Arigato

Onyx and Ivory

Knock knock.

"Hoshiko-chan! Can you get the door?" Hiroka called from inside the house as Hoshiko stood up from lounging on the couch.

"Hai," Hoshiko called back lazily as she stretched out her limbs and shuffled sluggishly down the hallway. It was mid morning, the day after Hoshiko had spent the entire day training with Shisui, her body was sore but she was pleased with herself with how far she had gotten with Itachi's training.

Hoshiko reached for the sliding front door and pulled it open, the suns rays shining down on her face as she squinted and looked at the figure standing in front of her door. A smirk crept over her face as she leant back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, well; look who it is. The illusive, Uchiha Itachi." Hoshiko remarked as Itachi stood with his hands shoved into his pockets. He wasn't garbed in his usual ANBU gear that he commonly wore; instead he was dressed in his regular dark shirt with the high collar and white pants. "Come to apologise about missing my training yesterday?" Hoshiko smirked triumphantly.

"No." Itachi replied bluntly, causing Hoshiko to growl at him.

"Tsk, baka. I was waiting for you for half an hour before I had to march to your house to try and find you, only to be told that you had gone on a mission!" Hoshiko snapped at him, as Itachi remained impassive.

"I asked Shisui to inform you."

"He forgot." Hoshiko replied grouchily.

"That isn't my fault." Itachi sighed. "My brother said that he met a girl yesterday that threatened to beat him up, and that she proclaimed that she was stronger than me, do you know anything about that?"

"Not a clue, sounds strange," Hoshiko said quickly as she saw the ghost of a smile cross Itachi's face. She was so transfixed on that fact that Itachi had almost smiled at her that she failed to notice his questioning gaze.

"Ginyoru-san?" Itachi inquired. Hoshiko shook her head and waved her hand at him.

"Gah, stop with the formalities, Uchiha! Call me Hoshiko," she offered as Itachi raised one of his eyebrows at her.

"I did not realize that we had become friends." Itachi stated as Hoshiko snorted.

"We aren't friends, but every time you say it, I think of my mother," she mocked as Itachi looked nervous for a second but then nodded his head. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him as she leaned back into the house and shouted.

"I'm going out, I'll be back later!"

Hoshiko didn't wait for the reply as she shut the door behind her and beckoned Itachi who stared at her, confused.

"Where are we going?" He asked her.

"To train, baka." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I did not expect you to want to train with me." Itachi stated as Hoshiko chuckled.

"Trust me, Uchiha, you aren't my first choice, but like you said; you're the best I've got. Besides, there's something I need to show you!" She said excitedly as she leapt up onto the nearest roof. Itachi waited a few seconds, trying to process this new and improved Hoshiko as he followed after her.

Hoshiko landed in the clearing quietly as she turned around and waited for Itachi to follow her, she only had to wait a few seconds before he landed with precision and grace a few feet away from her. Itachi noticed that they were back at the target practice area, kunai were littered all over the grass; evidence of how much Hoshiko had been persevering with this challenge.

"Watch this," Hoshiko said to Itachi as the boy nodded and stepped back, from the near miss he had the other day, he didn't really fancy having another kunai thrown at his face. Hoshiko collected the kunai from the ground as she jumped up onto the boulder and relaxed her shoulders. There was a pause before she sprung up into the air and back flipped, twisting her body and releasing the kunai as Itachi could hear the thunk thunk of the metal hitting their desired targets. At the last second Hoshiko released two kunai at different angles as they hit and dived down behind the boulder as Hoshiko landed back on the boulder. She looked over her shoulder at Itachi with a large smile as the Uchiha gazed around the area.

He had a hard time hiding his surprise at the fact that fourteen out of the fifteen targets he could see all had kunai's impaled on them, the only one missing was the blind spot behind the boulder. Itachi thought that there was no way Hoshiko could've learnt how to hit them all in just one day; it wasn't possible for someone without the Sharingan.

He walked around the boulder, he could feel Hoshiko's silver eyes watching him as he peered around and was astonished that there was a kunai dead in the center of the target. His head craned up to look at her smug face as she slid down the side of the boulder.

