"You and I are friends. We stand side by side and fight back to back. Any blade that pierces you will first have to go through me."

"I hate. It burns through my veins like poison. It pushes me on. I doubt I'll ever be rid of this hatred but the difference between you and I, stupid boy, is my love is greater still. Greater than anything I know."

"If he asked, I'd burn this world to ash. Yet, he loves both you and this place. So I will protect it to my last breath."

"I am Kyoko, now get the hell out of my way."

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

Shikaku Nara always enjoyed a nice bottle of sake with his teammates, Inoichi and Choza.

What he didn't like was them telling him his own problems that he already knew.

They'd been doing it for years upon years now, so he was used to it but sometimes they managed to touch on a fairly sore spot.

At these times, he often found himself ordering an extra bottle or two of sake.

He was currently on his fourth bottle and his teammates were staring at him, exchanging worried glances between them. He pretended he couldn't see them with his head buried in his arms.

Choza sighed loudly and drained the rest of his sake, setting it down on the table. "Come on, Shikaku. She's already four and you hardly even know her." Choza reasoned.

Shikaku lazily raised his head to look at his large, red-haired friend with a scowl on his face, "You know I'm busy with missions and the clan."

Inoichi scoffed at him and shook his head, "We haven't been on a mission for two months, Shikaku. We're not due to the front lines for another three months, maybe more. Besides, the war is as good as over." Inoichi picked at a gyoza on the white serving dish, pushing it around in soy, then quietly eating it.

Shikaku leaned back and heaved a sigh, nursing his cup. He knew they were right, they often were when they nit-picked him. The Third Great Ninja War was as good as over, their enemy had suffered a crippling defeat by a single man. The rising star of the village Namikaze Minato, now famed for slaughtering over a thousand Kuomgakure ninja.

And yet, despite the cooling war, he was hardly home anymore these days, he made more work for himself despite his usual tendency to avoid extra work. The alcohol could ease his never-ending worries and slow his quickfire mind but that only gave way to the crushing amount of guilt that followed behind him like an ominous cloud.

He loved his wife, no matter how much he complained about her. She was a strong kunoichi and a supportive woman. She had left her shinobi career behind to look after the clan while he went on various missions and fought in the war efforts. She always had dinner ready for him and she looked after the deer while he was away. She encouraged him and motivated him, sometimes rather forcefully, and he was always thankful to her. She had even given him a beautiful daughter.

It was renown among his fellow Jounin, the high-ranking ninja of Konohagakure, that Shikaku was bad with kids. Inoichi had once offhandedly commented that his face was scary and that usually led to kids crying if he tried to talk to them.

Shikaku sighed for the third time and rested his chin in his palm, his elbow supporting his heads weight. Shikaku watched his two friends, they were supposed to be celebrating, Choza's wife had just revealed being three months pregnant with their first child.

And yet, somehow, they had come to the topic of his daughter.

"I'm no good with kids." Shikaku droned, Inoichi and Choza both laughed loudly.

"But she's your kid, Shikaku." He knew that, as much as she didn't act like it, he knew. "How bad can it be? I'm sure if you actually spent some time with her-" Choza was cut off by Shikaku loudly setting his sake cup down on the table.

Shikaku got up from the table and fished the money out of his back pocket, "I'm heading home before Yoshino comes to hunt me down." He laid the money on the wooden surface and left the small bar his team often frequented.

Turning down the street, Shikaku began the journey back to his clan compound at a slow and scuffed pace. He had been sore about his daughter ever since his team came back from the frontlines. He remembered coming home, two months ago as Inoichi had annoyingly pointed out. He returned to his home, his wife had just started making dinner and his four-year-old daughter sat at the table.

She had grown significantly in the four months he was away. Her pin-straight black hair that fell slightly below her chin now rested softly on her shoulders, her dark black eyes saw more than she willingly let on and her carefree smile was slightly less carefree.

None of the other clan members seemed to notice, they were all fools.

A clan of geniuses, yeah, right.

He slid open the door to his house quietly and closed it behind himself. He had a meeting with the Nara clan elders in the morning, in four hours to be specific. He just wanted to sleep.

