Disclaimer: The characters are Masashi Kishimoto's property, I own the OCs.

Characters age:

Akane: 10 (43)

Itachi: 10 (26)

Shisui: 14

Naruto / Sasuke: 5

Kakashi: 19

"So we're disbanded, just like that?" Yasuo asked, clearly upset. Kou glanced at him briefly.

"It's not that surprising, we get experience from a more experienced genin and she gets proper teamwork experience."

"But still…" Fugaku-sensei cleared his throat.

"Who said anything about disbanding?" We all looked at him. "Someone will most likely take Akane's place if she is promoted."

"If?" I repeated, slightly offended. They all ignored me.

"But it will not be until next April, so until then she will remain on this team. What will change is that, with a chuunin on the team, the rank of the missions won't be the same." I guess it made sense.

I was officially going to participate in December, alongside Itachi who went from relieved to hear about it to concerned when he heard it was in Kiri.

"Will you go with them?" Kou asked our sensei.

"Sadly, I will not. The Hokage thought with Itachi participating, I would be too personally involved."

"Not wrong." I was still ignored.

"Shikaku will go with them, and while they are gone, we will welcome Tenma and Shinko in our team.

"That's a weird arrangement," Yasuo commented, looking away. Kou rolled his eyes.

"We get it, you're not happy Akane is signed up for the Exams with an Uchiha that's not you, but come on, it's not fair to her to wait for us to catch up!" Yasuo turned beet red.

"Kou! It's not…it has nothing to do with…" I raised a brow and Fugaku-sensei sighed.

"Or you're sour about Itachi having fully matured sharingans when you have one tomoe."

"It was enough to fool your Byakugan the other day, wasn't it?" Kou's brow twitched.

"Should we stop them?" I asked the only jounin present.

"Let them be, I'll intervene if they're too hard on each other." He looked down to me. "Missions will continue as usual for Team Four. I know my son and you have been friends for a long time, but do you feel it would be necessary for you two to train together more? The Hokage said he would like to personally train you starting November." Right.

He said he wanted to have a real look at my level so far himself and that once a Chuunin…he'd teach me the Hiraishin. Now it was an interesting development, but I would rather try to dissect the theory before actually training for it. We were not there yet though.

"It can't hurt, but I still have my job to the Hyuuga clan. Hiashi-san was kind enough to have Hizashi-san offer sparing session during my time there if I needed." That seemed to irk him.

"Hn." I didn't want to know what was going on in his head. "It is a generous offer from them, but I am your sensei and have trained Itachi from a young age, if someone can train you both in the right direction it would be me." Huh. "But it is up to you I guess."

"You don't like the Hyuuga clan trying to do your job even if I've been working with them for longer, do you?" I asked him with narrowed eyes. He narrowed his back.

"You've been eating under my roof for longer as well." I pursed my lips. "Anything to add?"

"No, you win." He smirked faintly, but it was smug. "When would that be?"

"You would join some of our training sessions on the weekends."

"If it's just that sure." He nodded, frowning at the boys.

"I am not taking anyone to the hospital for blocked tenketsus!" Kou lost his footing at the unexpected interruption.

As summer ended, Kakashi said he would stop training with me until the Exams were passed so I could focus on that. I mean, in training sessions with my team, Fugaku-sensei was already giving me particular things to do on my own, like training my Wind Release for instance.

"How long are you going to join them during their training for?" Kushina-san asked me as she finally sat down with us for breakfast.

"Until November," Minato-san replied for me, my mouth barely opened.

"It's on Saturday mornings, and Fugaku-sensei said Mikoto-san wanted me over for lunch after, so I probably won't be around much before Sunday until the Exams are over." Naruto wrinkled his nose. "What is this for?"

"The word 'exam'."

"God, how I agree," Kushina-san muttered under her breath.

"Now Naruto, you haven't started the Academy yet. I used to enjoy tests!"