"So, still think I'm not worth the effort?" She asked as Itachi had to remember how to speak.

"How did you accomplish this?" He asked her eagerly. Hoshiko went to open her mouth to reply when another voice cut through their silence.

"Well, by the amazing tutelage of me, of course!"

The two of them searched up into the treetops as Shisui stood on a large branch grinning at the two of them. He jumped down and landed on the ground with a grunt as he swayed over to them. "Because I'm a better teacher of course," Shisui said with a lazy grin as Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his cousin; his onyx gaze drifted back to Hoshiko who was grinning at Shisui.

Itachi felt some emotion constrict within his chest at the sight of Hoshiko rushing over to Shisui and the both of them exclaiming loudly about her accomplishment. He realized that Hoshiko acted different around Shisui, she was more carefree and a completely different person; why couldn't she be more like that around him?

Itachi shook his head from his weird thoughts; he didn't need Hoshiko to act like anything around him, he was now confident enough to think that she wouldn't try to stab him in the back anymore, and that was enough for him.

While the two were talking animatedly to each other, Itachi slowly walked over and folded his arms over his chest.

"So how did you do it?" Itachi asked as the pair smirked to each other.

"Watch and learn, dear cousin," Shisui remarked as he went over to a low hanging target and ripped it off the tree. Itachi wanted to berate him for destroying his well placed targets but a look from Hoshiko silenced him; and plus, he was intrigued as to what the two had been planning. Shisui walked a little further away from them as Hoshiko turned her back on him. "Ready?" Shisui called out as Hoshiko nodded her head. The two disillusioned Itachi as Shisui tossed the target into the air. There was a second where Hoshiko did nothing, but as if a fire had been lit from beneath her she spun around, a kunai in her hand and without missing a beat she threw the kunai as it struck the target dead in the center. Shisui 'whooped' as the target fell to the ground as Itachi furrowed his brows in confusion.

Shisui bounded over to Hoshiko and high fived her as they both looked amused at Itachi's expression.

"I don't understand?" Itachi said hesitantly.

"We found out that Hoshiko-chan here has a pretty nifty ability." Shisui said proudly as Hoshiko nodded her head, agreeing with him. Itachi glanced between the two, waiting for them to explain.

"I can implant my chakra onto objects and it acts as a marker." She said proudly as Itachi's eyebrows rose in surprise. He suddenly activated his Sharingan as his onyx eyes flashed crimson as he surveyed the area. As Itachi looked around, he could see tiny little dots on each of the targets that were familiar to Hoshiko's chakra signature. "It was how I was able to hit all of the targets so easily, once I've marked the target it's like a beacon pulsing at me, I could probably do it with my eyes closed." She grinned as Shisui rolled his eyes.

"Yeah and last time you tried that you almost impaled me to the tree!" Shisui argued as Hoshiko bowed her head in embarrassment.

"She's done that to me also," Itachi added as Hoshiko stared at the two of them in outrage.

"Ok, so I'm not so great with aiming!"

"Try terrible." Shisui grumbled as Hoshiko bonked him on the head.

"Shut up baka! I just hit every single one of those stupid targets!"

"With help." Shisui retorted as Hoshiko pointed her finger at him.

"You two have the Sharingan! It's basically cheating."

"And yours isn't?" Shisui muttered sarcastically. Hoshiko rolled her eyes in exasperation as she faced Itachi.

"Well? What now? I passed your little challenge, got anything harder?" Hoshiko mocked him as Itachi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I didn't have anything planned, I did not expect you to have progressed enough to complete it," Itachi admitted as Hoshiko felt annoyed at the fact that Itachi didn't believe in her.

"Well, way to boost her self-esteem," Shisui said with a roll of the eyes as Itachi turned his threatening gaze onto his bigheaded cousin. Shisui tossed his arm around Hoshiko's shoulder as she deftly sidestepped away form him, giving him a hostile look as the older Uchiha chuckled. "Well, in any case, I'd be happy to treat you to ramen for your accomplishment, Hoshiko-chan," Shisui said with a mock bow. Hoshiko tried to hide her smile but failed.

