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

Characters age:

Akane: 10 (43)

Itachi: 10 (26)

Shisui: 13

Naruto / Sasuke: 4 - 5

Kakashi: 18

"I feel useful," Kou stated suddenly. Yasuo and I glanced at him.

Most of our missions were the easiest cases of the Police Forces, well those Fugaku-sensei deemed doable for us. We each had an armband with the Police Force logo on it. So far, in the month we had been together, we were relatively busy.

Who knew there could be so many crimes in Konoha though. There were a lot of civilians, shinobi didn't deal with them outside of missions and they had their problems as well, but still. They were surprised to see us, especially Kou, with the Police Force, but once their problems were dealt with, they were happy.

However, the police officers were…well, they couldn't say much against our presence here because their boss had been the one to decide. However, some didn't bother hiding the suspicious looks for Kou and me, but especially Kou. I hoped they would be more welcoming at some point, or at least not so obvious in their dislike of us being there.

"Why are the Uchihas the only ones in the Police by the way?" Yasuo shrugged.

"I'm not sure myself, it's been that way since the Nidaime."

"Having the monopole of it is not really a good idea though." They looked at me. "I mean, if there were different people in it, people would be pissed at the police forces. When there's only one clan making sure the laws are applied, it falls on the whole clan." Yasuo glanced at the ground for a few seconds.

"You're not wrong Akane," he admitted quietly.

"I kn…"

"Nee-chan!" I blinked and something hugged my waist from behind. With the speed, I fell, Kou moving aside so he would not catch me.

"Naruto…" I muttered against the ground. I raised my head. "We talked about this."

"Sneak attack!" he replied smugly, standing on my back.

"Naruto, she is working," Kushina-san scolded him lightly. I stood up, dusting myself off as the boys were bowing to her. She waved her hands in front of her, embarrassed. "Oh no, please don't!"

"You're shopping?" I asked Naru, seeing the bags his mother was holding. He puffed his chest, his hands on his hips. He was adorable in his orange overalls, a frog on it.

"Yes, for your bir…" He widened his eyes and put his hands on his mouth. "Nohhefhei!" The 'nothing' was muffled by his hands, but I knew he almost had said the word 'birthday'.

"And we were on our way home," Kushina-san said, taking her son's hand. "Come on Naruto." He looked up at me with a pleading look. I crouched in front of him and hugged him.

"I'll play with you tonight, okay?" He nodded. When they left, he waved sadly at me.

"The kid really loves you," Kou noted.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" I replied with narrowed eyes.

"I am," he replied flatly. I stuck my tongue at him and Yasuo chuckled before interrupting us.

"The binoculars we're looking for are not going to find themselves."

Naruto chatted eagerly when I got home, be it when we played together or at dinner.

"Akane, can we talk for a minute?" Minato-san asked me as I was about to go in my room.

"Huh, sure?" I sat in my chair. "What is it?" He sighed and pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, giving it to me. I blinked. It was my application for a function apartment. "Yeah, and?"

"Akane, why would you want to move out?"

"I can support myself now, why would I stay?" He leaned his cheek in the palm of his hand, a conflicted look in his blue eyes.

"It is a system I put in place for orphans."

"Well, the only parent that matters is gone, so I am an orphan."

"Orphans with no family left," he continued. "Even if I wasn't the one giving the approval, you would have been denied." I sighed. "Akane, there is no reason for you to move out until you are an adult, you are not a burden to us." I twitched at this. "I knew it, it's what you have been thinking for years, hasn't it?"

"I wasn't supposed to be here," I mumbled, my eyes stuck on the wooden table. "Kushina-san, Naru and you were supposed to be one happy family and then I was dumped on you, it doesn't feel fair to Naru that his parents have to take care of a kid that's not theirs."

"You're still family, and family look after each other." I looked away. "Because you are."

