(Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in this story with the exception of my OC.)

Chapter Five: The Telltale Cold

Kakashi fixed himself on his back and turned his attention to the shadows casting over his ceiling. Sleep simply refused to meet with him these days. The boy shuddered suddenly, feeling chills crawl down his spine. The window was closed but it felt as if a brisk wind had coursed through his shoulders. Hearing the lock fix into the frame, Kakashi inhaled the cool air, lately it had felt like he needed to escape the memories of the house. Deciding that what he needed was a breather, he began walking down the road. He didn't know where he was headed, just anywhere away from what should've been home. After a few minutes had elapsed, Kakashi's footsteps began faltering slightly. He could hear quite a commotion up ahead at one of the training grounds. In normal circumstances, it would've been a common occurrence, someone training at a training ground. But it was midnight, the sky a dark veil. The gleam of the moon on the various arcs of the land gave away that there was indeed a person training. Altering his route towards the field, Kakashi made his way to the mystery person and as he neared, he realized that he, no, she was unconscious. Picking up his pace, Kakashi was a few feet away from the girl when he realized that she resembled one of his teammates. Deducing that the girl was asleep, Kakashi debated whether or not to deliver her home. It'd be a hassle, but the boy was looking for an excuse to keep from his dwelling. Lifting Akane onto his back, he turned to the Uchiha Compound. Kakashi looked at the sleeping girl and smirked, "You're welcome." The door opened soon after he rang the bell and Kakashi was met by a woman who heavily resembled Akane. "Akane must have fallen asleep I see," the woman smiled, "I'll take care of it from here, thank you for bringing her home." "It's no problem." I turned to leave from the doorway when the woman, presumably Akane's mother asked for my name.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi."

The shrubs were a symbol of the team's independence as shinobi, and Minato's team began to reconvene more often with shorter intervals. Between the four of them, they had painted six walls and two fences in the span of a month. As a souvenir, Kakashi's hair had been gifted a blue tint after the second wall, taking a week to completely wash out. When told that they'd have to capture a target named Tora for their next mission, the group became elated at the prospect of a "real mission". After three scratched up students, one sprained ankle, and almost all of Konoha's elderly, the infamous feline had been found. When Minato discovered the route the team had taken to find and capture the kitten, he couldn't help but smile. Obito had utilized his knowledge and connections, asking every single old man and woman he had helped at some point if they had seen a petite brown cat with a crimson bow fixed to her right ear. He had no problem finding the creature but it was how the team went about grabbing hold of the cat that cracked Minato up. Obito and Kakashi had lunged for the cat at the same time Rin and Akane tried to lure the cat from the opposite direction. Kakashi dashed right to avoid collision but Obito unfortunately tripped on said cat and fell onto Rin's ankle, effectively spraining her foot and pinning Tora's tail on the cement. The cat immediately squirmed and leaped at Kakashi's face, creating three gashes that stretched across the boy's cheek. Kakashi peeled the cat away from his face and threw the feline at Akane. In a last ditch effort to escape, the cat found its leverage on Akane's clavicle and Obito's upper arm, she prepared to propel herself off her hind legs when Rin hugged the furball from behind, securing it in place. The team limped back to the Hokage's office with the cat all but shackled and Kakashi itching to gut the cat right then and there. Witnessing the Fire Daimyō's wife embrace (smother) the kitten however, the team could understand why the cat had wanted to run away so desperately. Nevertheless it didn't shake the killing intent the silver-haired boy had for it. Madam Shijimi quickly payed her dues and set off with her newly recovered cat and ignored the glares it received going out. "When I become Hokage, the first thing I'll do is see to that that cat is dealt with." muttered a very bitter dark haired boy. Akane raised a brow, "Shouldn't you wait for the client to be out of hearing range before you plot against her precious little baby?" After a moment of awkward silence, the group burst out with laughter, Kakashi with his small chuckle included. It's finally starting to feel like a team, thought Minato. After the laughing subsided, Rin suggested that they grab something to eat together and for once, there were no objections, only smiles.

"I'm home," Akane smiled as she opened the door. Mikoto poked her head out the dining room to greet her daughter, "You're home early, come say hello to Kushina-san!" True to her mother word, the red-headed kunoichi sat adjacent to her mother. Akane smiled, "How are you?" she had always loved Kushina's visits. To answer her question, Kushina enveloped Akane in a near bone-crushing hug, filled with vitality. "Ohh, you've grown so much!" Kushina almost squealed, "I can still remember when you could barely reach the countertop!" Akane blushed slightly, her smile never waning. As Akane headed upstairs to tidy up, Kushina smiled at the girl's retreating figure. "She's blossoming into a beautiful girl Mikoto, your genes never fail to impress do they?" Mikoto's face flushed slightly at the teasing but she nodded to Kushina's compliment. "She's always been a beauty, that one. I still can't see her as a kunoichi after all this time, she's just always looks so," Mikoto paused, looking for the right word. "Delicate?" Kushina suggested. Mikoto nodded, "She's always been so independent, her and Itachi. They've never needed much help from me or Fugaku. But whenever I look at her, I just see my little girl. I really do miss when she was as tall as the countertop, ya know?" Kushina crossed her arms and huffed.