"Where is my invite?" Itachi asked irritably as Shisui and Hoshiko stared at him. Shisui was the one to break the silence, "but you don't like ramen." He said, as Itachi remained impassive. "Itachi," Shisui said with a grin, "would you like to come and get ramen with us?" Shisui asked.

"No." Itachi replied firmly as Shisui deadpanned. Hoshiko laughed at Shisui's reaction as the older boy folded his arms crossly and gave Itachi a sly look.

"I bet if we were going for dango it'd be a whole different story, ne?" Shisui waggled his defined brows as Itachi turned his head away. This was news to Hoshiko, she didn't realized that Itachi like dango.

"I never expected Itachi to like dango," Hoshiko mused, tapping her chin as Shisui shoved her with his elbow.

"He doesn't just like dango, he loves it, don't you cousin?" Shisui said teasingly. Itachi didn't comment on the fact, he faced Shisui with an irritated look.

"Go and eat your ramen, baka." Itachi grumbled as he jumped off into the trees.

Shisui and Hoshiko strolled through Konoha slowly; Shisui was talking animatedly about one of his missions he had gone on when he was younger, right after he had become a Genin. Hoshiko was listening intently and nodded her head at the right times and laughed when required.

"I of course, was the only one able to take the Kiri-nin down; being so exceptionally skilled and all," Shisui said as Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. It was obvious that he was trying to impress her but it wasn't working.

The two arrived outside of Ichiraku's as they moved the hanging cloth out of the way and greeted the old man.

"Ohayo!" The two said in unison as the old man turned, a broad smile on his face.

"Welcome, what will it be?" Teuchi asked as Hoshiko and Shisui took a seat at the bar.

"Two pork ramen's," Shisui said with a grin as Hoshiko sent him a glare at ordering for her; granted that was what she was going to eat anyway but still, the nerve the Uchiha had was on another level entirely. She sort of missed the quiet and bristling that came with Itachi.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi exclaimed.

Shisui and Hoshiko fell into a silence for a few minutes before Hoshiko broke it with a question.

"Ne, Shisui?" The older boy turned his dark gaze on her as Hoshiko continued to stare ahead. "Why is Itachi so…serious all the time?"

Shisui sighed and picked at something under his nails, "That's a long story, Hoshiko-chan." Shisui could feel her piercing silver gaze on him. "Maybe better suited for Itachi to tell himself, he'd be able to explain it better." Shisui said to her as Hoshiko furrowed her brows and leaned on the table.

"Like he'd ever open up to me," she grumbled. Shisui's mouth turned up into a smile as he leaned closer to her. Hoshiko stared at him suspiciously.

"Sounds like you want him to, ne?" He winked at her; Shisui enjoyed watching her cheeks flare up as it spread around her face as she looked away.

"Wha-what? No I don't!" She stuttered, hiding her face.

"Ah! I can tell, Hoshiko-chan." Shisui chuckled as the girl folded her arms.

"Baka." She grumbled to him. Shisui laughed harder at her reaction as Teuchi laid out their ramen bowls.

"Itadakimasu!" Shisui exclaimed as he dug into his ramen.

"Itadakimasu," Hoshiko mumbled under her breathe and began eating. There was another silence from them as the two ate their meal.

When Shisui had almost finished his second bowl of ramen there was a voice from outside, "Shisui-san?"

Hoshiko and Shisui both turned and saw a young girl of the same age as Hoshiko, with long dark brown hair and large doe eyes. She was clothed in a long purple shirt with the Uchiha emblem on the back.

"Hi, Izumi," Shisui greeted. Hoshiko went back to facing forwards. She remembered Izumi from her academy classes, if memory served her right; she wasn't that special, she wasn't strong and quick like Hoshiko and tended to fawn over Itachi a lot, which was why Hoshiko never really hung out with her. Although the most memorable thing about the girl was that she had awakened her Sharingan at age five, but she couldn't properly use it as it drained too much of her chakra.

