember when written down." Itachi nodded in acceptance as he sat down again on the floor beside Koka, leaning against the desk. She paused in her writing, causing Itachi to look up at her. The blue eyed girl was holding out a scroll to him.
"It's the legend of the creation of the biju." That was her only explanation but Itachi took it and began to read it out of curiosity. It was something they often did, though Koka had asked Itachi to keep it a secret. He often brought her books on chakra, ninjutsu, genjustsu and occasionally taijutsu. He never asked her why, nor did she tell him. Likewise, Koka often handed him books on history of Konoha and the other villages. Some of the information was hand written, but Itachi said nothing. The writings were more informational than most that he had found on his own.
They passed the time in compatible silence as both went through their individual tasks.
Shisui and Kaede watched Itachi and Koka. It had begun with a plan by Shisui to spy on the two younger kids. He was confident that something was going on between the two of them and had roped Kaede into helping him. But what they found was incredibly disappointing and boring for the two of them.
Koka was sitting at her desk writing while Itachi, who had moved shortly before their arrival, sat at the kotatsu reading. The seven and eight year olds were too quiet and too serious for Shisui's taste. He scowled before coming up with a brilliant idea. He whispered his plan to Kaede, who hid her laugh behind her hands. Shisui was going to push them together.
He was about to open the door when Koka sighed and set down her brush. Itachi looked over at her as the blue eyed girl stood up and walked to the door.
"The food is going to burn." Shisui and Kaede froze as Koka opened the door and walked past them, completely ignoring their existence. Itachi caught Shisui's eye.
"Baka." Shisui was flabbergasted as his cousin insulted him before turning back to his reading. Only Kaede had noticed the ever so faint blush on Koka's face.
Itachi, Kaede and Shisui entered the kitchen just as Heiwa dished up the food. The older woman had taken over the task of food, having been found in her office by Koka, who was still too short to reach the stove top very well. Her height was why Kaede and Heiwa did most of the cooking, despite her apparent proficiency in the task. Instead, Koka often prepared the table for each meal.
Shisui and Itachi were frequent visitors for supper so Heiwa was unsurprised when the two boys sat at the table. Kaede and Koka helped to bring the food over, Kaede insisting on taking back her role with the food so Heiwa could sit.
For them it was like tradition. Kaede and Koka would bring the others their food. For the four children it had nothing to do with their genders, as some often thought, but rather it was the girls' way of taking care of the boys, who were always watching out for them. As the two girls got older, Heiwa was also including in the mix of being cared for.
The five of them were eating happily when Kaede let out a shout, startling the other four. Koka, who had been in the process of swallowing, choked on her food, prompting Itachi to pat her back.
"Koka's birthday is next week!"
Itachi looked at the calendar, and sure enough, the young girl's birthday day was marked down on May tenth.
"We need to start planning!" Kaede started to spout ideas with Shisui, who was nodding enthusiastically. Having finally managing to successfully swallow her food and clear her air passageways, Koka sighed.
"Honestly you two… Calm down." Itachi gave the younger girl a small smile.
"But it's kind of fun, you know?"
"You're not the one being fussed over."
Heiwa watched over the group, a peaceful smile on her face. It was the times like these that brought joy to her life. She enjoyed seeing her children grow and smile with their friends. Even if it was not by blood, this was her family. And the older woman knew it would continue to grow. She knew there would be hard times in the future.
Itachi and Shisui were shinobi, and far younger than most at that. Their world was going to be filled with danger and darkness. Koka's gift was growing and someone was bound to notice sooner or later, placing her very life at risk. Then there was Kaede. The girl had lost her entire family when she was young, and though she never talked about it, Heiwa knew the killer was still out there.
The four of them would need each other more than anything. Heiwa prayed nothing came between them.
After dinner had been cleaned up, Itachi and Shisui went back to their own homes as the shrine girls prepared for the night. Heiwa had retired to her room to sleep after the last of the chores for the night were completed, leaving Kaede and Koka to their own devices.
The two girls were sitting quietly together, back to back, each occupied with different books.
"Kaede, we need to get stronger." The older girl twisted her head around to see Koka from the corner of her eye.
"What do you mean?" Koka sat up and face Kaede, the older girl mimicking her actions. The blue eyed girl had a serious expression.
"Bad people will come for us one day. Itachi and Shisui won't always be right there when that happens." Kaede nodded in understanding.
"What should we do?" The older girl always trusted Koka's judgment and followed her lead.
Koka thought deeply for a moment before speaking again, this time a little slower.
"Itachi's been teaching me chakra control." She confessed, leaving Kaede blinking. The younger girl went on. "I can teach that to you too. This is a ninshu shrine, and since ninshu is the predecessor to ninjutsu and the origins of chakra, it would make sense for us to learn about it."
Kaede nodded. "It's not uncommon for a shrine maiden to learn self-defense and some taijutsu either. Some ceremonial dances are stage combats too."
Koka nodded. They could get Heiwa to begin teach them more tomorrow as well. Koka looked Kaede dead in the eye.
"No matter what, we cannot tell anyone why we are doing this. Not Heiwa, not Itachi, not Shisui, not even Kakashi." Kaede was momentarily taken aback by the intensity in her eyes.
"I understand."
The moon was high in the night sky when it happened. Everyone had long since gone to bed, Koka included. It hit her with an force enough to wake her from her slumber.
Blue eyes shot open as she propelled herself out of bed. "Itachi!"
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