"You were top of the class in every subjects!" his wife replied bitterly. "You never had the teacher giving you a paper back with pity in his eyes!"

"Pity!?" Naruto repeated with horrified eyes. "I don't want to go!"

"They don't…Kushina you blanked out during that test!"

"So?" I looked at Naru and smiled gently.

"It will be fine, and look at the bright side, you'll be able to annoy Sasuke so much more." His mood changed immediately.

"Oh yes!" They all walked me to the door.

"I'm back tonight."

"Yes, but I can't help but feel like they're trying to steal you from us," Kushina-san muttered, puffing her cheeks. "Miko-chan has always wanted a daughter and Sasuke-kun calls you nee-san, I'm sure it's giving her ideas."

"What kind of ideas?"

"Like marrying you off to Itachi the second he turns eighteen." I rolled my eyes, Minato-san clearing his throat.

"Have a good day."

"Sure." I flicked Naru's nose. "Don't cause too many troubles if I can't help." He puffed his cheeks, taping his fist to his chest.

"You're just a prankster assistant nee-chan!" On this note, I left.

When I got here, Itachi was running laps already. One look from Fugaku-sensei made me put my bag away and do the same. Itachi glanced at me and nodded, which I returned with a yawn. He rolled his eyes.

I lost count of how many laps Fugaku-sensei made us do before he asked us to do strengthening. I was taken back for a second, but seeing Itachi do push-ups made me realize it was very normal to them. I mean, I knew it was, sure, but it stopped being mandatory each time after a while.

I was more of a muscle strengthening during sparing and fighting than pure strengthening kind of girl. I found it boring, and it made me focus too much on my muscles burning.

"Is it always like this?" I asked Itachi in a whisper when my arms started to shake.

"Of course, why?"

"It's…different from what…he made me used to…"

"Father is strict about every regard of shinobi skills are taken care of every time." What had I gotten myself into?

"Are you done talking?" He was gazing at me, and Itachi chuckled at this, done with his push-ups. "Akane, you're done with the push-ups too." I blinked. "I can't train you the same way I do with Itachi."

"Less push-ups?"

"And more agility."

It made sense. Infiltration was key in shinobi and kunoichi work, so kunoichi had to be mindful of their appearances to some degree. Men and women were built different, it made sense to train differently.

I had forgotten that.

"I don't feel like becoming overly muscular." Itachi made a weird face at that, and I flexed my arms. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I can't with you sometimes," he confessed under his breath.

"Jerk." The corner of his lips rose at this. "You secretly love it when I insult you, unbelievable." He opened his mouth, but his father cleared his throat.

"If you're quite done bickering." We both shut our mouth. "Alright. The program until Akane goes with the Hokage in November is getting you two to use your jutsu together, wind and fire are complementary, and fire and water can give interesting thing too, I'm sure."

"Like hiding."

"Exactly," he agreed, nodding at me. "Then it is genjutsu for you Akane." I threw my head back. "Itachi will use his on you and you'll have to break them."

"But she sucks," Itachi replied, way too quickly and honestly to my taste.

"I'm right here!"

"It's true, isn't it?" Was it disdain in his voice? I narrowed my eyes at him dangerously. "Look, I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings but it's true." I pointed at his dad.

"Do you really think he would let any of his students be bad?"

"Don't underestimate your opponents or people you know closely; they could surprise you." Itachi pursed his lips and nodded. "And you will train your Katon against her, having a Hyouton user is very useful for this."

Itachi was panting by the end, and I drank my water bottle in one go.

"I'm so glad I took a change of clothes," I said, panting.

"You can take a shower at home if you want to," Itachi offered awkwardly. I nodded.

"I took what I needed in case." I raised a brow at his fidgeting. "Itachi?"

"I'm sorry for earlier, I don't know why I…"

"You're often like that," I reminded him in confusion. "You forgot your dad was there, that's all." He raised concerned eyes to me.

"You're not mad or anything?" I snickered.