"I'm headed over to the Naka Shrine for the meeting, are you coming?" She asked as Shisui slurped his ramen and then slammed the bowl down.

"Damn it, I forgot. Itachi was supposed to remind me the teme," Shisui growled. He threw a smile over at Hoshiko as he rose. "Sorry to run out on you, I'll see you later!" He called and left in a second. Hoshiko was still staring at the spot Shisui had been sitting as she tried to figure out what was missing from the scene.

"Here's the bill." Teuchi waved the paper in front of Hoshiko's face as the young girl gritted her teeth and threw her head back.

"Shisui!"

Several months passed in Konoha, and now they were in the full brunt of winter, snow covered the ground and rooftops and the nights were freezing. Missions were scarce but Hoshiko liked it that way, she preferred the snow to the hot Konoha heat. Hoshiko still spent hours out in the freezing cold training, she was determined to not let up on her training. Itachi still helped her, although he was always called away on ANBU missions, sometimes he would be gone for weeks and only returning for a day or two before he was gone again. During his off time he would always spend a few hours with Hoshiko, giving her advice or helping her perfect a new technique. She was improving at a fast pace, and Itachi knew that it wouldn't be long until she would be able to join ANBU, but yet, she still had a ways to go.

Their relationship had progressed from blatant loathing on her end to civil conversations most days. Hoshiko wouldn't be as sarcastic and hostile towards him and actually found herself becoming more accustomed to his presence; she didn't want to admit it, but the Uchiha was rubbing off on her, she was more focused on her work and didn't have as many embarrassing outbursts as she did before.

Shortly after that Itachi had been rather grumpy for a week, Hoshiko had asked him why and he had grudgingly replied that he wasn't allowed to have dango for a week; Hoshiko was left confused but didn't press the matter further; she didn't really like dealing with a grumpy Itachi.

After Shisui had left Hoshiko with the ramen bill she had ignored him for a whole three weeks. The older Uchiha had tried to apologise to her but she refused to talk or even look at him; resorting Itachi to be the little piggy in the middle and relay conversations between the two. After the three weeks were up Hoshiko had finally accepted his apology and the two went on as normal.

When Itachi was away on a mission it was normally Shisui who trained with her, and when Shisui was away sometimes Hatake Kakashi would drop by and give her a few pointers.

She had been star struck to say the least, Kakashi was renowned as being one of the best Shinobi in the village; Hoshiko had grown up hearing stories of all of his missions. He gave her tips and tricks that she soaked up greedily, begging him to show her some of his famous Copy Ninja no Kakashi moves. He had obliged, showing her the chidori, much to her delight.

"Hoshiko-chan! Hurry up or it'll be too late!" Hiroka called into the house as she fastened up her winter boots. Hiroka wrapped her blue scarf tightly around her neck and glanced over her shoulder to see Hoshiko shrugging on her large black jacket and pulling on some thick gloves. Her legs were covered in long leggings with winter boots on her feet.

"I'm coming," she said to her mother as Hiroka opened up the sliding door. The chilly winter air blew into the house as Hiroka linked her arm with Hoshiko's as the two left the comfort of their warm home.

It thankfully wasn't snowing as the two walked together down the street, though the streets were still about an inch deep in snow it wasn't difficult to maneuver like it had been a few days ago.

"When does Itachi-kun return from his mission?" Hiroka asked Hoshiko as they turned down a heavily populated street. Even in the midst of winter, Konoha villagers still liked to stay out late and shop and eat.

"Tomorrow I think," Hoshiko said as she rubbed her hands together. She couldn't wait until they got to the restaurant; her fingers and ears were freezing!

"That's nice, you're always so quiet when he's away." Hiroka mused as Hoshiko stared at her mother.

"That's not true!" She exclaimed as Hiroka giggled.

"Well, as long as you two aren't butting heads anymore." She said positively as Hoshiko cleared her throat.

"Well, we still butt heads, I don't think that's ever going to change; but I actually think he's becoming more sarcastic."

"Don't tell me that your bad mannerisms are rubbing off on him!" Hiroka said, aghast. This time it was Hoshiko's turn to laugh.

