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: 17

"I know." I raised a brow at Kushina-san as she showed me a letter. I was barely back from school. I took it and read it. It was an official invitation to discuss things at the Hyuuga Compound. "Mind telling me what the seal is about?"

"Huh, an original that took me years of research and failures to perfect." She crossed her arms, waiting for more. "It seals any doujutsu, even if it is activated. It can function on its own and it can last even in death." Old Sasuke did not want the Rinnegan or Sharingan to fall in the wrong hands when he'd die.

Kushina-san blinked, staring at nothing for a solid second.

"You really succeeded to do that?" I nodded.

"As I said, it took me years because I had to dissect your Chakra Suppressing Seal first." She crouched in front of me. "What?"

"You…received our belongings?" I shrugged.

"Fuinjutsu-wise, yes. Naruto never was in Fuinjutsu so he just let me do as I wished."

"I see." She shot the letter another glance. "I think I have a good idea of why they want to see you."

"Does Minato-san know?"

"Yes, Hiashi-san asked him directly and then gave him the letter. He dropped it here a few hours ago. You did notice it was addressed to you, right?" I re-read the letter. Indeed, it was for me. "What do you want to do?" I shrugged.

"I guess there's no wrong done if I just listen to him, right?"

On the twenty-third, we went to the Hyuuga Compound with Kushina-san. Naru was spending the day with Sasuke and Mikoto-san. We stopped at the gate and shared a look.

"The letter said we'd be greeted."

"It would be me." We turned around. I blinked and bowed to Hiashi-san.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Hiashi-san." The man raised a brow and Kushina-san snickered. "What?"

"This is not Hiashi-san." I furrowed my brows at the man, who seemed vaguely amused by me.

"Are you sure?"

"I like to think I am better looking than my brother." Brother. I widened my eyes. Hinata had told me this before. Her cousin Neji, who died during the war, had lost his father young. Father who was Hiashi-san's twin brother. "I am Hizashi Hyuuga, and you must be Akane." I nodded without a word, and he glanced at Kushina-san. "Making fun of your niece?" She was grinning, her fists on her hips.

"You've got to keep smart kids humble Hizashi-san, shouldn't you know about this?" He shook his head at her.

"Neji is fine as he is." Right, he wasn't dead now. "Please follow me." We did.

The Hyuuga Compound felt very different from the Uchiha Compound. You could feel in the air that, even if they would glance at us, they were not looking at us as outsiders. There was no underlying animosity in them unlike the Uchihas.

We reached a big, traditional house. The guy standing there nodded at Hizashi-san and us before letting us in. The place was more intimidating than Itachi's house though.

"Nii-san." Hizashi-san opened a door, Hiashi-san sitting there already.

"Come on in." We did, sitting in front of him. Kushina-san thanked the maid who brought us tea. Hiashi-san gazed at me with unreadable eyes. I gulped as quietly as I could. "Are you the one Kou told me about?" I nodded. "Are you really eight?" I nodded again and he glanced seriously at Kushina-san.

"Akane has a gift for Fuinjutsu, Minato wants to have her as his apprentice later on." He nodded.

"I will trust Hokage-sama's opinion on her potential then. Akane-san." I perked up at my name. "Kou have mentioned a seal that could seal the Sharingan." I nodded. "Would it be possible to adapt it to the Byakugan?" I nodded again. It already was.

Hizashi-san cleared his throat, leaning against the wall.

"I have an offer for you then." I tilted my head on the side. "Once you are a genin, I would like to request your service as a Seal Master."

"Trying to recruit an Academy student now, are we?" Kushina-san replied when I had barely opened my mouth. "Don't you think it's too much? I have a good idea of what you want of Akane, it's a lot."

"If she is this talented at her age, then a couple of years working closely to our clan would make the job easier." I had an idea of what he wanted too.

He most probably wanted to get rid of the Bird Cage mark or whatever the Branch Family had on their foreheads, which would explain why Hizashi-san was here. However, taking my seal and use it that way would indeed require time to adjust.

