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

Characters age:

Akane: 8 (41)

Itachi: 8 (24)

Shisui: 11

Naruto / Sasuke: 3

Kakashi: 16

Itachi was not comfortable. I didn't envy him, at all. I had no idea if Mikoto-san had done this before, but now her son graduated, she had a small party at their house. It was us, as in the Namikaze's household, which was full of Uzumakis, them, Shisui, who was available today, and Kou. I had to come with him because, as a Hyuuga, he wasn't too keen on entering the Uchiha Compound on his own. He had given a note to Fugaku-san, from Hiashi-san, and the Uchiha leader nodded, putting it in his pocket.

I wasn't sure I wanted to know what was going on in a clan leader's head, especially with these and their, in my opinion, stupid rivalry.

"Mom…" Itachi muttered, embarrassed.

"Now Itachi, you don't graduate from the Academy every day!" I put my chin on Sasuke's head, my arms around him. I was sitting with my legs crossed and he was sitting between them, Shisui all too happy to have Naru with him.

They got along a little too well. Naru saw Shisui less than Itachi as he was a jounin, but when he'd come over or when I'd go out with Naru and him, they were like two peas in a pot.

Very annoying after a few minutes.

"Still…" he mumbled, his forehead protector reflecting the light of the sun. He glanced at the wrapped gifts on the table. "It really was not necessary."

"You're a genin, your friends from school should be able to properly say goodbye to you," she said with a beaming smile, obviously happy Itachi had friends.

"We can see him outs…" Sasuke put his small hand on my mouth. I raised a brow at him, and he shook his head.

"Don't make Mommy mad," he whispered in his cute, toddler voice. He was pretty smart though whereas he'd be three in four months.

"Yes captain," I replied in a muffled voice. He nodded, turned back toward his brother and leaned into me, settling comfortably.

Itachi got a whole new set of kunai and shuriken from Shisui, who did not forget to tell him it had been expensive. The kids had drawn something for him. His parents gave him something Uchiha-related, which I noticed made him twitch a little, and Kushina-san gave him The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja, which got her a suspicious look from Mikoto-san when she read the name of the author. He got a maintenance kit for ninja tools from Kou before looking at him expectantly.

"I have a gift."

"Where is it?"

"It's a work in progress." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"So you don't have anything."

"I came here for you, it's a lot already." He rolled his eyes. "It should be done in a week." He raised a brow. "I swear!"

"Hn. I'll come for you if it's not done." Right.

School started the next day. I was back in Kou's class with Yasuo this time. However, school was boring. I loved Kou, he was a good friend, and Yasuo was nice if not a little bit too much like a puppy following me. However, I felt alone. Itachi was gone, taking his smart-ass with him and it felt…lacking in the challenge-department.

I'd continue his present instead. It was a booklet filled with seals for battle. There were sections for medical stuff, weapons, food, anything he'd need. In each section were storage seals, empty ones he could fill like he wanted. I had put a few things in it already.

Then, when I'd give it to him, I'd tell him to use his chakra to activate the locking seal on the booklet, rendering the seals useless to anyone who did not have his chakra.

When I was ready to give it to him, he was on a mission. I'd spend time with Naru and Sasuke, but he wouldn't show up at our meeting spot for two months. If anything, I'd see him around town with his team.

Summer rolled in swiftly, the heat and the sun winning over the cooler temperatures I loved. I decided to go to the Uchiha Compound. I gulped when I reached the gate. It was intimidating, and I was all too aware of the stares I'd get when I was there. I envied Kushina-san who could walk there her head high. I only wanted to stare at the ground as I was walking.

I reached the lake there was for training and took a deep breath. It was away from the main street so there was no one.

I heard chatter down and glanced there. I stopped in my steps, blinking in confusion. Itachi was on the pontoon with Izumi, both of them talking and apparently laughing in front of the lake.

Huh.

Interesting.

I swallowed with difficulty, my inside twisting in painful knots. I was not going to deny I wasn't jealous because I was. How could I not when I was seeing the guy I told 'I love you' to laughing with a girl who was obvious with her crush on him?

My heart dropped at the thought of Izumi possibly being Itachi's childhood sweetheart or something. I wasn't there before, and he had left at thirteen. Izumi had been in love with him from the beginning, maybe he used to return it before? He never mentioned her to me before but…with the circumstances, why would he?

Did he used to be in love with her, or at least crushing on her?