"Happy birthday, Itachi!" The birthday boy humbled accepted his presents and smiled. Akane place her arm around his shoulders, "So how does it feel to be four now?" Itachi turned his head to face his elder sister, "Not very different, to be honest." Shaking her head, Akane looked back at her brother, "One day you'll be as old as dad and you'll want to be four again." The mentioned man whipped his head around and caged both his children with his arms. "I'm not that old yet, Akane, and happy birthday to this little old man here." Ruffling Itachi's hair, Fugaku stood back up to retrieve a scroll. Retreating back to his children, he handed the scroll to his son. "Is this for me?" the petite boy looked up at his father. "You're getting quite the amount of presents aren't you, mister?" Akane teased. Cautiously unraveling the parchment, Itachi's eyes widened when he saw the contents. "Congratulations my son, you'll be starting at the Academy very soon!" Itachi thanked his father for the gift and focused on the form. Akane smiled at the boy's newfound enthusiasm. She felt a heavy wave of déjà vu crash over her, she could remember when her father first told her that she'd be enrolled in the Academy. The excitement she felt then warmed her, but at the same time, it broke back a bad dream engrained into reality. Shaking her head, Akane turned back to her sibling. Fugaku retrieved the scroll from Itachi's hands, and sent him upstairs, it was getting late. "You'll have plenty of time to read it in the morning." Seeing as the night was basically over, Akane bid her parents goodnight and followed after Itachi.

After the dishes had been washed, and the children sent to bed, Mikoto sighed. With a child growing in her, and the due date arising, she was both excited and exasperated. A new child meant a new adventure. Akane and Itachi had both been very easy to care for. Both got along well and didn't need much assistance. While that had been convenient, Mikoto loved all three of her children equally, but she mourned the missed opportunities. She wanted to give advice to her children, bandage scraped knees, and console sobbing faces. With the former two, there hadn't been much of that. As Akane grew, she was becoming more and more distant, Itachi was his father's boy, but Sasuke, Sasuke would be hers. "They grow up so fast don't they?" Mikoto dried a dish before setting it on a rack. Fugaku hugged his wife and agreed. "Itachi's become so silent lately, I'm getting a bit worried about him." The boy had always been rather quiet, but he was never silent. "Like you said," Fugaku replied, "the boy's growing up, he's learning what it is to be a shinobi in a world like this." Mikoto knew Fugaku was correct, but she couldn't help but feel remorse, Itachi was just so young. "And Akane, don't you think she's getting a bit thin?" Fugaku pursed his lips, not quite knowing how to respond. Mikoto in turned, continued, "She was always slim, but I just feel like she's been shrinking lately." Fugaku was a meticulous man built off of responsibility. He silently berated himself for not catching what was the subject of his wife's concerns. Akane had always been quite skinny, it was a majority of what made her appear so frail, so delicate, so unlike a shinobi. But he couldn't see anything wrong, Akane was growing well for her age in terms of height, she was getting rather tall. "I'll be sure to ask her about it tomorrow, it's a weekend isn't it?" Mikoto nodded, "You finally have a day off don't you?" "Yeah, but for tonight I've got a pile of paperwork waiting for me." Fugaku kissed his wife before walking to his office.

"Oh I forgot, its Itachi's birthday today isn't it?" Minato raised his head at his realization. His wife, being that she was best friends with Mikoto, insisted on buying the boy a present. Minato had meant to ask Akane if she could give it to her brother on his behalf but she had already left, and he had a meeting to show up at. "Obito, can you do me a favor?" Obito snapped his head up, delighted that his sensei had asked him a favor, not Kakashi but him! "On your way home, do you think you could give this to Akane's brother for me?" Obito straightened his posture and accepted the parcel. "I won't let you down sir!" Minato thanked the boy, and hurried off.

Obito cursed himself, he had head out to bring Itachi's present over an hour or so ago, but he ended up getting side tracked. It started out with an old lady needing to cross the street and then realizing she forgot her money for groceries at home. Being the kid he was, Obito walked the elderly woman back home and to the grocers. Obito was ready to get back to his task when the lady asked if he'd be alright with taking her back home, as her feet weren't as reliable as they once were. Not seeing how he could deny the poor old woman a trip home, Obito was half-way to the lady's home when she remembered that she had left her groceries at the store. After another thirty minutes, the woman was finally home, groceries and all. Obito, having completely forgotten about the task he had set out to complete, indulged in a nice bowl of ramen and whilst walking home after his late night meal, realized he had a present to deliver.

(A.N)

Regarding the previous ages I set for the character, I'd like to scratch that. They'll probably cause some conflicts later on. So I'm probably going to make Akane eight years older than Itachi, making her twelve, seeing as he's just turned four, and Itachi's going to be five years older than Sasuke. Hopefully that won't cause too much confusion, I apologize if it does. I like how the story is turning out so far, and many explanations will be revealed later on I promise. As always, if you guys have any suggestions or comments, be sure to let me know! Until then!

-Ruse Featherblade