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

Kyoko Nara stared at her parents. For the first time in a long time she, her mother and her father sat at the dining table in their home.

Now, this wasn't the strange part.

The strange part was the fact that the time was currently just after midday. Usually, her mother would be tending to the clan deer and her father would be at the Jounin department in the Hokage building.

Yet, here they were, both sitting at the table silently. Her mother watched her like she was a rabbit about to bolt, Kyoko's eyes slid to her father whose eyebrows were furrowed deeply. The number of oddities happening at the same time made her nervous and unfortunately, it seemed like it had something to do with her.

Her mother spoke first, "Kyoko, honey." She began.

Oh, this can't be good, Kyoko thought.

"You understand the duty your father has as the head of the clan, right?" Kyoko nodded, of course she knew. It was only a million times she'd heard someone tell her that her father was super busy with his 'duties'. "Well, as our firstborn, some of those duties fall to you." This made Kyoko blink in confusion.

What duties could she possibly have, she was four.

Her mother saw her confusion and proceeded to lose the composure she had spent the last ten minutes gathering, then turned to her father. "Shikaku, can't you do something? She's too young!" Kyoko's worry doubled at her mother's worried tone and it solidified like a rock in her chest.

Her father shook his head, "I tried, Yoshino. It's a miracle I managed to push the date back a month." Her mother natural frown was far deeper than Kyoko was comfortable with.

"Pa? What's goin' on? Why's Ma so sad?"

Her father met her gaze for a moment then closed his eyes and slumped in his chair a fraction. "It the tradition of the Nara clan, that when the firstborn child of the head household if a female, there will be a shogi tournament to decide who will marry into the family and become the next leader of our clan."

Hold on, she thought.

Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait.

"Wha'?!" She yelled jumping out of her chair and standing in the middle of the dining room.

"See, Shikaku? I knew this was too much for her!" Her mother's protests went right over her head as she started to pace from one end of the dining room to the other.

This was not what she planned. This was not what she planned at all. It was such a basic plan too, how was it all undone by a tradition of all things? How did she not know of it? This just ruined everything, down to the finest detail.

This was not how her storybook life was supposed to go. She was meant to have an ordinary life. She spent so much time playing stupid, destroying any expectations placed on her. She was meant to go to the academy, graduate with average marks, have an average Genin team, become Chunin, meet a handsome ninja, get married and live happily ever after. That's how all her storybooks ended. It was a perfect life plan, one that required minimal effort. Marriage was supposed to be at the end, not this-

"Kyoko." Her father's voice cut through her rampant thoughts. She halted her pacing and faced her father. "There is a way out of it."

A bloom of hope filled her. "How?" She all but demanded.

Kyoko watched as her father reached across the table and dragged and ever-present shogi board across the table. "At the end of the tournament, the bride-to-be has a right to challenge the candidate. If she wins, the tournament is rescheduled in a few years time." Kyoko looked at the shogi board then back to her father.

She had two options, she could either keep up her act of playing stupid and live her life comfortably as a lazy Nara housewife or drop the entire act and step up to the game, literally.

It was a decision between comfort and freedom. She liked not having to do anything, she liked not having expectations forced down her throat, but she loved her freedom, doing what she wanted when she wanted because she wanted to do it. Freedom of her life or become the supposedly unintelligent Nara matriarch.

Yeah, thinking about it that way really helped put things into perspective for her.

The life she wanted originally was never going to happen anyway, you just can't get maximum fulfilment from minimum effort. She had been an idiot if she expected everything she wanted to come easily. It had always been like that, if she wanted something, she'd have to reach for it. Nothing only breeds nothing, actions make a reaction.

Kyoko looked into her father's eyes, he watched her closely ready for her decision. Her father really was ridiculously intelligent, not once falling for her act.

Well then, she thought.

She straightened her posture out and raised her head proudly, her eyes hardened by an earnest determination. Shikaku's eyes widened in surprise and her mother looked taken aback.

Kyoko internally winced. Sorry Ma, I think it's time I stopped holding myself back.