I didn't even want to think about it. However, I did and squeaked at the thought before running away.

Izumi was an obvious choice after all, wasn't she? Itachi was the heir; I was sure he had some obligations regarding marriage and stuff and…Izumi was the obvious choice. Not me.

I stopped in the middle of the street at this. We couldn't be together before because of his sickness, and his criminal status but…what if we still couldn't be together now because of…everything he was in Konoha? I gulped. I didn't want to lose him if he lived.

"Nee-san?" I looked down at Sasuke, ignoring the pang at my heart. The kid was looking at me with big eyes. "Are you sad?"

"No, why would I be?" I replied, smiling as I crouched in front of him. "Are you alone?" He shook his head and pointed behind him. Mikoto-san was running toward us, a bag of groceries with her. "Don't make your mom run like that Sasuke." I ruffled his hair when he puffed his cheeks.

"She's right you know," Mikoto-san agreed once she was with us. I stood back up. "Hello Akane-chan."

"Hello."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well…" I glanced at Sasuke briefly, who had taken my hand. "I wanted to give Itachi his present, but I can't find him. I'll do that la…"

"Nonsense, come home with us." She took my hand and started to drag me away, Sasuke behind. "He's home for his brother's birthday, he should come back later."

"But…"

"Nee-san play!" I couldn't say no to Sasuke, or his mother. Deep down, I knew I shouldn't anger her.

I found myself playing with Sasuke at their house, Mikoto-san busy around the house. Sasuke took Itachi's present, and I quickly took it back.

"What is it?"

"It's your brother's graduation present so don't touch it please."

"What is it?"

"Seals for missions." He tried to take it again, but I raised my arm. "Sasuke." He puffed his cheeks. "I can show you some if you want to." He perked up at that.

"Really?" I nodded.

"I need papers and pencils." He stood up and ran off. "And don't ru…" I heard him fall. Sighing, I stood up, went to pick him up and brought him to the kitchen. Mikoto-san provided me with what I needed while making us snacks.

I showed Sasuke a few fuin symbols with the drawing of what it meant; the toddler hunched over my paper. He took his own sheet of paper and tried to reproduce my work, but it just looked like scribble. He looked really proud when he showed to me though, so I put my hand on his head.

"Not bad Sasuke."

"I'm home!" I tensed when I heard Itachi, Sasuke hugging me. I had no idea if he felt the tension in me or was just taken by the sudden urge to hug me, but I hugged him back. Mikoto-san was smiling at us as Itachi entered the room. "What's going on?"

"They're adorable, aren't they?" his mother asked him, talking about us. Itachi raised a brow at us just before his brother let go of me to greet him.

"Sure." He sat down and we ate. I listened to them, feeling like such an outsider with them. They were including me in their conversations, Mikoto-san had never anything but welcoming and warm to me anyway, Fugaku-san not really paying me attention when I was here but still acknowledging my presence.

I could see the fondness in Itachi's eyes when he'd be with his mother, or the hidden admiration when he'd be with his father. He loved his family dearly after all.

"Nee-san has your gift!" Itachi raised curious eyes to me, and I felt naked. Way to go to put me in the spotlight Sasuke.

"Yeah…I finished it." He stood up.

"Let's go to my room."

"You don't want to open your present is front of us?" his mother asked him with a knowing look in her eyes.

"It's fine to open it here," I said, confused. Itachi sighed, grabbed my wrist and dragged me behind him.

His room was neat and tidied. Once the door closed, Itachi turned to me, looking excited.

"I'm not sure it lives up to the hype now," I muttered, handing him the gift. He shook his head.

"I'm sure I'm going to love it." He accepted the gift and unwrapped it, raising his brows at the booklet. "Thanks?"

"Open it." He did and frowned as he flipped through the pages. "It's…it's for mission, you can take more with you in case anything wrong happens. I already put some stuff in here and…on the cover, there is black hole at the center of the seal, use your chakra in it." He did, it glowed blue, and he looked up at me.

I gestured him to hand me the booklet, which he did. The second it left his hand, the pages turned blank. I used my chakra like he had just done, but nothing.

"No one but you can use it now!" I stated, proud of myself. He nodded, a small smile on his lips. I couldn't help but feel he was disappointed though. "You don't like it, do you?" He perked up at that.

"I like it very much Akane, thank you. This will be very useful during my missions."