"It wouldn't be fair to be mad for something that has been true for a long time." I shook my bottle upside down but there was nothing left in it. "You forgot your dad was my sensei, and that's a big detail when it comes to genjutsu. He is…prideful." There was a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

"Don't I know that already," he muttered quietly.

"But we're good. I just am not sure how I can help you exactly."

"He's not wrong, regarding your Hyouton though."

"Huh, I can be a cheerleader if it doesn't do anything." He chuckled.

"I want to see that, but I also don't." He stood up and stretched his hand out to me. "Come on, let's go home." I took his hand and nodded with a grin.

"Wait, where's your dad?"

"Oh, he wouldn't wait for us."

"You know, give it a few years and you'll be a creep," Akane told him when she exited the guest bathroom.

"I wouldn't do that to other people."

"So, it's harassment." He shook his head. "How come I've never been in this hallway before? I thought I had seen all of it." He shrugged.

"It's used when there are guests, like Mom's parents and such."

"Do you still have contact outside the village like the Hyuugas do?" Itachi nodded. "It…"

"Hum?"

"I was about to say you probably have heard political talks since you were too young to fully understand them." He nodded without thinking. "You don't…wish you had a more normal childhood?" He shrugged. "Oh, you don't have to ans…"

"It's hard to answer because it's all I've known," he interrupted her gently, sensing her nervousness. "And at least it means Sasuke can have a more normal one, even if seeing Naruto and you makes me realize it is still quite strict."

"Sure, Sasuke is less…but I really meant you." He stopped to look at her. His eyes were unreadable to her, he could see it on her face.

"I had no power over it, so I don't dwell on it."

"Of course." She suddenly kissed him on the cheek.

"It's not I don't enjoy it, but this household is very much conversative and traditional." An amused spark danced in her eyes.

"Right, because you waited until marriage to consume." He chuckled. "It won't happen again, don't worry it's just…I worry about you." He smiled fondly at her. "I don't want you to forget yourself another time." He poked her forehead.

"I won't, promise."

She sat next to Sasuke for lunch and she listened to them talking more than anything. She complimented his mother for the food, which was appreciated. Itachi loved to see her here. His parents had accepted her and gradually, as they became teenager, he could ease them, his father mainly, into the idea of Akane and him being together romantically. He would get them to accept he wouldn't marry within the clan.

As long as Akane would walk this Earth, he would never be happy with anyone else, and even then, her memory would never leave him.

He really couldn't wait until they finally were back to being adults. He would say they were closer now than before, and more intimate in a way, but he wanted to have a proper relationship again, with kissing and making love like before. The issue was he would need to take the proper route to that. There was no way Akane would end up as just a lover or worst, a mistress.

"Nii-san!" He jumped and looked at Sasuke. He was standing next to him, Akane behind him.

"Your head's in the clouds," the Uzumaki added with a small teasing smile.

"Yes, I'm sorry. What is it?" Sasuke took Akane's hand.

"Nee-san is spending the afternoon with me!" Itachi blinked.

"Am I invited?" Sasuke puffed his cheeks.

"You've seen her this morning."

"It was training."

"Torture." His father's head popped out from the hallway. "I mean, great training by an exce…"

"Save it," his father groaned, leaving. He heard his mother laugh from the kitchen.

"We're going over some Fuinjutsu because someone seems to have a new-found passion for it." Would it last though?

"Who else would you teach, Naruto?" Sasuke replied haughtily. She flicked his nose.

"I love having free time."

"You taste every food in Konoha with Shisui in your free time."

"So?" That was new. Seeing his puzzled expression, she cleared her throat. "We often get ramen, but with missions sometimes it's just tea and a snack where we talk and properly catch up without training. We've done that since we've met." Sometimes he would forget Shisui had known her for longer and had introduced them to each other for a game of hide-and-seek.

"Mom said they like to gossip." Akane put her hands on Sasuke's mouth.

