Shiro was throwing a tantrum. The untrained eye would have been oblivious to it, but the dark-furred ninken was one of my two most trusted companions. The only time we spent apart was when I had to use the bathroom and sometimes even then I couldn't persuade them to leave me alone. They were as attuned to me as I was to them, and the fact that Shiro was sleeping a foot away with his back to me instead of with his enormous head snugly placed in my lap was all the evidence I needed. The source of his tantrum, however, was a mystery to me.

We'd been having a relatively peaceful day. In preparation for our upcoming escort mission, we were more or less forced to stay in the village, prohibiting us from taking any missions worth our time. Usually, that meant Yuki-sensei would have us doing some form of torture disguised as training, but the Jounin-sensei's were having some sort of celebration so we were given the day off. I was taking the time to scour my brain for any clue as to how the events of the mission played out in the fiction, but it was proving to be useless. My memory had never been great, and it had been over a decade since I'd watched the show.

I knew that whatever happened caused Itachi's Sharingan to activate. From what I remembered about the Kekkei Genkai, it took a moment of intense emotion. In theory that meant the event didn't technically have to be a bad one but something in my gut told me that Itachi wasn't going to activate his through intense happiness. I knew the hard truth of the matter was that my life was going to be in danger, probably the most danger it had been in so far. I was a good ninja, maybe even a great one, I knew that, but being a great ninja wasn't enough. Great ninjas dropped like flies.

I sighed and shook my head as if to try and shake the thoughts out by pure force. There was no point in dwelling on it. Yuki huffed as the motion jostled him since he was pressed up against my thigh and I rolled my eyes before bending down and planting a gentle kiss on the top of his head. No sooner had my lips met the top of his fur did the realization hit me like a train.

"Aww, poor Shiro, did I forget to give you your morning kiss?" The ninken's ears flicked and I knew I hit the nail on the head. What kind of monster was I? How could I possibly forget? "Oh my poor baby, how will you ever forgive me."

Shiro's tail betrayed his inner thoughts as it began to wag the tiniest bit, unable to hold back when I reverted to the baby voice. Got him. "I'm so sorry Shiro, I'll give you all the kisses in the world."

I crawled over to my spurned ninken and used my hands to cup his face as I placed featherlight pecks on the top of his head. At that, he was unable to stop his tail from going absolutely wild and I giggled. "You're just a lil baby, huh? Just momma's lil baby? Oh hims so cute, yes he is."

"Am I interrupting something?" An amused voice questioned and my cheeks lit up at getting caught red-handed. It didn't help that I instantly recognized the voice. I needed to start keeping my guard up at home.

"Itachi-kun, you are sworn to secrecy. No one must ever know about this." I commanded, getting to my feet and grasping his hands. His eyes were alight with amusement but I knew my secret would be safe with him. "Also, what are you doing in my house?"

"Sorry, your sister let me in," he admitted sheepishly. "You mentioned wanting to get dango yesterday. I thought since we were both free of obligation today, it would make the perfect opportunity."

My mouth started to water the minute he said dango. "What are we waiting for then?"

We reached our favorite dango stall in minutes and the elderly owner's face lit up when she saw us. "Well if it isn't my two favorite customers."

"Good evening Obaa-chan," I greeted cheerfully.

"Good evening Tanaka-san."

"Ahh, still as polite as every Itachi-kun, that's why you're my favorite," she cooed and my jaw dropped.

"Aww, c'mon Obaa-chan. How is 'Tachi-kun your favorite? I'm so much cuter than him!" I pouted, giving her the best 'kicked puppy' expression I could muster. It was rare that the tactic didn't work considering I had more experience with actual puppies than most. It had given me time to perfect my technique. Tanaka-san was a tough cookie to crack though and she did not falter.

"I brought five little girls into this world, I'm immune to that expression no matter how refined it may be," she laughed. "Don't be so down about it Ashi-chan, you're a very close second place."

I smacked my lips and crossed my arms but it was all for show. The way Itachi was subtly glowing at being Tanaka-san's favorite was enough of a consolation prize. "Fine fine, I'll concede, but only because you have the best dango in the village, Obaa-chan."

Tanaka-san laughed before reaching forward and ruffling my hair. "Now that kinda praise is how you become my favorite, Ashi-chan!"

After securing our sweet treat, we made our way to the Third Training Ground. I liked being there for nostalgia reasons and Itachi had no complaints about my choice of location. Not like he ever complained about any of my decisions.

"So pretty," I sighed dreamily as I took a seat right in front of the river. The sun was just starting to set and the reflection on the water bathed the area in a pleasant orange glow. Itachi took a seat next to me, almost close enough for our knees to touch but not quite. Shiro plopped down in front of me while Yuki situated himself against my back and I leaned back with a content smile. "Do you think that after this mission they'll finally let us compete in the next Chuunin exams?"

Itachi hummed. "I think it's a possibility. If we win the favor of the Fire Daimyo, Yuki-sensei would be hard-pressed to deny our entrance."

"Thought I might find you lovebirds here," a teasing voice called from behind us and I tensed. Not because I was scared of the individual and their ability to sneak up on us, but because I vividly remembered his tragic demise. Shiro and Yuki tensed at the unknown presence but I placed a calming hand on both of their heads. He wasn't an enemy.