"You look disappointed." He shook his head.

"It's just not what I was expecting, but I love it, promise." I shot his present a quick look. "It took you a long time to make too, free of charge, I really appreciate it." I gulped and put my hands in my pockets, staring at the floor. I tried to hide my sadness.

I wasn't dumb, whatever it was he was expecting, he would have preferred it over my gift. That and seeing him with Izumi earlier…

"Akane." I raised my head, Itachi poking me on the forehead before placing a soft kiss on my cheek. "I really do love it."

"I can buy you something i…" He hugged me around the waist, his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm happy with what you have offered me, and a hug." I hugged him around the neck, my cheek on his shoulder.

"How are you 'tachi?" I asked him quietly. He just breathed out slowly, hugging me tighter. "I miss you at school."

"Does it make me a bad person if I say I am happy to hear you say this?" I chuckled. He started walking, pushing me toward his bed and then on it. He lay down next to me, still hugging me.

"Itachi?" He didn't respond.

I was the one to initiate physical contact usually. He would, sometimes, but it was rare, even if it had gotten better once we were official.

I wasn't hating it though.

He had been a little bit disappointed. He felt terrible it had made Akane feel bad about her gift, which was more than thoughtful as it was a graduation gift. It was just that, when she had said his present was not ready yet, he had thought he would receive something made of ice like she had mentioned a few months before. He had made a scenario in his head and had failed to hide his disappointment about this scenario to be wrong.

"Your birthday!" He looked at her. "Hey, does it count as a birthday present if we go to a tea house and I pay for the both of us?"

"I'm fine with that." He was also more than fine with cuddling with her, but she decided to stand up.

Earlier, he had been with Izumi. He had been outside with his father, went for dango but the shop was closed. Izumi had found them and had some, so they hung out at the lake. She had given him some and Itachi had remembered how easy everything was back then, like their friendship.

He had had the strange feeling he was being watched and when he looked back, there was no one.

"What were you doing with Sasuke earlier?"

"Fuinjutsu. I was showing some stuff to him, and he replicated them. Well, he tried at least." He never thought Sasuke would like Fuinjutsu, but it would be nice for him. He was sure Akane was a great teacher too, and seeing her spend time with his brother…

It was making him all warm and fuzzy inside.

He went back on missions after his brother's birthday. To his utter surprise, he was on the same team as before. Yuki-sensei was still inapt in teaching kids, Tenma was arrogant but alive and Shinko was trying to make peace among all of them but struggled. They were going on missions he didn't remember going on before but seeing that Tenma had not been killed by Madara was reassuring. He could not stand Itachi, but it did not matter. He was alive.

He would stay alive.

Everything was…going fine. He was managing spending time with Sasuke and his missions. He was seeing Akane less but was still finding time and their relationship was…more than fine in his opinion. She would ask him about his missions and his team, and he would tell her, Akane sighing because she was bored in school. The one stain on this picture was his clan. He could feel the tension rising when he'd be in the Compound, and when his kinsmen would see him with Akane or even Naruto. He could feel the disapproving looks on him.

He did not care. It was not his clan's old views and resentment that would make him, or his brother, stop seeing the Uzumakis.

"I'm being cooked," Akane whined weakly in the shade of a tree at their meeting spot. She was on her side, Itachi in the same position in front of her, his forehead against hers. "I'm dying."

"Don't be so dramatic," he replied quietly.

"They have announced 40°c this afternoon. I'm going to have a heat stroke."

"Stay inside."

"Naru wants to go out."

"Let Kushina-san go with him then."

He would not let these moments of blissful peace stop because of his clan.

Fall was there.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu is mastered!" I yelled, raising my arms in the air. Kakashi watched me doing so.

"Congratulations."

"Can you put more efforts in your congratulations?"

"Congratulations Akane, at eight you are chuunin-level and can do the Shadow Clone Jutsu," he said, still with no emotion. I stuck my tongue at him, and he grabbed it. "Hey." I tried to make him let go, but I just looked like a bug trapped in a spider web.

"Phlet me go!" I said. He narrowed his eye and did when I was pulling like an idiot. I fell back on my ass. "Big meanie."

"Yes yes." He looked at me more seriously. "I'm going to leave the village for a month for a mission." I frowned.

"Kumo?" He nodded, not needing to say more.

Minato-san was spending some evenings at the office instead of eating with us now. The few conversations I overheard between him and Kushina-san were not good.

