One morning in late April, the cherry trees had already lost most of their flowers, but the weather was still cool.
I was sitting on the side of my bed with Kakashi draped over my back, his chin on my shoulder as he watched me pull on stockings.
He hummed and adjusted his position to be able to reach around me. "May I?"
I nodded. His long, callous fingers gently caressed the skin of my outer thigh before stroking the soft but thick fabric of the stockings.
They were black and stopped mid-thigh. I recently found them in the back of my closet, a remnant of a time — three years ago — when I still could put on clothes just for the pleasure of being nicely dressed instead of being professional for six days and being a wreck the seventh. When I had tried them on to check if they still fit, Kakashi had stepped out of the bathroom. He hadn't been quick enough to hide his interest.
We both had the morning free today, so I had offered to explore the subject with him. It had taken a little bit of persuasion, but after two weeks and a demi-dozen encounters, he was getting used to the idea that I would get him to admit all his little secrets, one way or another. He didn't need to talk to tell me what he liked.
His thumb went under the fabric, pulling it down a little bit. He shrugged. "It's the way you put them on, I think."
I hummed in understanding. "So it's not the stockings themselves?"
"Maa... they're elegant, and you have beautiful legs so… pretty sure it might help too," he replied, deadpan.
I chuckled and nudged him. "Alright, I get it. So I keep them on?"
"Sure." Kakashi pulled over our shoulders the knitted blanket I kept for cuddle time and touched it curiously. It was really soft. "You said this was your grandmother's work, right?"
I hummed in agreement as I leaned against him.
Kakashi distractedly adjusted his position for my own comfort. "Was she a seamstress? Like your aunt?"
"No. Knitting was just a hobby to unwind. She was a medic-nin." I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist to improve our position with my head on his shoulder.
"The war?" He asked at my use of the past tense.
"Yeah, the war," I sighed. "She was in Chuou."
Kakashi nodded in understanding. Chuou was infamous. It was one of the worst defeats of Konoha, a time at the beginning of the war when we had been at our lowest. The advanced outpost, a small fortified village at the border, had been razed to the ground by Iwa. Many shinobi had indiscriminately lost their lives there, buried by Doton jutsu.
"She died a week before her sons. They were on another battlefront, against Kumo," I remembered absentmindedly. "I was at the Academy at the time. They spoke of Chuou like it was the sacrifice of martyrs and promised us that they had died as heroes. I got my first and only detention then…"
"You did?"
I hummed with my eyes closed. "I told our sensei that I didn't need my grandma to be buried under a war hospital to know that she was a hero, so he should rather tell us how to stop unnecessary deaths instead of glorifying them."
There were a few seconds of silence before Kakashi asked: "What did your mother say?"
I sighed. "After my detention, we went to the Memorial Stone…"
o
… I had never come here before. It reminded me of Kakashi standing there, losing time to the long period of mourning that eroded his life. I pushed my hands a little deeper in my pockets and glowered at the polished stone showing a long list of names. It was the proof of a twisted world glorifying martyrs to enroll and brainwash kids to carry on the tradition of meaningless wars and killings.
I glared at it, lips pursed in displeasure. Despite having agreed to go to the Academy, to learn how to defend myself, I still wasn't looking forward to the life of a kunoichi.
" Maiko-chan," Midori sighed, crouching to drop off a bunch of flowers (lilies, my grandma's favorites, and carnations, my father and uncle's favorites). "Everyone deals with death, mourning, and grief in their own way."
" I know that," I grumbled, still scowling.
" Your sensei was lenient with you for this reason. You realize this, don't you?"
I stayed stubbornly quiet.
" You insulted the memories of shinobi who died for Konoha."
I bit my bottom lip and kept my tears in check. "That's not what I meant."
" I know. Your sensei probably understands too. He knows you well enough by now." She gently brushed her fingers against a name. I recognized it belatedly as her mother's name (my maternal grandmother, who had died long before my birth). "You're different. You have a vision of the world that often puzzles me. You make it a strength… but it can just as well be your downfall."
I clenched my fists. "What do you mean?"