"It's not my fault that he has the social capabilities of a hermit."

"Maybe you shouldn't spend as much time with him, I wouldn't want him to get in trouble with Fugaku-san; Itachi-kun is the Uchiha clan heir." Hiroka said remorsefully. Hoshiko rolled her eyes at her mother.

"I like hanging out with him." Hoshiko said defensively.

"Oh, and when did that change? I seem to remember a certain someone cursing his name to the heavens every time he was mentioned within a five foot radius." Hiroka said sarcastically as Hoshiko felt her cheeks heat up, and it wasn't because of the cold.

"Since I've been able to train with Kakashi-senpai."

"Oh, I've seen him around, he's very handsome isn't he?"

"Okaa-san!" Hoshiko whined as Hiroka shrugged her shoulders.

"Well he is, maybe I'll have to come and watch one of your training sessions with him one day."

Hoshiko pulled a face at her mother; but she sort of agreed with her. Even Hoshiko's eleven-year-old mind knew that Kakashi was indeed handsome, even if his face was half covered. He treated her like a Kunoichi when they trained together and he never put her down for her lack of abilities, and she didn't miss the little skip of her heart when she saw him waiting for her in the training ground.

If Hoshiko didn't know any better, she would say that she was developing a crush on the mysterious silver haired ANBU, not that she wasn't one of the dozens of women who did fantasize about him.

"We should go soon." Hiroka stated quietly. Hoshiko detected the slight quiver in her tone as she looked at her mother quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Hoshiko asked. Hiroka's eyes darted to something behind her head but then back to her daughter as she plastered on a tight smile.

"Oh, nothing! I just don't want us to be caught out in the freezing cold." Hiroka said, waving her hand dismissively. Hoshiko frowned; this was unusual behavior for her mother. Hoshiko continued eating her dinner; she kept on sneaking glances at her mother every couple of seconds to see why she was acting so odd. She could tell that there was something behind her going on but Hoshiko didn't want to turn around.

There was a rowdy laugh from behind from a few men from what Hoshiko could decipher, and it was when these men had laughed that Hiroka had looked up nervously and fussed with her napkin.

"Okaa-san?" Hoshiko said quietly, catching her mother's attention.

"We should go, now." Hiroka said firmly. Hoshiko was confused but nodded as Hiroka went off to pay for the bill.

Hoshiko shrugged on her jacket and tossed her hair over her shoulder, looking back as she did; she spotted the table full of four men. One of them was a Shinobi. The three civilians were middle-aged men, with tall frames and beards. The Shinobi was muscular and was glaring at Hoshiko with hatred that made her blood run cold, his piercing murky eyes bore into hers as his lips were pressed into a firm line, his fist was clenched on top of the table.

"Let's go." Hiroka appeared next to her daughter as Hoshiko jumped slightly, she had been so focused on the Shinobi. Hiroka took her daughters hand in hers as tugged her lightly from the restaurant.

They stepped out into the freezing cold night as Hoshiko gazed skywards, it had begun to snow again. Hiroka tugged on Hoshiko's hand as they walked down the busy street. It wasn't as full as before but with the snow now falling more people were heading home.

"Okaa-san…what was that about?" Hoshiko asked hesitantly. Hiroka squeezed her hand slightly and shook her head, plastering on another fake smile.

"Oh, don't worry about it, it was nothing."

"Oi! You Ginyoru wenches!"

Hoshiko and Hiroka stopped in the middle of the street and turned. Some villagers glanced over at the commotion that had just occurred but kept on walking; it was too cold and late to be bothered with this affair.

Hoshiko furrowed her brows aggressively as she saw the Shinobi from in the restaurant standing a few meters away; his three friends accompanied him. All four of them were glaring at the two small women. "I thought we made it clear long ago that your kind aren't allowed here," the man yelled, his anger was evident. Hoshiko was confused beyond belief as Hiroka tried to shield her away from him.

"We were just having dinner."

"So was I," he spat, "but I couldn't ignore the fact that two murderers were in my midst!"