"Would you be willing to sponsor her for the exam?" He nodded firmly. "Oh…I wasn't expecting an answer this quickly 'ttebane!" She put her hand in my hair. "Look, I have no doubt in time, Akane would do a great job, but right now, she is still an Academy student, and if she graduates and have this plan, then it would disrupt her path as a genin."

"Such as?" I asked her. She sighed.

"Well, Seal Masters are another business altogether. Minato and I both became one as jounin. As a genin, because you're going on missions with your team, you can't just train to become a Seal Master without putting your teammates' progress at risk. My guess would be that Minato put you in a partnership with a jounin so that you can pursue the exam of Seal Master without worrying about your team." It actually sounded good.

"I'm okay with that." She raised a brow. "Really."

"Nothing will happen until Kumo leaves the village," Hiashi-san stated. Right, there was the Head Jounin or something from Kumo in the village to talk about a peace treaty.

If it was not A, the Fourth Raikage, I was fine with it.

"How about Akane comes and gets accustomed to the place and what you want from her a little bit and then, next year, we'll talk."

"Free of charge then." Kushina-san's smile was tense.

"Sure. See it as an internship." They both looked at me. "I'm okay with that." They exchanged a look and Kushina-san sighed.

"If you are, then I am as well." I grinned at her.

Minato-san was not really surprised when we told him. He just told me to be ready to see disturbing things at some point, things that would put my ethics in question. I was ready though; I knew a little bit about their dear mark.

I started on the 27th. Kou was with me at first, and when night fell, he said he would go home, after bringing me food. I ate, my eyes not leaving the notes I was given. Maybe they thought I wouldn't get everything, but I did. Well, most things.

I'd need a medic to confirm what I thought some things meant.

I cracked my back and put everything away when it was close to midnight. Kushina-san trusted me, she had insisted on having a training session with me and I did get her good, but so did she. Minato-san was not that trusting, and he told me that if I wasn't back by midnight, which a nice curfew already for an eight-year-old, he'd come get me himself. I didn't really want to be scolded so I left quietly.

What was not my surprise to see a man outside, carrying no one else than Hinata.

How unlucky it was for him that it was nighttime in December. I quietly made a shadow clone, followed him a little and used the moisture in the ground to freeze his legs up to his waist. He stopped, obviously and my clone rushed at him, jumped and kicked the side of his face while I went in front of him. I finished the Immobility Seal quickly and put it on him, activating it as he punched my clone away. His body went limp, and he dropped Hinata, that I caught, but barely as I fell under her weight. I quickly undid my ice.

"Interesting." I looked up, seeing Hiashi-san behind me.

"Could you take her for a second?" He did and I drew a Chakra Suppressing Seal, putting it on the guy for good measure.

He was fully conscious, and as I removed the cloth covering his face, I frowned at the cloud in his forehead protector. I shot Hiashi-san a quick look, who had narrowed his eyes at him.

"If I'm not back by midnight, he's picking me up," I informed him, showing him the marked kunai Minato-san had given me. Hiashi-san nodded.

"Good." He trusted me with Hinata. "Go back inside." I hurried inside.

Hiashi-san quickly came back with his brother, the shinobi tied up and unconscious. As I thought, the second it was midnight, Minato-san appeared in front of me, wearing a white hoodie with sweatpants.

"I was clear," he told me. I pointed behind him and he looked, seeing the Kumo shinobi unconscious between Hiashi-san and Hizashi-san. He immediately switched to Hokage mode.

Hinata started to stir against me. She blinked her big, lilac eyes to me and rubbed one.

"Akane-san?" I nodded at her, and she looked around, tensing when she saw the Kumo shinobi.

"Minato-san, I'm going to take her back to her room," I told him. He merely nodded.

I left with Hinata. Once we were back to her room, I put her on her bed and closed the window.

"What happened?" she asked me in her quiet, shy voice. I sat down next to her.

"Let the adults handle it Hina-chan." I tucked her back in bed. "Do you want something?"

"My mommy…" Oh right. Hanabi was not born yet so…

"I'm here." I perked up and glanced above my shoulder. Women from nobility were another breed of women. I had seen it in Mikoto-san already.