She faced me and put her hands over my shoulders. "Maiko… I might not be able to understand what you've left behind and the way you see the world, but I don't think it's wrong for all that. You know this, don't you?"
I nodded. Midori had been incredibly open-minded.
" Maybe you should return the favor," she said gently. "Your grandma… she stayed in Chuou despite the order to evacuate, to save as many people as she could. She is a hero and a martyr. She died for what she believed in. She should be remembered as such."
I lowered my head and sniffled, trying to push back the tears.
" Whatever issues you have against this word, this concept… you have to try to understand… how it matters to others. Do you think you can do that?"
I nodded, tears running down my cheeks and shoulders shaking. I cried for a moment in my mother's embrace before I managed to stammer: "B-but… this war… it doesn't make sense. All these deaths and for what?!"
" You're right. The war doesn't make sense, but the lives of those who defend our country do. They know their purpose and they have faith…"
" In what?!" I asked brusquely, looking for a tissue in my pockets now that snot was going down my nose.
" In the idea that those they are protecting, those that come after them, will do better. That together we can one day reach peace."
I pulled a tissue under my nose and stared into Midori's eyes, her green iris filled with a faith that I was envious of. "Oh," I realized silently, "so that's the Will of Fire."
" When I look at you, Maiko," Midori continued, oblivious to my revelation, "I see hope. Hope that another way is possible." She glanced at the flowers and her eyes glazed over slightly. "They thought the same way." We watched the monument for a long moment before she could finish her thought: "But you have to remember..."
" What?" I asked, wiping my nose and cheeks.
" ... sometimes you have to meet people halfway."
o
Lost in thoughts, I needed a few seconds to realize that I didn't finish my sentence. Kakashi seemed to understand; he didn't push me to answer.
"Do you believe in the Will of Fire?" I asked impulsively.
"Do you?"
I looked away, unable to hold the gaze of the Rokudaime Hokage when I was doubting the very philosophy his village was built on. I stared into space.
In my previous life, I was an atheist, but I had also believed that death was the end, that nothing waited beyond. Look how that had turned out…
I ran a hand through my hair and thought back to the trust my family had shown when they had learned my secret. Only my mother was left from those I had told the truth to but they had stood by me, always. "I envy those who can have faith without faltering," I admitted, thinking of the Hokages, past, present, and future. "I'm not sure I can hold on to such a belief… but I can do my best for those who do. Pretty sure that's the next best thing, isn't it?"
Kakashi slowly tilted his head in agreement.
I smiled and kissed his cheek. "So… that conversation became weird. No idea how we went from stockings to the Will of Fire," I joked to lighten the mood.
Instead of answering, he captured my lips for a kiss. His warm hand went from the edge of the stockings to my panties, his thumb playing gently with the fabric.
oOo
The following days were disturbed by a missing shinobi alert. Hunter-nin had been sent to look for Uchiha Hideaki after he had disappeared in the middle of his mission, leaving his student alone in a town a few dozen kilometers away from Konoha.
Proving how mature and clear-headed he was, Itachi hadn't panicked. He had used the town's messenger system to ask for instructions, and a team had been sent to retrieve him and investigate his sensei's disappearance. They had come back unsuccessful. The hunter-nin had been deployed.
A jounin didn't just disappear. Either he had been kidnapped or he had deserted. Neither options were good, and Uchiha Fugaku didn't like this turn of events at all .
"What about my son?" he asked at the end of a heated meeting during which veiled accusations had been thrown by both parties. "He can't stay without a sensei."
"We'll be looking for a replacement," Minato promised.
"It's not the usual period for jounin-sensei applications, so it will take me at least a week," Shikaku said.
"And in the meantime?"
"He can either take a week of vacation…"
"He has already been held back enough because of your insistence on keeping him on inside missions for so long!"
"... or we can find him a temporary administrative position…" Minato continued calmly.
From my position on Minato's right, I attracted his attention by discreetly raising my hand.
He blinked then went along with it: "He can shadow my assistants. It would give him practical knowledge of the inner workings of Konoha in a way that his short time in the Academy and his field training couldn't give him."