Hoshiko felt shocked at the mans words, her heart lurched painfully as she gazed over at her mother who had an unreadable expression.

"We had no part in the war, we came here as refugees and were accepted by the Hokage. We have as much right to be here as you do." Hiroka said calmly. Hoshiko had started to shake, what was this man talking about? Murderers? He couldn't mean her, and her mother; could he?

"The Hokage may have let you stay here, but your family killed my brother and my father! You don't belong here, you're outsiders!" He hollered. His three friends agreed loudly.

"Okaa-san…" Hoshiko whispered, tightening her grip on her arm. She was so confused, what was going on? What were these men talking about?

"Please, my daughter is innocent in all of this," Hiroka begged them as the Shinobi sneered at them; his glare was directed at Hoshiko.

"None of you are innocent. Konoha Shinobi blood is on your hands!" The man to the left of the Shinobi yelled at them. During the argument the men had been shuffling closer to the two women, and now they were only a few feet away. The man who had spoken last raised his hand, as if to strike Hiroka. Hoshiko was ready to push her mother out of the way and defend her when a figure appeared between them.

The figure reached up and clasped the mans wrist, halting his attack as his long dark hair fluttered in the wind. Hoshiko could only stare at the back of him but she knew who it was immediately.

"Itachi…" Hoshiko whispered in relief.

The man who was being held by Itachi shook in fright as he stared into blazing crimson irises. Itachi's glare bore into the mans soul as he tried to wrench his wrist out of the Uchiha's grip.

Itachi's weasel mask was tied to his side; he was still garbed in his ANBU gear, a clear reminder to them that he was not someone to mess with.

"Uch—Uchiha," the man said nervously. Itachi's glare switched to the other men and Shinobi as they all yelped in fear.

"I would suggest that you all leave this area, and it would be wise to never approach them again. If you do, I will know about it." Itachi said darkly, he relinquished his hold on the man as he stumbled back and fell into his friends. The four of them spun around on their heels and hightailed it out of there.

Hoshiko felt a shiver run through her spine at the way Itachi had spoken those words, he had been so threatening, so cold. She had never heard him use that tone before; it terrified her. He turned slowly as Hoshiko watched his crimson eyes fade back into the bottomless black orbs that she knew. Itachi surveyed them both as he walked to them.

"Are you both alright?" He asked, mainly directed at Hiroka who looked physically shaken from the ordeal. Hoshiko stared at the ground with a frown; she wanted to know why these men had accused her family as murderers. There were so many questions that she needed answering.

"Yes, thank you, Itachi-kun." Hiroka sighed. Hiroka turned to Hoshiko who was glaring at the snowy ground, she reached out hesitantly for her. "Hoshiko?"

Hiroka made contact with Hoshiko's shoulder as the young girl shrugged her off and met her dark gaze. After a second Hoshiko turned her piercing gaze onto Itachi.

"Can you make sure my mother gets home safely?" She asked the ANBU. Hoshiko didn't wait for his response, she didn't need too; Itachi wouldn't leave her mother by herself, she could trust him. She ran off, leaving Hiroka and Itachi staring at her back in worry.

When Hoshiko finally stopped running, she found herself standing on the bridge to the south of the village. She had come here when she had first met her Genin team and sensei, and they would always meet here; it was the first place that Hoshiko had made friends in the village. Daisuke and Ichiro didn't care that nobody liked her, or thought that she was weird, they accepted her for who she was.

Hoshiko leant on the red railing, watching as the snow dropped down onto the frozen river below. A gas light to her left was the only source of light for her as she lowered her head onto her arms and sighed, the puff of air visible in the night.

She wanted to know why the men had accused her family of being murderers, why they hated her so much. Her father had died before he had explained anything to her, and she hated it. She wanted to know so much, there was so much she wanted to ask him; but now she couldn't.

It wasn't long before Hoshiko heard footsteps crunching in the snow to her left. If her hearing wasn't so attuned she probably wouldn't have heard them at all. She tilted her head to the left and watched as Itachi approached her slowly. He hadn't even bothered to don a winter jacket or anything; he was still wearing his ANBU uniform.