"I know," I said, half-believing it. I mean, getting closer to Kushina-san had helped but…there was still a part of me feeling guilty of being here. "But come on, your study became Naru's room and…"

"It doesn't matter, moving out shouldn't even be on your mind at your age." Well… "Unless there is something I should know motivating your wish." I wasn't exactly surprised he knew I was hiding something, but I wasn't expecting him to put me on the spot like that.

"Nothing."

"Really? Because I know Kushina knows something important I don't. She told me not to pry but…"

"But you're doing it anyway," I finished for him, getting annoyed. "Let's not pretend I'm four following you around Minato-san, I don't want to tell you." His eyes became sharper.

"So, there is something big you're hiding from me." I jumped on my feet. "Akane, sometimes it's like you're an adult in the body of a child, it's my right to wonder why. People are getting interested and I can't keep them at bay for too long!" I glanced at him coldly.

"Then don't." I went to my room.

I was upset at him for the rest of the night. He seemed to really care; I knew he did but…I just couldn't tell him. I didn't want to, he didn't need to know, at least not now.

"Higher," Itachi instructed his brother, his right leg in the air. Sasuke tried to go higher, his left leg shaking.

"You don't stay in that position!" the five-year-old groaned. Had his brother always been whiny like this? Or was it Naruto's influence on him?

"You never know what you can encounter. Now higher," he repeated sternly, taking his brother's ankle to lift his leg up properly. Sasuke lost his balance and fell. "You need to work on your balance." Sasuke just glared at him, blowing on the locks of hair in his eyes. Itachi sighed. "Okay, I am sorry, it was too much at once."

"You think?" He frowned at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, your tone." His brother looked down.

"Sorry," he apologized quietly, standing up.

"Let's go get something to drink." Sasuke ran back inside as he followed more quietly.

"Nee-san!" There was only one person Sasuke called this. When he entered the kitchen, his brother was nestling between Akane's crossed legs, the young girl smiling at him.

"Hey Itachi," she greeted him with a smile. It didn't reach her eyes though.

They had not seen each other much for a month, it was now July. Between missions and team trainings, they had both been busy. What he knew, he had heard from his father at dinner.

"Hello," he replied, sitting down next to them. "When did you get here?"

"Twenty minutes ago." And she had stayed with his mom? "I just needed to get out."

"I, for one, enjoy not being the only girl in this house," his mother commented with a knowing smirk Akane returned. Akane…really got along great with all his family. Thinking this never failed to make him all fuzzy inside.

"I'm sure," he replied quietly. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Akane being talked to by his brother, her whole attention on his.

There was something off.

When Sasuke took her to his room to show her his seals, Akane asking him not to run with his hand in hers, he looked down. What could have happened? Her team? No, she had said she wanted to get out so…home? But…

"Itachi, she will talk to you if she wants to," his mother said gently, seeing him glaring at the table. "There is nothing else to do, trust me."

"Hn." His mother looked at the ceiling with a sigh before he left the kitchen.

Sasuke puffed his cheeks when he entered his room. Itachi was not blind; he had noticed how Sasuke was getting annoyed when he was interrupting his time with Akane. Right now was no exception.

"I am impressed Sasuke," Akane admitted, her eyes on the papers. Sasuke puffed his chest. "Now…" She grabbed a notebook and a pencil, quickly writing fuin symbols in it. "Do you think you could translate them?"

"Sure!" He took it and started working on it.

"Hey," he whispered to her, now sitting next to her. She blinked at him and smiled a small smile.

"Hey." He furrowed his brows at her, concern evident on his face. She shook her head. "I'm…tired, that's all."

"Hn."

"Take a nap!" Sasuke suggested, showing his bed. Akane chuckled and climbed on it.

"Thanks for the offer, I'm taking it."

An hour later, she knocked on the door of his bedroom. She was rocking back and forth on her feet and sat on his bed.

"I got in a fight with Minato-san," she confessed, her fists tight on her pants. He joined her on his bed. "I asked for a place, he asked why and it just…degenerated. He knows I'm off, wants to know why and I told him to f off, basically." Personally, he was fine with no one but them knowing. Kushina-san knew about Akane, but not him and he was glad about it.