Fugaku hesitated. He had been ready to complain that his eldest would be wasting his time with administrative work, but Minato had a point. Furthermore, it was obvious that the Uchiha had high hopes for their prodigy: Hokage-level hopes. To let Itachi observe the inner workings of the Hokage office was to their advantage, and it was a unique opportunity.
The father glanced at his son, who had stayed dutifully silent throughout the meeting unless he was directly spoken to. Itachi blinked, surprised that his opinion was requested. He nodded once.
"Very well," Fugaku agreed before staring at me directly. "I'll entrust him to you."
Itachi stood up from his chair to bow at the waist. "Please take care of me."
I gave him a soft smile, but I was internally squealing in delight.
Haruka? Not so much. "Don't you think we have enough work?" she asked after hearing the news.
"Don't worry, Haruka-san. I'll handle him. He's smart and mature. I'm sure he'll be helpful."
She sighed and shook her head, tidying up her desk a little too brusquely. "I just don't understand your fascination for strays. First, you twisted Naruto-kun around your little finger, then it was that prankster kid—"
"Iruka-kun."
"... and now the Uchiha clan heir. Who's next is anyone's guess…"
I chuckled and shrugged. "What can I say? I like helping kids. I might have been a teacher in a previous life." I was. And I missed it.
oOo
The next day, Itachi arrived five minutes early and so silently that I had to do a double-take to notice him. He was watching me quietly, standing at attention in front of my desk.
Holding back a surprised jerk, I blinked at him. "Well, that won't do. You look like a mini-ANBU."
Itachi looked down at his clothes, high-quality but simply cut in navy blue with the Uchiha crest on his back. It was… boring but practical.
"Not your attire, Itachi-kun. Your attitude," I explained kindly. "As assistants to the Hokage, we're in contact with many people, from the shinobi forces to the civilians or clients. It's part of our job to be welcoming and sociable. Please, loosen your stance, relax your expression, and always greet people you're in contact with properly."
He did as asked, his shoulders going down slightly as he said placidly: "Good morning, Maiko-san."
"There, that's much better. Good morning, Itachi-kun. Now, first order of business, I'm going to introduce you to the people you'll be in contact with the most and show you a few things that you need for reference. If you have any questions, ask right away, do not hesitate." I gathered a clipboard and a few papers before standing.
The office was quiet today. Raidou and Iwashi were the ones on guard duty, with Genma being either off-duty or on shadow duty, which meant no jokes or teasing. Kakashi was gone too, my guess being that he had been sent on the team trying to find Uchiha Hideaki since he was a good tracker.
With no distractions, I focused on work and Itachi.
He was truly disconcerting, no matter how open-minded I was trying to be. I wasn't used to working with a little genius and, since he wasn't really forward with his opinion and needs, it took me at least two days to know where we stood. By then, I had pinpointed (or at least I thought so) what kind of things needed to be explained and what was just obvious for him.
It wouldn't surprise anyone that I went by Kakashi's own strengths and difficulties. Those two were really alike.
Except for one detail: Itachi's upbringing as heir to the Uchiha clan head.
It showed in little details but each one added up until it made me want to throttle his parents and all the clan members who had contributed to his fucked up education.
By the end of the third day, we were alone in a backroom when I gave up and stated while looking him in the eye: "Itachi-kun, I don't care about your clan, your status, or your reputation. Whenever we're alone together, you're allowed to sit in another way than seiza, to yawn when you're tired, to speak up when you need to, or any of those other things you've been told to never ever do because the truth is... those actions are so normal that it wouldn't even register on me to ever care or mention it to anyone else."
He stared at me with an ounce of surprise.
"Alright?"
He nodded slowly.
I smiled and winked. "Good." I pulled a little paper bag from a pouch, gave it to him, and raised a finger to my lips. "Don't say anything to Genma. Those are the last ones."
He opened it to discover small cookies and immediately brought one to his lips. He nibbled on it slowly, checking my reaction to the fact that he was eating during work. I chuckled and went back to show him how to archive files.
Half an hour later, when it was time for him to leave, I noticed the paper bag wasn't empty yet and asked him if he didn't like them. Usually, any sweet didn't last long around him, but I had tried a new recipe this time, with hazelnuts, he might not like that.