"Come back in one piece then." He rolled his eye, put his hand on my head and pushed on it.

"Whatever brat."

Shortly after Naru's birthday, I took him in town to do some shopping. He was boisterous at first but calmed down quickly when I scolded him. I ignored like I could the glances the villagers would give him. It was better than before I was sure as his parents were alive, but the villagers, mainly civilians, still saw him as the Kyuubi and not Naruto.

"Tenma, hurry up!" I looked in the back alley behind me. A girl and a boy rushed in it. The boy dropped something.

I picked it up. It looked like a box of expensive catnip.

"Kitty!" Naru said, pointing at the cat drawing on the box.

"Yes, kitty Naru." I took his hand and went after the boy.

I found him a little further away in the street, rummaging in his pockets. I walked up to him and his teammate, tapping on his shoulder.

"What!?" Wow, he was not nice. He turned around and blinked at the box I was handing him. He looked up and scrunched his nose at me. "You're the Hokage's foreigner, aren't you?" I froze.

The Hokage's foreigner? What was that?

"Tenma! You can't say that!" the girl almost yelled at him. Tenma? Itachi's teammate? Then did it mean it was Shinko?

"But it's true! She's the foreigner the Hokage kept out of generosity!" That…that wasn't… "Everybody says that!" Everybody?

I had been in Konoha for four years at this point, I wasn't…I was training to be a kunoichi here, ready to put my life on the line for them and…

They considered me a foreigner. Born abroad, yes, but half of this body's life had been in Konoha, I…

"Hey! Say sorry!" Naru yelled, kicking Tenma in the leg. Tenma glared at Naru, a hand on his leg.

I put Naru behind me, feeling this could quickly go south. The genin didn't do much apart from clicking his tongue. Naru decided to run off though. I thought he would hit Tenma again, but he ran between his legs and behind him.

I was relieved when I saw him hugging no one but Itachi, who picked him up easily. The Uchiha joined us and, seeing the snarl on Tenma's face, Shinko's nervousness and how I was on the defensive, stepped next to me.

"What's going on?" Naru pointed at Tenma.

"Called nee-chan foreigner!" Itachi frowned and glanced at me.

"It's okay Itachi," I whispered, not wanting to cause issues between his teammate and him.

"It's not." He looked at Tenma dead in the eyes. "Akane will be a kunoichi of Konoha in a few years, regardless of where she was born, and will put her life on the line like any of us. Try to think of that instead of her origins." Tenma clenched his fists, glaring at Itachi.

"Shinko, let's finish this mission!" he groaned, leaving. Shinko shot us an apologetic glance and left.

Me? I was surprised Itachi defended me. I was…glad, but I was surprised.

"Is it going to be okay with your teammates?"

"Don't worry about it." He put Naru back down. "Are you really okay?" I pursed my lips and shrugged.

"It's not something I thought I would deal with."

"You've been living here for a while and will fight with us, you're not a foreigner." I was really touched by this and smiled at him, thankful.

"Thank you." He smiled back at me, his eyes intense.

"Nee-chan!" I let Naru get on my back. "Hike!"

"Yes Naru."

"Hike?" Itachi repeated.

"Going in the woods only." I waved at him. "See you later."

"Be careful." I nodded, blushing, and left.

I had never seen Itachi as a knight in a shining armor, and I knew deep down it was better if I didn't but…it felt nice, to be defended.

What Tenma had said remained stuck in my head. It almost sounded like Minato-san had gotten an exotic pet by being my legal guardian with Kushina-san. I hated. If Tenma thought it, then most likely, his parents as well and other people. I had never heard anything in town but maybe I was just so into my own world that I didn't hear it.

As I was wandering the halls of the Academy at the end of the day in November it remained stuck in my head. It just wouldn't leave.

"But we didn't do anything." That was Izumi.

"I know but…I mean, the Sharingan's abilities can be scary from the outside and…" Yasuo.

"We're from the same village, they should trust us!" I popped my head out of the corner of the wall, Yasuo spotting me instantly.

"Akane, come here!" I did, Izumi staring at the floor in frustration. "Are you scared of the Sharingan?" I raised a brow and looked at them both.

"None of you have it, do you?" Izumi raised her eyes to me. They were red.

Wow, she had the Sharingan at her age? Not that one tomoe was very intimidating but still, it was an achievement.