However, it was Namikaze Minato.

"At some point, maybe it would be useful to tell him," he said quietly. "But in the future, when Naruto is a genin at least." Akane nodded in agreement.

"Sure."

"Is there something else?" She opened her mouth and looked down.

"How long did…it take to see your family as family?" He blinked.

"Right away. It was odd at first, and I was isolating myself, but I never saw them as anything but family."

"Oh."

"Don't you…see them as family?" She bit her bottom lip. "Ak…"

"They died Itachi. I don't…I don't want to see them as such again, because they died once, they can die again and…I don't want to go through that again." He had the feeling it was a deeper issue.

"But they noticed." She nodded. "And don't like it."

"Pretty much. Minato-san doesn't like me keeping secrets because he can't keep prying eyes away from me forever so…I told him not to." He sighed. "I know, not my best moment, but a foreign Kage knows me, it's going to spread whether I want it to or not."

"You don't seem scared of the Raikage." She shrugged.

"He knew me too before, gave me my first spot in the Bingo Book." He raised a brow. "My Chuunin Exams were in Kumo and I won the tournament. The Raikage tried to kidnap me, but I got out and my teammate made me write a…rude reply in ice in the sea." He pinched his nose. "So yeah, his interest in me does not come off as a surprise." She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he put his arm around her.

"How are you really?"

"I'm not sure. There's been this…sadness in my mind for the past month, and it does not seem to want to go away. Maybe it's just a moment in time where my mood is low, maybe it's my body telling me puberty is here and my period are going to strike, I don't know."

"It's going to be five years," he whispered. "Maybe it's the reason why."

"Maybe, it has been…a while since I've seen…" She didn't finish her sentence. He hugged her tightly.

"You're not alone Akane," he told her in her ear in a comforting voice. She sighed.

"I know but…never mind." She kissed his cheek and pointed at his pillow. There were sheets of paper on it. "What are those?"

"Homework." She blinked at him, pulling back. "Shikaku-sensei is giving me strategy homework."

"Huh, someone's finally training your intellect?" He nodded.

"He made me play shogi with him too while Tenma and Shinko were training. We all…have personal and common training, it's not bad." They needed to grow on their own and as a team after all.

"And one-on-one training is not physical training I bet." He nodded.

"He said my fighting skills were already too good for my rank, but I needed to expand my view of how shinobi worked to be a good one."

"…Weren't you a Captain?"

"Yeah, but in Anbu. I don't have experience as a Chuunin or Jounin, I was directly transferred as an anbu under Kakashi-san's authority, then after…there was not much leading going on."

"So Shikaku-san saw a potential leader in you and is training you as such to have a high-ranking position in Konoha and not just a great shinobi." He pursed his lips and nodded. "Isn't that great?"

"Sure. I enjoy it but…well, my father has not said anything about it, but my mother has implied the clan Elders were…seeing this as good development." She squeezed his hand, a small smile on her lips.

"I'm sure it's going to be okay 'tachi." She kissed his cheek and lay him down on his bed, her head in the crook of his neck, her arms around him. "Can we stay like this for a bit?" He just hugged her back, his nose in her hair.

"I have a C-rank mission for you." Team Four was in front of Minato-san in the Mission office. I pursed my lips at Danzou's presence at the end of the table.

Fugaku-san was placed well though, now a barrier between Danzou and me.

"There has been bandits stealing and pillaging villages in the Land of Rivers. You need to take care of them for the Daimyo." We nodded. Minato-san gave Fugaku-sensei a scroll, they talked a little and we were off.

"We leave tomorrow at six sharp," our sensei informed us. We nodded and all left.

Sasuke was officially five, meaning there were just a few months before him and Naru started the Academy. The sadness I had mentioned to Itachi was still there. It was strange tot think five years had flown by already and they'd soon start school but…the only thing I could truly think about was how it had been five years since I had been truly myself and had seen my family. Five years since I had seen my children.