He smiled slightly and replied: "They're good. I want to share the last one with my little brother."
Touched, I held back an embarrassing noise and smiled back. "Sasuke-kun, right? Naruto-kun talks a lot about him. Well, then, you'll have to tell me if he liked it."
He nodded in agreement. "Good evening, Maiko-san."
"You too, Itachi-kun." I waved my fingers distractedly at his back as I tidy up my desk before leaving too.
"You gave him the last cookies."
"Of course I did," I replied without looking up. "He's the kid, here, if you're confused."
"Ouch," Genma said as he stood with his hands in his pockets. "I guess I deserve that."
I raised an eyebrow and briefly glanced at him as I stood up from my chair. "I was expecting better than you pulling away because I'm with Kakashi. I thought we were friends, but if you wanted to keep our relationship strictly professional, or anything else for the matter, you should have just—"
"No," Genma interrupted. "Look… Can we talk somewhere more private?"
I watched him for a few seconds of consideration.
It had hurt when Genma had become more distant as soon as he learned about Kakashi and me. Somehow, I had felt guilty and needed a while to remember that I had no reason to. I refused double standards. If he was sleeping with whoever he wanted so could I.
He had still been friendly, but he hadn't been a good friend these last weeks. I didn't like it. If he wanted to explain himself and put things right, then I wasn't going to sulk uselessly and make us both more miserable.
I nodded, grabbed my coat, and followed him out of the Hokage tower.
We stopped in a quiet and isolated place near a river and sat on the grass to watch the water flow.
"Look, I'm sorry for being an idiot these last weeks or even before," he said. "Just because I'm not as well adjusted at dealing with feelings as I thought…" He interrupted himself, raised a knee to rest an arm on it, and ran a hand over his head, removing his bandana and ruffling his hair.
I watched him silently, unused to seeing his hair uncovered. It made me want to touch it.
"What I'm trying to say is that… it's on me, and I'm done being an idiot about it if you still want me as a friend."
I leaned aside to knock my shoulder against his. "Of course, I do, silly."
He smiled sheepishly. "Good. Also..."
He looked cute like this.
"Mh?"
His lips parted slightly before he blinked, flinched, and covered it quickly with a teasing smirk. "Did you find that spot that makes him flinch yet?"
"Wha—?"
"It's hilarious, he's so self-conscious about it!"
I gaped at him. "Sage, help me… did you really sleep with half of our generation?"
Genma burst into laughter, throwing his head back joyfully. "Maybe! Also, if you tickle him just so..."
"No, don't tell me!" I hit him in the shoulder. "You'll take half the fun out of it!"
He laughed and toppled over me. With his chin over my shoulder, he continued with his gossip: "Oh, and do you know that Raidou and Rin finally kissed?"
I swore and tried to push him away. He clung to me like a limpet. "Shut up! I don't wanna hear your outrageous gossip!" I said, entirely unable to stop laughing at his silly behavior.
"And Iwashi's scared because his girlfriend is talking about babies!"
I facepalmed, groaned, and laid back, resigned to hear everything I had missed of the gossip mill lately. Genma just adjusted his position to stretch across my belly.
I sighed, but it was strangely comfortable.
Charming idiot.
oOo
The hunter-nin came back two days later. They had found Uchiha Hideaki, dead and disfigured. That was all the information I learned from the grapevine. The details were kept secret.
From the little I knew, I didn't like it at all. Call me paranoid, but a disfigured Uchiha led me to think about stolen eyes and a creepy elder with a vendetta against the clan and a bad habit of stealing kekkai genkai.
I kept a careful eye over Itachi that day. He had withdrawn into his shell, and it was impossible to get an emotion out of him. I offered to let him go home early, but he refused.
The next morning, I stepped into the office a little late, having run into a young career genin that needed some help with finding his way in administrative hell.
Having done my first good action of the day, I was in a pleasant mood. It dissolved at the exact second I realized a low, insidious killing intent was projected around my desk and directed towards my little protégé. Itachi was standing and seemed to face up to this threat quite well, looking as calm as ever at first sight, but his fingers were curled nervously near his thigh holsters.