"Are…you going to attack me or something?" I asked them, confused as to what was happening.

"Wh…no, of course not!" Yasuo denied immediately.

"Then why would I be scared?"

"Because the Sharingan is strong," Izumi replied with a frown. "It's powerful, and the pride of the Uchiha clan and…" I stopped listening to her arrogant rant. It sounded like she was brainwashed by a cult or something.

I took a blank paper tag, bit my forefinger, and wrote a seal on it. Then, without a word, I put it on Izumi forehead and transferred the seal to her. Her sharingans disappeared and she blinked in surprise. Yasuo was shocked as well.

"Wh…what!?" Izumi screamed.

"Look, I don't know what's gotten into you that made you arrogant about the Sharingans, but anything can be sealed if you're confronted to someone competent enough. The loudest people are the first people to die on the battlefield." They stayed silent as I deadpanned at them. "So, what is this really about?"

"People keep saying we caused the Kyuubi attack," Izumi said through gritted teeth. "But it's not true!" I looked down. In a way…the Uchihas had caused the attack. "You believe that too Akane!?" I didn't have the time to respond that she ran away, saying I was mean.

"…do you believe that?" I rolled my eyes and looked at Yasuo.

"Don't put words in my mouth. I think that a whole group falling for the actions of one individual. But I don't think it was an internal job to Konoha ." He was visibly confused. "My mom died that night; do you think I'd hang out with you guys if I thought your clan was responsible?" I turned around and left as well, leaving the poor kid now alone in the hallway.

Obito was an Uchiha, but no longer a Konoha shinobi. Honestly, the Uchihas being responsible was really about perspective on this one.

Itachi was…frustrated. He had seen Izumi, who had told Akane was mean and also thought that they had caused the Kyuubi attack. He was taken back, because he knew Akane enough to know it was not her to throw accusations like these without proofs. Izumi then told him he probably should not be friends with her and left and he failed to reply anything.

While Akane was not the kind to throw accusations around, she would speak her mind without caring about others' reactions, which could lead to misunderstandings. When he saw her arriving at their spot, he almost sighed, dreading the conversation they were about to have. He knew Akane was not Izumi's biggest fan either so…he didn't want her to think he was siding with Izumi, he didn't want to take sides at all. However, if he could make Akane more careful about her bluntness, it would be good. He knew he used to have issues with saying what he thought without thinking. Ironically, it was Izumi who had pointed this out to him.

"Hey!"

"Hey." She sat down next to him.

"You know, usually we try to match the first person's enthusiasm," she commented, opening her bag. "Something's wrong?"

"I…talked with Izumi." She slowed down in her movement and rolled her eyes. "What happened?"

"She got the wrong idea."

"What did you say?"

"That's the thing: nothing. She asked me if believed your clan was responsible for Kyuubi and I looked down. She got the wrong idea then and ran off." He took a deep breath. It sounded plausible.

"You didn't really tell her you believed that then?" She glared at him.

"Do you really think I would? To a kid who most likely has gone through some trauma for her to have the Sharingan?"

"No, of course not, but sometimes you can be too blunt and…" She scoffed.

"Look who's talking." He looked at her sternly.

"Izumi lost her father during the attack, in front of her. He wasn't an Uchiha so she wasn't living with the clan back then, thinking she might live among her dad's killers is not easy." She looked in the distance. "Maybe you should apologize."

"For what? Looking at the fucking floor? If she misunderstands things because of trauma, it's her problem, not mine."

"Akane," he called her firmly. She clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "You will work together later on, it's better to do that without bitter misunderstandings still lingering between you two."

"I'm not apologizing for being frank Itachi."

"Being blunt in all situations is not the best approach."

"I'm not…"

"Akane." She returned his firm gaze for a few seconds and looked away.

"Fine."

"Thank yo…"

"You do realize that I'm right though, don't you?" He clasped his lips together and she glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. "No matter at what angle you look at it, the Sharingan is responsible for the attack." She frowned. "Unless you haven't put two and two together yet." He frowned back.

He had heard his father say something among those lines, and it was not as if he never had his own suspicions on Madara before either. Akane was not giving him room for suspicions though was enough confirmation.

"At some point, Izumi will have to see things for how they really are, and you can't shield her from it." She was upset. He didn't want to upset, although he was also expecting it.

"I know." He noticed her biting the inside of her cheek before pulling a diary out of her bag.