Hinata's mother had given her daughter her bluish dark hair and kind features. She was wearing a pale purple night kimono, most probably in silk, and was walking with her head high. Her walk was very…dignified. Everything about her felt very dignified.

"I was notified of what happened," she whispered to me as she knelt next to her daughter. "Thank you."

"Oh huh…you're welcome." I stayed with them for a little bit until there was a knock on the door. Minato-san opened it with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry to disturb you Eimi-san."

"It is nothing Yondaime-sama." He looked at me.

"Come on, Kakashi is taking you home." I stood up, waved at Hinata and left the room. Once the door was closed, I looked up at him.

"Kakashi?"

"We are in an emergency situation." We walked back downstairs. In front of the house was Fugaku-san, who raised a brow when he saw me. "Fugaku-san, please dispatch the Police Forces throughout the village. I'm sure Hiashi-san can gather some Byakugan users to help you look for any Kumo shinobi remaining in the village. If you find any, send them to T&I immediately." Fugaku-san nodded.

"Understood Hokage-sama."

"Wait!" He looked down at me. "Is Sasuke okay?" He blinked, his eyes a little bit kinder when he realized I was worried for his son.

"He is, and Itachi is with him." I sighed in relief.

"Once your men are dispatched, go to the Hokage Tower. I'm getting every Clan Head." Minato-san looked at Hiashi-san. "Once you are done here, please come as well." They both nodded and Fugaku-san left with Hiashi-san.

Kakashi left the shadows he was in.

"You have the gist of it?" Kakashi nodded. "Alright, then take Akane home. I'm sure both of you can explain the situation to Kushina." The Hokage crouched in front of me with a frown. "I might make you come tomorrow for a testimony, okay?" I nodded. "Alright, then go get some rest." Kakashi took my hand and we left.

Kushina-san was surprised to see Kakashi, and shocked when we told her what had happened. When Kakashi left, she said we were having a sleepover in Naru's room. I didn't discuss it and followed her, Naruto waking up briefly at hearing us. When he saw us, he stretched out his arms at his mom, who hugged him tightly.

He had forgotten the Hyuuga affair. He should not have, but with Minato here, he had lost track of what was supposed to happen and when. Apparently, Namikaze Minato still being the Hokage did not mean the Raikage would not try something so reckless. When a clone of the Hokage had knocked on the front door, he got up and climbed down the stairs, hearing the conversation between his parents and Minato. His mother didn't waste time to get him, not surprised he was already there, and told him to finish the night in his brother's room. His father left the house and didn't come back until the early hours of the morning.

In the morning, someone knocked on the door. He opened it, surprised to see Akane. She did not look like she had a good night sleep the night before.

"Hey."

"Hey. Were we supposed to see each other?" She shook her head.

"I'm not here for you, sorry." She pursed her lips. "Is Sasuke here?" He nodded. "Can I see him?" He nodded again.

He was surprised by how tightly Akane hugged his brother, who was more than happy to return it.

Sasuke had a crush on her, he couldn't blame him.

"Are you okay?" She nodded and let go of Sasuke.

"I hugged Naruto the same way before I left the house, it's…you know about last night?" He frowned.

"Yes. What do you know?"

"Huh, everything, I was there." He raised a brow, and she shook her head. "It was dark, and the element of surprise played a lot too."

"What were you doing at the Hyuuga Compound at night?"

"Right, I didn't tell you." She looked at the ceiling for a quick second. "I may or may not enter a business relationship with them."

"What?"

"It's a work in progress." He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing it.

"Ho…I don't even know what to say."

"Don't say anything then, it's not relevant to the situation at hand an…" His father entered the room. He scanned them all and gestured at Akane with his head. "Hello?"

"Follow me Akane." He didn't think he had ever heard his father call Akane by her name. From her face, she thought the same.

"Where are you going?" he asked. His father glanced at him sternly, silently telling him it was not for him to know.

"Meh, you kidnap me, you deal with the Uzumaki," Akane replied idly. She patted Sasuke's head and walked up to his dad. "I follow you Fugaku-san." His father closed the door behind them. Akane seemed to know what was going on, so he shouldn't worry too much about it.