"Shisui-nii," Itachi said in greeting and I missed the way his cheeks had the slightest redness to them, too preoccupied with how I was going to handle the situation I had found myself in. That seemed to be a common trend. I knew avoiding Shisui forever wasn't possible. He was Itachi's best friend, they were as close as brothers. The fact that I had managed to avoid him for as long as I had was a miracle in itself. I knew how I acted in the next couple of seconds could make or break everything I had been working towards. If Shisui was suspicious of me for any reason, that was it. My close relationship with Itachi already meant Uchiha eyes were on me, I couldn't give them a reason to actually investigate me.

"The infamous Shisui of the Body Flicker, nice to finally meet ya." I greeted, leaning all the way back across Yuki's form. My hair brushed against the grass as I met Shisui's gaze and even from my upside-down position I could tell that he was observing and formulating an opinion. I did my best to keep my pulse steady, but not overly so. It was normal to be a little nervous when one was meeting another shinobi for the first time and normal was what I needed Shisui to believe I was.

The seconds felt like hours as I waited for Shisui's next move. The ball was in his court and I almost breathed a sigh of relief when he smiled back at me. "The infamous Ashi-chan, Itachi has told me a lot about you."

I giggled before rolling off of Yuki and getting to my feet. "Is that true, 'Tachi-kun?"

"I merely relayed information about my life which you happen to be in quite a lot." He answered quickly but the way he was refusing to make eye contact with me or Shisui was telling enough that he was embarrassed.

"As much as I wish this was a social visit, I'm actually here to get Itachi," Shisui confessed with a frown and I sighed.

"Duty calls." I nodded in understanding—clan kid things. The older Uchiha once again turned his attention toward me and I fought the urge to squirm under his prying gaze. His Sharingan wasn't activated but it might as well have been for how invasive it felt.

"You have quite a reputation Ashi-chan, and not just from what I've heard from Itachi." I let myself tense at his words. It would be normal to have that reaction and I was trying to be as authentic as possible. "Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you, I meant it as a compliment. It's not often you'll hear Uchiha's speak favorably about someone outside of the clan."

Once again, I let my reaction be authentic so I blinked dumbly at him. The only Uchiha's I really interacted with were Itachi's family and only seventy-five percent of them liked me. Sure, I waved and said my hello's and goodbye's as I exited the compound but those were just basic manners. "I didn't realize I was so discussed within your clan."

Shisui laughed. "Not just in my clan. People more or less expected Itachi to graduate early, but you were a surprise. I mean this with absolutely no offense, but there hasn't been an outstanding Inuzuka in decades."

I knew he didn't mean it in a negative way. I knew he was praising me, and not intentionally insulting not only my family but my entire clan. I knew that Shisui was a nice and kind and good person, and I also knew he said what he did purposefully to get a reaction out of me. A reaction was going to be what I gave him.

I could feel the nails on my hands and feet elongate along with my canines. If I could see my reflection I knew my pupils would be nothing more than slits. Once an Inuzuka mastered the Four Legs Technique it became second nature, and often triggered automatically when one was angry. At the moment before I could launch myself at the Uchiha who was already tensed in anticipation, a hand clamped down around my forearm. I snapped my head to the side with a deep growl on instinct, my canines bared and an overwhelming urge to rip whoever dared to touch me to shreds permeated throughout my body.

"Shisui-nii, it was unkind of you to say that about Ashi-chan's family, and even more unkind of you to do it specifically to elicit a reaction from her. She is my friend, my teammate, and I trust her with my life. I had hoped you would trust my judgment. Apologize." Itachi's words immediately acted as a balm for my anger and a weird combination of intense shame at my actions and overwhelming shock settled in my stomach. For Itachi to take my side against Shisui, to not immediately trust his judgment, was something I never would have predicted. Sure, my entire mission and life purpose was to somehow prevent the Uchiha Massacre and that required me to win Itachi's favor, but to have such concrete proof that it was somehow working was almost paralyzing.

"Itachi, I'm sorry-"

"Not to me." Itachi interrupted with a bite to his words that I had never heard. "To Ashi."

His gaze turned to mine when he said my name and the scowl on his face melted into something softer. A sudden realization dawned on me at that moment. My goal had been to get close to Itachi, befriend him, and be a trusted confidant. Shisui's comment from when he first arrived played through my mind, focusing on one word in particular.

Lovebirds.

"I'm sorry, Ashi-chan. I meant no harm, truly, and I hope you'll forgive me." I heard Shisui's apology but my gaze was still locked with Itachi's as I tried to process what was happening. I did remember Itachi having a love interest in the series, Izumi, the girl from the cave the night of the Kyuubi attack. Her fate was the same as the rest of her clan. The love Itachi felt for her was superseded by his duty to the village. If I'm put into that slot, would it nullify my efforts? Would I simply play the same role Izumi played? Would the universe simply continue to self-correct to stay on the canon plotline? Every question that passed through my head seemed to be worse than the last, and that was only half of the problem. The other half was that Itachi Uchiha, a fictional character whose life and death I had watched play out on a screen, had seemingly developed a crush on me.

It was honestly my own fault for thinking things couldn't get any more complicated.

A/N: I truly don't know what ghost possessed me and wrote this chapter but it went so off the rails from what I was planning, but in the best way. I also know I said I was going to be moving to AO3, and I am, but I haven't moved this fic over yet and I wanted to get this chapter to y'all, so here ya go! :)