"You're an anomaly." He blinked. "In Uzushio, I…my condition? I'm the last known case of many, many others in the Uzumaki clan." He frowned. "And all of them had what they called a 'watching soul', someone close to them in life who had died who would watch them in the new one."

"You tell me now?" She rolled her eyes.

"The Uzumakis were dealing with very, very dark shits and, you're an anomaly. I can see you being my 'watching soul', but you're here, in the flesh. The moment I was thrown back doesn't make sense either. It's supposed to be my biggest regret. It would be letting Shisui go shortly before he died, not…this far back." Her regret was Shisui?

"Maybe the reason I'm here is the reason why we're this far back?" She nodded.

"I came to the same conclusion, the only question I still have is: how did you get here?"

If he followed her theory and he was stuck watching her without doing anything, he'd take the chance of tagging along to really be there.

"It's better if I'm here, I think," he said after a few seconds. She glanced at him coldly.

"You finally had the chance to rest, you should have left me deal with the consequences of my actions on my own." It was cold, and he felt a pang at his heart. "You may not have this chance la…"

"I'm glad I'm here, no matter what you think." Silence fell upon them.

He would not let Akane deal with this on her own if he could help her.

I had to apologize, because apparently, I was hurtful in my words. What a load of…

Itachi wanted to do right by the girl, there obviously was something behind this, but still. If she was hurt by my reaction, maybe she should see a therapist to talk about her dad's death. I was so…annoyed Itachi wanted me to apologize, and I was upset with myself because I would do it because I didn't want to fight with him. I had him back and didn't want to lose him again.

Yet, there was a bitter taste in my mouth. In Kiri, you had to be blunt with your teammates because it was what would keep you alive. Even in the Academy from what Suigetsu would tell me, you'd be blunt. You'd say things as they were and if the person in front of you couldn't handle it, then chances were that they would die or fail, which was worse than death during Yagura's regime.

Konoha shinobi in Kiri were called Konoha-softies. I had never partaken in that, but I could see it now, clear as day, and I hoped that once a kunoichi I would see it less.

Shortly before the Christmas break, we had a sparring session with both classes of third year. Izumi decided to volunteer herself, and I, for the first fight. We went in front of everyone and raised two fingers in front of us.

She was glaring at me.

"Hajime!" She ran at me.

Now, for an eight-year-old, Izumi was not bad. She was the top kunoichi of our year, something Kou would roll his eyes at often. He was the top shinobi in our year, and we had been sparring this year.

He was very frustrated at me when I'd beat him, often by accident.

Now, I had to apologize. That being said, I still thought Izumi needed…a reality check. As in she couldn't blow up at people's faces without expecting consequences. What if someone important was to make critics toward the Uchihas in front of her? Would she call them out too? It could cost her her life.

I didn't care, but…Itachi cared so…

I started dodging easily, staying in the circle. I heard people whispering among themselves and as I turned around, now facing them, Izumi having her back to them, I caught Kou's quizzical gaze. I gave him an imperceptible shrug, hoping he would see it and he nodded.

I loved Kou.

I dodged a high kick by crouching. I stretched out my right leg and spun around and kicked her ankle. She was on one leg, so she fell harshly to the ground as I stood up, my eyes locked on her. She groaned and stood up.

Well, she was stubborn, I'd give her that. I moved back as she tried to hit me, trying to control her frustration as much as she could. I took her to the edge of the sparing circle and got out of her way at the last moment, pushing her lightly in the back to get her out of the circle.

"And it's over! Akane-chan is the winner!" the teacher stated as Izumi turned around with wide eyes.

"No!"

"Yes. Now do the reconciliation sign." I stretched out two fingers to her. She bit her bottom lip and crossed her fingers with mine.

"I'm sorry for last time," I whispered to her. She looked at me in surprise as I put my hand in my pocket. "Do be careful of how you react and with whom however."

"I…yes." I nodded and went back in the crowd.

"Easy?" Kou whispered to me. I shrugged.

"Potential, but yes."

"By the way, Yasuo told me of your seal." I shot Kou and glance. "The one you used on Izumi."

"And?"

"I…told Hiashi-sama something like that existed and he wants to meet you and Kushina-sama."

That…was an unexpected turn of events.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have liked it, please do let me know in reviews! Thanks to Amaterasu53 for the review! In the other story the engagement was when Akane was thirteen, way after where we are in this story.

Bye!