I had no idea what had happened and if they were okay or not. It was not something I had told Itachi though.

Truth be said, I had never told him about the twins. At first there was so much to think about that I had not thought of it, and he never asked about my life, so I never brought it up. Then the appropriate period of time to bring such a topic up seemed passed and I just…never tried to tell him. I didn't know how he'd react.

There was a part of me who didn't want to know how he'd react to the news of having been a father without even knowing.

We left the next day. I didn't have much to say, my mind split on the mission and why I had been so sad. We reached the Land of Rivers and started the mission. It was going without an issue, I'd leave Yasuo and Kou do most of the work anyway. Four days into the mission, the bandits managed to flee to the Land of Wind. Well, at least the few still walking. I started to be wary of where the mission was going at that point.

I was not good in the desert, and it was summer already.

We ran the length of the desert when we saw the first grains of sand. The heat was already getting to me, so I'd drink a lot to make up for it. Fugaku-san noticed it, but I shook my head, so we kept going.

Of course, when we were in the middle of the fight, my body chose this moment to give up on me. There was one Katon too powerful from sensei and…I passed out, desperately trying to make ice to cool me down but…I saw the stars in the sky then nothing.

When I came back to my senses, it was still dark, the stars shining bright above me. However, it was silent except for the soft, sleepy breathings of my teammates. I sat up, the damp cloth falling to my lap.

"Awake?" I blinked and looked up. Fugaku-san was on a rock, his leg dangling from it as he was keeping watch. Yasuo and Kou were sleeping around the fire. I nodded numbly. "Come." I jumped and joined him. We turned around to look at the desert in the distance, the boys still sleeping. "You should have told me earlier your kekkai genkai was messing with you."

"I'm sorry, I thought I could handle it by staying back." The sky was clear, with no clouds. Only the stars and the moon were high in the sky, lightning up the dark, and now cold, desert. It was…very pretty.

I was used to snow desert or the forest, a little bit less rocky sceneries such as canyons, but the desert of the Land of Wind was still new despite my…long life experience let's say.

"You are going to have to explain everything to the boys, you do know that, right? It can't jeopardize your teamwork." I gulped and nodded.

"I…know, yes. I was trying to push it back."

"Hn." We both looked at the horizon for a few seconds. "There is a reason, for which Minato put me in charge of your team."

"Does it…have something to do with my dad?"

"It does. And your birthplace." I sighed. "Hokage-sama figured that, in case they might try something, an elite shinobi would be needed. The Sharingan also allows me to erase some memories. I do not enjoy it, but if it comes to it, I can do it." I looked down. "There is another reason."

"Which is?" He sighed.

"During the Second War…I fought against your father." I widened my eyes and looked at him in shock. "Twice, actually. We were both young and it was a draw each time but, I remember him being a persistent and tenacious opponent. He didn't strike me as one who would turn against his own family back then but…war can do a lot to someone after a while."

"So what, you're training me to face him or something?"

"Or something. The primary goal is to make sure you can fight him off if…when, you'll face him again.

"What did you take…from fighting him?"

"We were teenagers but…he was quick witted, could change his plans in a fraction of seconds and adapt. He also was knowledgeable about the Sharingan and Konoha, so he was smart. From what Minato told me, it has not changed." He pursed his lips. "I am not shocked he was in the running for the Fourth Mizukage's position." I scoffed.

"Because it has turned out so well for them," I commented bitterly under my breath.

"What are your feelings regarding Kiri?" I shrugged.

"I'd be hunted down, wouldn't I? I heard Minato-san and Kushina-san talk about the country, it's not…pretty, to say the least." Because of me, Minato-san was keeping a very cautious eye on the Land of Water and anything coming out of it.

I went back to my bedroll. We finished the mission and before leaving the Land of River, Fugaku-sensei made us stop. The boys had not really talked to me since they had seen my ice, which they had seen from what sensei had told me.