"We're catching up on each other's news." However, knowing Shisui and knowing her, it was too easy to believe they were gossiping.

Well, as long as it wasn't about him. He had to admit it was still a little bit weird for him to see her being so social. He had known her as more of a loner.

Maybe it was his possessive side not liking no longer having her undivided attention though, so it was best not to ponder on it for too long.

"Careful Sasuke or Hinata becomes my favorite," she muttered in his brother's ear, who scoffed.

"You love me too much."

"You sure are confident." He looked up at Akane with puppy eyes. Itachi knew the look. Itachi was weak to the look.

So Itachi left her and heard her agreeing with Sasuke.

Around four, he decided to check on them as he couldn't hear anything. He smiled softly when he saw them both asleep, Sasuke's head on Akane's stomach. He quietly entered the room and put a pillow beneath her head and a blanket over them. Akane's eyes fluttered when he sat down with a book.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered to her. She blinked sleepily at him.

"Hum…" She was half-awake only. "Genjuts..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing…traumatizing please…" she mumbled.

"Can it be our past together?" She nodded and took a deep breath.

"Not…sad things…or gory or…"

"I get it, now finish your nap." Sasuke moved and moved his head from her stomach to her chest. She put her hand on his head.

"Hum…love you…" He chuckled briefly and kissed her chastely on the temple. She was already back asleep.

However, allowing him to show her scenario of their past together was not a good idea on her part. He loved getting her flustered and this would be way too much fun.

The way she froze and blushed furiously when he showed her a few seconds of something more than explicit they had done in the past was worth the following hour she would not talk to him, or even look at him in the eyes.

November came too quickly to his taste. Him and Akane were making a good team. He had seen her fight, but really having to work as a team with her was making him see her in a new light. She was good at making quick decisions, trick her enemies, use the field to her advantage…

She was a great kunoichi.

He was sad at the end of their last session together. They would have other opportunities but…he didn't know when. They would have the exams though. He almost didn't see her in November except once or twice in the village, when she looked exhausted. She had muttered something about the Hokage being a secret Spartiate and that she was running errands for him before she left, apologizing for not having much time.

On the day they left, their teams came at the gates, like the Hokage. The others genin teams taking part in the exams were there as well.

"Come back a chuunin," Kou told Akane before looking at him. "You too, and I apologize in advance for whatever she gets you into." Akane pretended to be offended, he smirked and after a few more words, they were off.

He didn't miss the way Yasuo wouldn't look at him, or the clear jealousy in his eyes when he told Akane they had to leave.

He hoped this puppy crush he had on his love would stop soon.

"Are you ready?" he asked her quietly once the village was out of the sight. She pursed her lips, her eyes distant for a second.

"I don't know."

He would need to keep a close eye on her.

I was quiet on the way. Itachi didn't pry, diving in his own thoughts as well. However, I had noticed Shikaku-san glancing at us from the corner of his eyes, especially me. I had met him before, a few times at home actually as he was invited over for dinner, a few times with his wife and Shikamaru. It was before he became Itachi's sensei.

Minato-san trusted him, and I knew the trust was returned. Plus, Naruto and Shikamaru were basically best friends before and trusted each other as well.

It was funny. His relationship with Sasuke was like their moms', but with Shikamaru it was their dads'.

Anyway, based on that, I knew I didn't have to worry about him. Knowing Minato-san, he had told him enough so that he wouldn't pry too much if I appeared weird, he'd probably do so if somehow, the situation became really bad.

The boat pitched when I jumped in it, Itachi shooting me a scolding glance above his shoulder. I mouthed a 'sorry'. The boat was…old compared to what I had gotten used to. Goodbye big liners between the Land of Fire and Land of Water, welcome wooden sailing ships, well caravel from the size. I went to the bow of the ship and sat on it, my legs dangling on each side of it. I took a deep breath of the sea air, the wind bringing almost bringing the smell of salt to my nose. The wind was good to sail.