"Where did nee-san go?" Sasuke asked him, his dinosaur plushy in his hand.

"I don't know," he replied, looking down at his brother. He sat down in front of him and played with him, Sasuke's mind forgetting this. Maybe Akane was going with his father for a testimony of some sort.

Him and his team were grounded to Konoha, like the rest of the genins, the very next day until they were told otherwise. Things were getting tense in the village, jounin and chuunin were often out if they had no teams.

"Yuki-sensei, what's going on?" Shinko asked him as they were looking for Tora, again. "Everybody is tense." He was still shocked to be in the same team. Their previous teammate had had a bad injury that had put an end to his shinobi career around the same time he graduated.

"Last week, when Kumo was in town, they attempted to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress," their sensei explained after a few seconds of silence. "Yondaime-sama has been thinking about the best way to address this without a full-on war but…it has been proven to be difficult."

Before, the man was killed and then, Hyuuga Hizashi was killed and sent to Kumo for compensation, taking his brother's place and keeping the Byakugan's secrets. It had put an end to threats of war with Kumo.

But now it no was longer the case?

"Was the man killed?" Tenma asked him seriously. Their sensei shook his head.

"He was apprehended." He put the pieces together.

Akane had said it was dark and the element of surprise had played a part. She was on the scene. Akane had definitely been the one to apprehend the man, which was why his father had told her to follow him.

Damn it, she wanted to stay under the radar, but it would reach Danzou's ears for sure.

Later that day, when they had the cat, they went to the Hokage Tower.

"I will escort the girl back to her house," he heard his father state in a firm, controlled voice.

"If I didn't know better, I would say the Hokage does not trust me around his protegee." Itachi froze.

It was a voice he had not heard in years and that he had not wanted to hear ever again. His father was talking to Danzou, clearly about Akane and…

"Itachi-kun!" Shinko called after him as he put the cat in her arms to run toward the voices.

They were in the hallway near the Hokage's office. He stopped at the corner of the wall, his head barely poking out of it to see them. Akane was standing behind his father, clearly ready to flee. His father was tense, his face harsh and Danzou had a calm face on, leaning on his crutch.

"Kushina-san wanted me home once I was done here," Akane mumbled to the two older men.

"She really wanted to." They all looked at Minato coming, the Sandaime next to him. "Danzou-sama, you are early for our meeting."

"Considering the situation, I thought I would arrange my schedule."

"This is thoughtful of you Danzou," the Sandaime said. "Let's go then." They left, his father bowing as they left. He didn't forget to put his hand on Akane's hand to make her do the same.

Seeing his father with Akane was weird, weirder than with his mother. He had better memories of his father than Sasuke, for sure, but he had always known him as his dad. He was aware people would say he was cold but…he didn't seem that cold, did he?

"Hey Itachi don't run off like that, it's annoying!" Tenma groaned behind him. Itachi wished he could have told him not to say anything, but it was too late and his father and Akane were in front of him.

"Done with your mission, aren't you?" He nodded at his dad. The three of them knew he had been listening.

"You're free around six?"

"Yes."

"Come by," Akane invited him, her smile fake. He glanced at his father, who sighed.

"I'll tell your mother. Now go to the mission hall, don't stall your team."

"Alright." He left after Tenma.

He was there at six sharp. He didn't even ring at the door that Akane opened her window, pointing at the tree branch in the tree in front of it. He jumped in it and sat down, Akane doing the same.

"What was it all about?" They could see the sky and the stars well from there as it was dark early.

"Well…I'm graduating, so there is that." Feeling his heavy gaze, she sighed, rocking her legs in the air. "When the guy…when I saw him, I used my Hyouton to freeze him then seals. Hiashi-san, because I saved his daughter, decided to not say a word about the ice but…somehow, my use of seals reached Danzou's ears. He…is very adamant on how the Academy is clearly not a challenge for me and I should be an active kunoichi. He even…the guy was a jounin, okay? Danzou…he said the 'easiness' with which I stopped him meant I had a big potential that he knew how to exploit." She frowned. "Eurk, it sounds dirty. And I had the element of surprise on my side, he didn't notice me…it was…"

"It's not good." She looked at him. His hands were clenched on his pants. "Akane, it's not…he wants you to join his Roo…" She put her hand on his.