"Akane, I think it is time for you to explain the situation to them." I looked up at Fugaku-sensei and nodded.

"About how you hid a kekkai genkai from us?" Kou asked sarcastically. "That would be nice."

"Kou," Yasuo chastised him in a growl.

"No, he is right." I took a deep breath. "I was born in the Bloody Mist." Kou frowned and Yasuo pursed his lips. They were smart, graduated early, they knew the implication. "My mom emigrated there after the destruction of the Land of Eddie, but my paternal grandmother was an Uzumaki who fell in love with a member of the Yuki clan, one of the first clans to join Kiri once it was established. I have my Hyouton through my Yuki lineage, like my older brother before. My family fled the Mist when I was one."

"It's the first time you say you have a brother," Yasuo commented quietly.

"His grave is beside my mother's," I retorted more coldly than intended. Kou averted his eyes to a tree on the side. "I am sorry for not telling you…but I know what reputation Kiri has, and I know my status as a foreigner is not accepted by everyone. I didn't want to attract more unwanted attention I already have gotten."

"Didn't they partake in it?" I blinked at Kou, who cleared his throat in discomfort. "Uzushio's destruction, didn't Kiri take part of it?"

"Most likely, and they are hunting anyone with a kekkai genkai there currently. They basically slaughtered the two clans I am a part of," I replied flatly.

The silence that followed for the next minute was deafening.

"It doesn't change anything," Yasuo suddenly stated, black eyes straight in mine with unwavering determination. "You're still you, and you're one of us. It doesn't change anything." I pursed my lips and glanced at Kou. He shrugged.

"You're still annoying." A dry chuckled escaped my lips. "And you're part of this team, born in Konoha or not."

"I…thank you."

I had a brief flash of my first team, Dai and Mangetsu, going through my mind. The relief and happiness I felt at being accepted…was replaced by guilt.

I had a team, but it was not…them. They didn't know me, probably wouldn't know me as their teammate and…

It hurt.

"Alright, it's us, against you!" Naru stated, pointed at Sasuke who wrinkled his nose. "We're gonna beat you dattebayo!"

"Naru," Akane scolded him lightly behind him.

"Respectfully!" the blond kid added. Itachi smiled at this, amused as Sasuke just scoffed.

"I'll have to teach you better provocation Naru," Akane told him, ruffling his hair.

"Losers pay for snacks," Sasuke reminded them.

"Now Sasuke, they may win by a shocking turn of events," Itachi told his brother, who snickered. Akane narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright, it's on Uchiha." She glanced at Sasuke. "Not you, it's not your fault your brother is a bad influence."

It was simple. They were at an Uchiha training ground. There was a golden kunai in a rock at the middle of it and the first one to have it won. They'd start on opposite sides though, there were some traps on the way, curtesy of Shisui.

Without much surprise, Sasuke had the kunai in his hand, standing on the rock before the Uzumakis. To be fair, Naruto was a handful and Akane was spending more time keeping him from doing something stupid instead of reaching for their goal. The two Uchihas remained on their own. A cloud hid the sun for a few seconds, blown by the wind. It was cold and cast a chill on both brothers.

"What are they doing?" Sasuke wondered out loud. "It's too long, isn't it?"

"You're right," Itachi agreed. It was starting to get long. "Come."

"Do you know how to find them?

"If something is wrong, or Akane will sense us, or we'll hear Naruto's voice soon enough." A few minutes later, Naruto's voice was suddenly heard in the woods, birds flying away.

The boy was calling for him. Itachi started running, Sasuke following like he could.

"What is it?" he asked Naruto once he reached him. Naruto had tears in his eyes, his pants covered in mud.

"Nee…nee-chan, she…" he stuttered, a fist on his eye. He ran off behind a bush, Itachi following him.

"It…looks worse than it is," Akane managed to say, out of breath. Her left side was covered in mud as well and her left arm had a cut on it.