"Are you going to stay here for the whole journey?" I nodded, glancing at Itachi above my shoulder. He leaned on the guardrail to see the height. "I'm not fishing you out if you fall, it's your own doing."

"Rude and mean. Are you ready?"

"Sure, why?" I raised a brow.

"We're ten, some people should be here who…have not left yet." He understood the meaning of my words a few seconds later as he looked down.

"Kisame, of course," he whispered under his breath.

"He…was not the same." He had the reputation for killing his teammates, something he had done, to succeed missions. I had had done a few with him a long time ago, but I was a special case.

"Juzo as well?" I wrinkled my nose.

"Biwa? Eurk." I shook my head at his quizzical gaze. "He treated me like dirt under his shoes. But yes, I saw him leave when the Kaguya clan attacked when…I was twelve."

"Hey, kids." We looked at Shikaku-san. "The journey should last for two days." We nodded. He sighed. "Thank God you're not whining like the others."

"What about when we land?" Itachi asked him.

"There should be people expecting us and showing us to our hotel."

I looked back at the horizon. There were hotels in Kiri but…not really luxurious, or even respectable ones. In the lower districts the guests were almost entirely made of hookers and their clients, or drug dealers and such. They would have foreigners though, they needed to look good. I knew of one hotel in the upper-class district, maybe it would be this one.

Once we were moving, I closed my eyes. I was afraid of drowning, yet I felt at peace on the sea. Don't get me wrong, I loved my comfort, but there was something about being at sea that would just…make me at peace. Maybe it was because it was then, on ships and boat, Mangetsu, Dai and I would act the most our age during missions.

I had to sleep with the other kunoichi at night. The journey was long and short at the same time. I kept to myself a lot. Itachi would or be on his own, or with me reading. He wouldn't say a word if not spoken to, he'd just sit down next to me or beneath the bow of the ship when I was on it and read. I'd bug him every once in a while, or lean on him to nap.

"Land!" Everybody got up to look at the island. Even from where we were, you could see the mist surrounding it.

I gulped and put my hands in my pocket, clenching my hands in tight fists. The closer we were getting for there, the shakier my breathing was getting, memories of my time there coming back. When I had visited under the Fifth's rule, it was better. Now…

Now it was not just Kiri, it was knowing Yagura was there, living and breathing like I was and not six feet under. It was…seeing him I was dreading. I would, even if maybe he wouldn't talk to me and see me personally, he would make a speech or something.

"Stop reminiscing," Itachi said, now in front of me. He poked me on the forehead for good measure. I rubbed it without a word.

"Sorry."

"It's going to happen a lot, isn't it?" he asked me quietly. I nodded. "Alright."

"It can't be helped."

"I know." He pursed his lips. "Would it be better if we stuck together as much as possible?"

"Huh, I'm not letting you wander Kiri on your own," I retorted immediately. He smiled a little at that. "What if someone tried to steal your pretty eyes?" Itachi caught my fingers with one hand as I was moving them closer and closer to his eyes.

"I can defend them just fine on my own." Except if Obi…

No, why would he even appear now? There was no point. Although, I couldn't just go there sure I wouldn't see him. Always expect the unexpected after all.

We reached the shore. As my feet touched hard land, I looked around, like everyone else. Gone was the sea resort and leisure harbor, gone were the food merchants and the tourists. The coast south to Kiri was back to being a simple fishing harbor, which was also used by shinobi to go around the islands of the country. In rarer cases, they would go abroad from there, or to Ryoushi directly to go to the Land of Thunder. Ryoushi was the most important harbor and coastal town in the country, at the east, and was the only way you could get a boat to Sen'i, a small transactional island between us and the Eastern Continent.

The filtration system the Fifth had put in place was not there yet. Mist was here, not enough to make us lose our way, but enough to squint.

"Over here!" I froze in my steps at the feminine voice. The cheerful tone was fake. We all looked toward the rock wall that separated the coast from Kiri.