"I know but…I was planning on graduating anyway." He looked at her. "Hinata's kidnapping attempt…I mean, if stuff like this happens in Konoha, then might as well go outside to keep it there, you know? And I've got this Seal Master offer from the Hyuuga Clan when I'm a genin, so I won't be put on a team yet."

"We don't talk much for three weeks, and you're graduating and have a job with one of Konoha's major clans?" he asked her rhetorically.

"I'm just full of surprises, am I not?" He sighed.

"What even got you at the Hyuugas?"

"I sealed Izumi's sharingans at school when I 'offended' her." He frowned. "Oh, she didn't mention it then. Well, I did, Yasuo told Kou, who told Hiashi-san because of the Bird Cage Mark I guess, and here I am."

"Wait, what do you mean you sealed her sharingans?"

"Yeah, I did, why?" He stared at her, urging her to elaborate. "Oh right, so I created a seal that seals doujutsu."

"As in plural."

"As in all of them, at least the big three, yes. It took me a decade, on and off, to perfect it." She pinched her thumb and fingers and kissed them. "Genius."

"You had access to all three." She nodded. "How?"

"Your brother, mainly. He got huh…" She showed her left eye. "A little upgrade."

"…How?" If he followed well, Sasuke had the Sharingan and Rinnegan before? He certainly didn't have it the last time he saw him in the cave.

"He had it, and he always refused to give it to me for research purposes, it's all you need to know." He raised a dubious brow. "What, I ran after him with a knife to study his eyes once, get over it. He was the only Sharingan I had at my disposal."

"Kakashi-san?"

"Lost it in the war." He opened his mouth, but she put her head on his shoulder. "Please Itachi, stop asking questions. I don't…want to think about them." He closed his mouth.

"Okay." He never asked her how she was now she was here and not…in the Konoha she had come to know.

Someone cleared their throat at the bottom of the tree. They looked down and saw a stern Minato, his arms crossed and his blue eyes darting between them.

"Itachi-kun, I'm going to be direct. You have three seconds to go home before I condemn you to be a genin for the rest of your life." He didn't move. Minato narrowed his eyes. "One. Two." At he was about to say 'three', Itachi jumped down.

"I'll see you later," he told Akane, his hands in his pockets. She nodded and waved before going back in her room. Looking at Minato, he shrugged. "You said 'three'."

"Out of my sight for tonight," the Hokage replied, his eye twitching. Itachi did.

He had not taken into account Minato would be protective of Akane regarding boys. He would get his approval if it came to it but…

He didn't really care about anyone's approval regarding Akane either way.

My teacher did not know how to react. Minato-san had told the Academy to make me go through the graduation tests at the same time as the last year. My teacher was not for it and voiced his concerns as I was average. Needless to say, he was shocked when he got my test results and that I made a shadow clone instead of a normal one.

I was with the newly graduates, looking through the window as the teams were getting picked up by their sensei. I was soon the last one and decided to go to the front row, sitting on a desk. The teacher was frowning at his paper. After a dozen of minutes, I jumped to the floor.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" He nodded and I did.

Kushina-san had taken me shopping so get my 'kunoichi outfit'. In Kiri, the moment I was a chuunin I had the regular uniform. As a genin, I had practical stuff. It was forced duty, so I didn't care. Seeing Kushina-san excited made me rethink that and I enjoyed our shopping session.

I had a mesh armor beneath my long-sleeved pine green kimono. It had a black obi around the waist. My kimono ended between my thighs and my butt, but there were slits on the side that stopped under my butt so I could move freely. Then I had tight, black shorts that reached my knees and black sandals. I had my glove and my hitai-ate was around my neck.

I poked the metal briefly, feeling like a fraud wearing Konoha's symbol instead of Kiri. I tightened my ponytail, re-arrange my bangs and went back to the room.