"How did you manage that?" Itachi asked her in a whisper, kneeling next to her.

"I…I fainted for a bit." He frowned and put his hand on her forehead.

"You're burning," he stated seriously. "How long…"

"I…haven't been…feeling quite right for the past…past few days…" She was struggling to keep her eyes opened.

"Stay awake."

"Nee-chan…" She smiled faintly and patted Naruto's cheek a little bit too strongly. Naruto winced and Akane immediately looked apologetic.

"I'm…I didn't mean to…" Naruto shook his head.

"Hospital, you have to go to the hospital!"

"It's no…"

"He's right." Itachi made a clone, making Sasuke jump as he had just caught up to them. "Boys, go back to Naruto's house and tell Kushina-san we're in the hospital." Itachi picked Akane up easily, her head falling against his shoulder.

"Wait wha…" He left before he could hear Sasuke's sentence entirely.

"You shouldn't have come Akane," he said through gritted teeth. There was no response. "Akane?" He glanced at her and sped up at seeing her unconscious.

What could possibly be so…

When he was at the hospital, they took her in when they saw she was the Hokage's ward. He instinctively followed them as they took her away until a nurse stopped him. He looked up at her with a frown.

"We are taking care of your friend, but you cannot come Uchiha-kun." He glanced at the door, then her again. "What you can do is explain the situation to her guardian once they're here." He wasn't given much of a choice.

Half an hour later, he saw the bright red hair of Kushina-san at the end of the hallway. She spotted him and hurried to his side.

"Itachi-kun, what happened? Shisui-kun only said Akane was in the hospital." Shisui? Had the boys run into him? He would be quicker to give the news, it made sense.

"She had…a bad fever and passed out, I don't know exactly but…she said she had not felt right these past few days." Kushina-san glanced at the door, a knowing look in her eyes. "Where is my brother?"

"At my place, with Naruto. They ran into Shisui-kun, he's with them. Minato should be here soon." He nodded. "Do you want something to drink or eat?"

"I'm fine."

"You're shaking," she noted. Itachi blinked and looked at his hands. There were shaking. "Sit down, I'm going to get you something." He obeyed.

How had he not realized his hands were shaking? Sure, seeing Akane like this and not knowing what was happening was…not easy but…

What if she was sick? His mind started to wander to the worst places possible. What if she was? What if she had what he used to have, or something else? What if it was her seal doing this? Could they do something about it? And what was he supposed to do? Just wait here for news? It would just drive him insane. He hated not knowing and being useless.

He accepted the pokis Kushina had gotten him when the door was opened. He jumped to his feet immediately.

"Kushina-sama, please come." Itachi looked at her going.

"It will be fine Itachi-kun, I'll handle it." The door was shut behind her, enough for him to see Akane on the table, her shirt up to her ribcage, her seal exposed.

He was sure he had seen it shine purple for a bit.

Was it the seal then? It would make sense to have Kushina help but…

He hated being overlooked. When Minato arrived, glanced at him and then followed the nurse directly in the emergency room, he bit the inside of his cheek. He was the closest thing she had had to a family for a long time, and still were, just like she had been for him and still was, but he was not told anything. To them, he was just a friend. It didn't sound right to him, and their relationship was a lot more than that.

Which was why the thought of Akane possibly not waking up was filling him with dread. They were there, they could be together, she could not just…leave him alone, right?

He wanted to live for himself, for them now, if she was taken before…it wouldn't be fair. He would be left alone to go through whatever was going to happen with the coup, and the Akatsuki, and the war and at the end he…he wouldn't get his happy ending? Akane wouldn't get her happy ending?

Wouldn't he be able to finally deserve her as a loving partner and prove himself worthy of her?

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't. Akane had been good to him, so good and loving when he had no one and had given up on it. She didn't deserve it.

If there was a God, if the Shinigami could hear him, then whatever was happening to her, they could inflict it to him. He'd take it.

As long as he didn't have to say goodbye again.

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

Bye!