"Isn't she the future…" Itachi whispered to me as we were at the back of the group.

"Sensei…" I whispered to myself. Itachi was taken back. She was not wearing her long blue dress yet. She wore the regular jounin outfit, something she had always hated. I had seen her in this more often than not though. "Sorry, you were…"

"It's nothing." He was standing awfully close to me though; his shoulder was grazing mine.

"Welcome to you all, shinobi from Konoha. I hope you have had a nice journey to our village, it is not a short one." Her green eyes went over all of us quickly and I thought it stopped a second longer on us. "We are still expecting Suna and Iwa. The Exams will start officially in a week. All the information will be given to your jounin sensei. You are all free to wander our village as you wish as long as you have your identification with you."

"Wander around at your own risks!" This voice…I had not missed it.

Juzo Biwa appeared next to se…Mei-san, Kubikiribucho dug in the ground. He was leaning on it and grinning madly at us, obviously here to intimidate poor little genin.

"I will take you to your hotel now." Shikaku-san was suddenly close to us as well.

"Let's go you two." We nodded and followed the group. We were five teams in total, so fourteen genins and five jounins, nineteen Konoha shinobi and kunoichi in total.

I grasped the bottom of Itachi's shirt without a word as I was looking around, the buildings and the road bringing back painful memories. I had gotten in fights almost everywhere we were walking.

We entered through the middle-class district and Mei-san took us to the upper-class district by giving us a 'tour', which was really there to keep us from going to the lower-class district, where crimes and poverty were at their strongest.

"And there you are. There are two reservations for each team. Someone will come pick up the senseis tomorrow morning." Then she was gone.

The hotel was the most luxurious one, as expected. It was quite big, but mainly for business for the Mizukage and not really for anything else. The Daimyo usually remained in Kiribukai, even if maybe he would come for the Exams.

"Are you okay with sharing a room?" Shikaku-san asked us. "Minato didn't want you to stay on your own Akane." I nodded and threw my arm around Itachi's neck, pulling him closer to me. He immediately put his hands on my arm.

"It should be fine Shikaku-sensei," he replied with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't let her choke you or they'll say I'm a bad teacher," he said, rubbing his neck.

"I don't think my sensei would be one to talk, he's compromised."

"True." He gave us our key. "Room 205, third floor. I'm 204, so the same hallway."

I threw my bag on one of the beds and opened the window wide, cold air blowing in my face. My eyes scanned the view, the village…it was like I remembered it to be as a teenager. Dreadful and…

"I think it's enough," Itachi said flatly, closing the window. I tore my eyes off the scenery to look at him. "We're going to spend weeks here, don't dive too deep in painful memories on the first day." I looked down. "It's going to be okay."

"You can't know that, but thanks for saying it I guess," I replied, a tiny bit bitterly. I sighed at his blank face. "Sorry, it's…I doubt I'm going to be fun to be around while we're here." He raised a curious brow.

"So?" I was taken back. "We've been with each other every day for two years, there has been plenty of days where you were not 'fun to be around'." I flushed in shame.

"I…sorry…" He shook his head.

"It is not a criticism Akane." He took the hem of my kimono-top and pulled me swiftly and smoothly in his arms. "I'm just trying to tell you it is not something that is going to make me stay away." I smiled against his shoulder, hugging him back gently.

"Thank you 'tachi."

"Hn. I would like to know every important thing I should know." I nodded. "But it can wait tomorrow, we have had a long journey."

Telling him about my mission…should I? It would be useful but…A part of me didn't want him involved. Kiri was not his issue. Sure, Obito was an Uchiha and all but…Kiri was Kiri, it felt more my issue than his, and there was no way I would be the one to put him in danger like that.

Telling him as a last resort…yes, I would tell him as a last resort.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have liked it, please do let me know in reviews! Thanks to Guest for the comment! Chapter 10 should be fixed now!

Bye!