"You'll catch a cold." Hoshiko said to him as she faced down the river again. The snow had ceased falling but it was still very chilly in the night. Itachi's onyx gaze stared at the side of her face, his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants as he came to a standstill a few feet away from her.

"I'll be fine," he told her softly. There was an awkward silence between the two. Neither wanted to speak first. It was finally Itachi who broke the silence. "What happened—"

"They said we were murderers." Hoshiko hissed as she clenched her fist on the railing. Itachi felt her chakra flare up in anger. "I don't understand why they hate us so much!"

Hoshiko turned her blazing glare to Itachi as she saw the guilt on his face, her anger faltered for a second as she furrowed her brows and stepped closer to him. Itachi angled his face away from her wearily.

"You know, don't you?" She asked timidly. Hoshiko scoffed and faced away from him again. "Of course you know; Uchiha Itachi always knows everything." She hissed vehemently.

"It isn't my place to tell," Itachi replied quietly, causing Hoshiko to slam her fists down on the railing in anger.

"Then why bother coming here? You know that those men blame us for something and yet you can't tell me why? You're as bad as my Otou-san." She spat at him as she turned her back on him and began marching away.

"You really want to know?" Itachi's firm voice stopped her as she glanced over her shoulder at him. There was a gust of chilly wind that blew Hoshiko's loose dark hair around her face as she brushed it away. Hoshiko nodded as she moved back to stand next to Itachi who was watching her with a stern gaze. "During the Third Shinobi war, the Ginyoru clan was sought out by Iwa to become mercenaries and infiltrate Konoha camps and assassinate them. They were successful. The clan slaughtered almost two-hundred Shinobi and in return Konoha wiped our their entire clan."

Hoshiko turned away, her stomach churning at the news, she felt ill. To think that her family had been apart of that; and yet she was here in Konoha with her mother. No wonder the villagers hated her.

"Why?" Hoshiko asked quietly, her bottom lip quivering. "Why did they kill so many?"

"You possess a very powerful Kekkei Genkai, it's not clear on what you can do as your clan was so secretive but it has something to do with chakra. All members can utilize their chakra so efficiently that you can barely expend it, the masking is another trick that is well known in your clan, it was how they were able to sneak in so well."

Hoshiko shut her eyes in sorrow as a painful look came over her face. Itachi didn't relent; Hoshiko had wanted to know the truth so he was going to give it to her. "During the battle, a family with a young girl pleaded with a Konoha Shinobi to spare their daughters life as they had been ostracized from the clan and had no ill feelings towards anyone."

There was a sharp intake of breathe from Itachi's right as Hoshiko realized what he was saying.

"They begged for their daughters life to be spared, she was only three. The captain of the squadron took them prisoner and showed them mercy. It was decided by the Hokage that they would be brought back to Konoha to be granted amnesty and live out their lives here."

Itachi saw, out of the corner of his eye that Hoshiko wiped her face quickly and turned to face him, even in the dark night he could see the tear tracks on her tanned face.

"How do you know all of this?" She asked him, her voice quiet and meek. It was the first time Itachi had heard her so vulnerable. There was a pause as Itachi sighed and looked down at the frozen river; he gazed at a small section that had begun to thaw off slightly.

"I was there. My Otou-san was the squad leader assigned to kill the Ginyoru clan; he took me with him so that I could experience the horror of war, so that I could see what we were fighting to stop. Instead I saw the senseless slaughter of almost a hundred people, protecting their homeland. War is pointless, neither side can win when hundreds die." He could feel her gaze on him but refused to look at her.

"I don't remember much," Hoshiko admitted. "I remember being scared and having to walk for days. I don't even remember what my home looked like back then, all I've ever known has been here." She said.

There was another silence between the two before Itachi turned his back on her, "you should return home. Your Okaa-san will be worried about you."

He walked off the bridge as he heard Hoshiko call out from behind.

"Itachi!"

He inclined his head slightly to the side to look at her from his peripheral vision.

"Arigato."

He nodded his head briefly before disappearing in the blink of an eye.