Morino Ibiki was the threat and no one, not Haruka-san nor the guards, Raidou and Iwashi, was moving a little finger to stop it.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I spat out, articulating each word harshly and charging at Ibiki like a boar protecting its young. He had to step back to avoid the swat I was aiming at his arm. Satisfied that I was now standing between Itachi and this boor, I ignored the twenty centimeters that he had over me and glared at him with all my might. "Explain yourself!" I demanded.
"I was asking him a few questions about his sensei," Ibiki said calmly, without batting an eye at my fury.
"You want to talk to him, you do it by the rules, you asshat! Get a warrant! You ever bully a fucking eight years old again, and I will report you! Is that clear?!"
"He's a genin."
I hit the roof. "HE'S EIGHT!" I stood on tip-toe with my fists clenched and shouted in his face: "EIGHT!" Sage stopped me. I had never wanted to punch someone so badly (while sober).
"He's a genin and a person of interest in a sensitive investigation," Ibiki insisted mercilessly. "I'm doing my duty to Konoha. I suggest that you remember to do the same instead of letting your emotions take over your judgment."
A wave of cold detachment went through me. Attacks against my person and my competence, that I could deal with, that I was familiar with.
Small fingers touched my wrist gently as Itachi tried to step around me. I latched onto his hand and pulled him back behind me.
"Show me a warrant. Ask an ANBU to confirm you're following the Hokage's orders. Then I'll comply. In the meantime, Morino-san, I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do. I'm protecting a citizen of Konoha from a threat," I hissed. "Don't think you can hide behind your duty to excuse your bullying. You're way out of line. Killing intent against an ally is uncalled for. Against a child, it's unacceptable . Get out of my sight unless you want to bring this to the Hokage's attention."
"What makes you think he'll agree with you?"
"The day the Hokage tells me what you did is acceptable is the day I resign and move to the capital after adopting as many orphans as I can to teach them gardening."
Ibiki hummed, still staring me down as if he was judging me. He turned around and left without a word.
"Good riddance," I grumbled before turning to my desk, grabbing the pile of mail waiting for me, and turning toward the hallway going around the Hokage's office. "Come on, Itachi. Let's go for a walk. I need some air."
We passed by Haruka and the guards in silence. I had nothing good to say to them. We went up the stairs leading to the rooftop. The weather was good enough that we could work here for a while as long as we stayed sitting in the sun.
"Maiko-san," Itachi said after a few minutes, "you shouldn't have intervened…"
I interrupted him by slamming a letter into the ground and looking him in the eye. "Itachi-kun. I might give you the wrong impression with the fact I always have to remind some idiots of your age, but I'm aware of your competence and intelligence. I'm not doubting you and your skills. Still, there is something that only age can bring you: experience. And I'm not talking about experience on the battlefield. I'm talking about the experience that brings you self-awareness and self-assurance. I'm talking about going through years of bullshit being thrown at you before realizing what are your limits and how to enforce them."
I breathed in sharply and adjusted my position cross-legged. "That's why your age matters, no matter how smart you are, Itachi-kun: until you're able to tell how much is too much, you deserve to have someone helping you to determine when you're being cheated. That was the case here. What Morino did was wrong . You have rights, and they should be enforced. He is smart. He cornered you at a time when he knew you were vulnerable, but you don't have to take this kind of bullshit quietly, alright? And don't ever trust that kind of people at face value!"
I inhaled to continue my rant when a small hand touched my knee.
Itachi was looking at me with a strangely soft expression. "Thank you, Maiko-san."
Taken aback for a second, I recovered and patted his hand gently. "Anytime, Itachi-kun, anytime."
An hour later, we were back at my desk. That's where Ibiki dropped the warrant that ordered the interrogation of Itachi. I read it carefully before nodding. "It's in order."
Ibiki smirked, and Itachi stood up from his chair.
"You can take him with you as soon as one of his parents is here," I concluded calmly.
They both froze.
"Excuse me?" Ibiki growled.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "The interrogation of a genin can only be done under the supervision of one of his guardians. Considering that Itachi doesn't currently have a sensei, this only leaves his parents. I trust that you already informed them of this procedure and, as such, it's only a matter of minutes before they arrive. You're welcome to take a seat behind you while you wait."