"Yo!" I frowned at Shisui.

"What the…"

"Guess who's your superior?" I glanced at the teacher, who nodded.

Damn.

"Come on pupil!" he exclaimed, his arm on my shoulders as he took me outside. What did Minato-san do? Once we were outside, Shisui let go of me. "Alright, not exactly pupil. It's Kakashi-senpai your real partner, but when he's not available it's yours truly! Isn't that awesome!?" I stared blankly at him. "Come on, show some enthusiasm." I raised a fist in the air.

"We're gonna have so much fun Shisui-senpai!" I yelled in a falsely gleeful tone. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, never mind, it's weird." I shrugged. "Oh, look who's there!" I looked up just to see Itachi getting down from the tree.

"Why don't you walk on the ground like everyone else?" I asked with furrowed brows. He shrugged, glancing at my forehead protector.

"Can you believe she finally caught up to us?" Shisui asked him, his arm on his shoulders.

"Still green?" he asked me, ignoring his cousin who narrowed his eyes at him.

"She finally explained why. She wants me to be able to blend into the background, at least in the Land of Fire."

"Huh, let's hope you won't leave the country anytime soon." Itachi removed his cousin's arm and glanced at him.

"Why are you here?" He grinned.

"I'm her partner!" Itachi clearly didn't believe him.

"When Kakashi isn't available only," I added.

"No genin team?" I shook my head.

"There's an uneven number of graduates because of Akane, and she's a particular case from what Minato-sama told me."

"Hn." He glanced at Shisui, then me. "Good luck." Shisui gaped and I chuckled behind my fist.

"I'll have you know that I'm going to train her, and she'll kick your ass." He looked at me. "Come on, time for your genin test!" He dragged me away.

The good point was that Shisui already had an idea of my skills. His test was mainly shurikenjutsu because I remained my weakest point, and he checked my genjutsu as well. The latter went well, I figured out I was stuck in one and broke it. Shurikenjutsu was a little harder because it was one of Shisui's specialties so he made it harder than it should for a genin.

I managed to clear it.

"Good, you're not going back to the Academy now!"

Much like for Itachi, I also had a graduation party. Fugaku-san was not here as he was working, but Minato-san was, as well as Kou. He was not that bitter that I had graduated. He just told me he'd see me next year when it would be his turn.

I had gotten…quite a lot of things. Kakashi was not there, but Minato-san told me he had a graduation gift for me as well. Itachi managed to get me aside at some point.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have pockets in your outfits?" I nodded and he took a box from his pocket. He handed it to me.

I opened it and took the omamori there was inside. It was red and white, the kanji 'luck' written in black on one side. On the other was a crow on a branch sewn in.

"It's for luck, on your missions so…" He didn't finish that I was hugging him. He stepped back a little and hugged me back.

"Thank you, I love it," I whispered to him. He put his chin on my shoulder.

"Can you promise me you will be careful?" I pursed my lips.

"I'll do my best 'tachi." He was quiet. "It…doesn't look good you know." He hugged me tighter. He was already aware.

I didn't have the details, but Minato-san seemed to be in a dead-end with Kumo.

"Let them be!" We both perked up and broke our hug, looking toward the living-room. Mikoto-san was physically keeping Minato-san from coming toward us. "As if you were not pining for Kushina at their age!" He blushed a little.

"It was different!" Mikoto-san smiled at us and winked.

"You are adorable." Itachi blushed and put his hand on his face just as Naru and Sasuke escaped Kushina-san's surveillance.

"He knows you are not his daughter?" Itachi asked me in a whisper. I shrugged.

"I used to say I'd marry him one day." I was a little bit irked by Itachi's question though.

There were times where blood did not mean you were family or not after all.

Just a week later, as I was coming back from my first mission with Shisui, I followed him when he received a summon. There were many shinobi, chuunin and jounin and I stayed with him instead of joining the genin teams with their sensei.

Minato-san announcing we were officially in an opened war with Kumo was not nice to hear.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have liked it, please do let me know in reviews!

Bye!