He stared at me for an uncomfortably long time before huffing and smirking slightly. "You're good."
"Contrary to popular belief, I didn't get this job for my dazzling looks and sunny attitude," I replied, unfazed, before turning to Itachi. "While you might be alone with an interrogator, you may demand to see your guardian at any time during the interrogation. They have no right to refuse and your guardian should be able to see you and hear you during the whole interrogation. Don't let them bully you into thinking any different, alright?"
He nodded slowly.
"Do you have any questions?" I nudged him gently.
"What— What are their limits?"
I smiled to reward him for a smart question. "This is only an interrogation of a person of interest in an ongoing investigation. Unless they charge you for anything, they're not allowed to hold you prisoner, to hurt you physically, to put you under genjutsu, or to use any kind of technique that can be considered torture. If they charge you, you have the right to know about what and to see the official warrant. As a minor, you're allowed daily contact with your guardians, and they're not allowed to hurt you physically or to deprive you of water."
Itachi relaxed slowly as he learned what to expect.
Ibiki stared at me thoughtfully. "You did your research."
"Yes, I did, because bullies like you exist." And when you were at the bottom of the ladder, you had to be smarter and know better.
Fugaku arrived, looking displeased, and they left together.
I waved my fingers at Itachi and gave him a small encouraging smile. He smiled back tentatively.
I would better get him back in the same state I left him or else… I would make sure my reputation in the Intelligence Division was entirely deserved.
O
- FIRST OMAKE -
"You did well, son."
Itachi bowed his head in thanks for the compliment, staying quiet as they walked into the Uchiha compound after coming back in silence from the Intelligence Headquarters.
"Did anyone bother you before I came?" Fugaku asked.
"Morino-san tried, but Maiko-san didn't let him. She was very protective."
"Is that so?"
"Yes," Itachi confirmed, feeling a little emboldened since his father seemed interested. "She told him off for trying to 'bully' me, as she called it. She refused to let him take me away before you arrived."
Fugaku watched him closely. "You like her."
"Yes, otou-san. She's kind, and she taught me much."
"Did she?"
"Yes, she would make a good sensei."
Fugaku hummed thoughtfully. "Did she talk about the Uchiha?"
Itachi hesitated.
"Any questions about our clan?" Fugaku specified.
The genin relaxed. That was easier to answer without saying anything about Maiko's distaste for clan politics. "No, otou-san. I believe she only agreed to oversee me because she likes children and she likes to teach. Her colleagues made comments suggesting that it's usual for her."
They reached their house, and Fugaku nodded. "That seems consistent with what I heard. Good. Learn as much as you can from her. It will be useful one day."
"Yes, otou-san." Itachi hid a pleased smile as he leaned forward to remove his sandals.
Small feet were heard as Sasuke hurried to greet them.
As soon as they were alone, his little brother tugged on his hand with hopeful eyes.
Itachi smiled gently. "Sorry, otouto. I don't have any cookies today. Maybe tomorrow." If he understood Maiko well, she was bound to spoil him tomorrow to make up for today.
O
- SECOND OMAKE -
With his cheek in his palm, Raidou stared at his best friend.
Genma was groaning against the table, rolling his forehead against the wood. "Why is it so hard?! I… I was going to say it! I was ready to say it! And then… nothing… I blabbed about Kakashi instead of telling her the truth. I've never been so pathetic in my life."
"Agreed," Raidou said with a solemn nod.
Genma groaned some more before looking up and straightening to grab their bottle of sake. "What about you? Is she still giving you the cold shoulder?"
"Yep."
"Dude. I have to agree with her, though. Why didn't you step in? Killing intent against a kid, that's wrong."
Raidou frowned and looked down in his glass before guzzling its contents. He stayed quiet.
Worried by his friend's strange behavior, Genma frowned and glanced around briefly at the relatively empty bar before discreetly signing in ANBU code: "Orders?"
Raidou didn't confirm, but it was confirmation enough.
"What the fuck?" Genma mouthed at him.
That wasn't like the Hokage at all. So who? And why?