"Pa," Kyoko started, gone was her light ditzy tone and her half-formed words, "Teach me how to play shogi." Her request sounded more like a demand.

Shikaku watched her silently for a moment longer. Finally, he heaved a great sigh and emptied the bag of pieces onto the board and slowly began setting the board into its starting position. "Let's get started then."

He smirked at her and gestured to the seat she had been in earlier. Kyoko readily took the seat and looked at the board set up in front of her. "These are all the pieces in a shogi game, no piece is more or less important than the rest, remember that." He explained.

Her mother still stood in place, watching over them. "The smaller pieces on your frontline are your pawns, they can only move forward one space at a time. Behind your pawns on the left is your bishop, he can move any number of squares in any diagonal. Behind your pawns on the right is your rook, the rook can move any number of squares forwards, backwards, left or right."

"The pieces in the rear corners are your lances, they can move any number of squares forward and forward only. Beside your lances, making your way inward, are your knights. The knight has the unique ability to jump over other pieces, but it can only move in a certain way, two squares forward and one square either left or right. Continuing inwards beside your knights are your silver generals, they can move one space in either diagonal or one space forward. Beside them, the next inwards is the gold general which can move one square in any direction except its rear diagonals. The last piece in the middle of the rear formation flanked by the gold generals is your king, the king can move one square in any direction. You got all that?" Kyoko nodded, not noticing the slight way her lips had curled.

"Your objective is to capture your opponent's king while preventing your own king from being captured. The game is won when you have your opponent in check and no matter where they move, they will still be in check."

"Check?"

"When a king is in danger of being taken, that is called check and the king must be moved away from danger."

"The last three ranks on your the board are called the promotion zone." He gestured to the area where all of his pieces are set up, "Once you get a piece into your opponent's zone, that piece can be promoted to have a better move set." He flipped over a pawn setting it down with a light 'clip'. "If you want to demote an opponent's piece you have to capture it. The pawn, lance, knight and silver general will be able to make the same moves as a gold general." One step in any direction except back diagonal, she reminded herself.

"Your rook and bishop will keep their initial move sets but in addition, they will gain the ability to move one step in any direction." He set his demonstrating pieced back into the starting position. "The king and gold general don't get a promotion?" She asked and her father shook his head, "No and you can't promote a piece that is already promoted. Now, this is where it gets tricky, you ready?" Kyoko looked up to her father.

For the first time since she could remember, he looked like he was actually enjoying himself. She snuck a glance to her mother sitting beside them with her head resting in her hand and a soft smile melted away her usual frown. Kyoko looked back to the board with a small smile of her own, "Yeah, I'm ready."

Her father picked up her bishop and held it in front of her somewhat tauntingly. "When a piece is captured by a player it can be dropped onto the board in any open space." Her eyes widened as clicked her bishop beside his, "Dropping counts as your turn so you can't promote or capture a piece on the same turn you drop it. Pawns, knights and lances can't be placed in a position where they cannot make any moves. A pawn cannot be dropped in a column that your pawn is already occupying or in a position that would immediately give checkmate." He returned her bishop to its position. "Think you got all that?" Kyoko nodded slowly, her eyes trained to the board, "I think so." Her father sat back in his chair, "One way to find out, your move first." Kyoko steeled her sudden bout of nerves and picked up her pawn, click. Her father moved his pawn, click.

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

As to be expected, she lost all three games she and her father played together that night. Her mother had begun dinner somewhere into the second game, Kyoko didn't notice. Her mind had been trained to the board for a solid three hours, a bomb could have gone off in the courtyard and she wouldn't have noticed.

After she lost the first game, Kyoko learned something about herself.

She was a bad loser.

She hated it.

She had sat there staring at her king in checkmate and the more she stared at it, the more annoyed she got. She had demanded a rematch almost instantly after her father declared his win. The second game ended with her being manipulated into a corner and boxed in. She now stared at her king once again threatened and with no escape. She hadn't even noticed she was one move from her demise until the piece was moved. Her mother sat dinner on the table, while she frowned at the board.

Her father chuckled at the plain irritation that was surely etched on her face. Usually, she would be helping her mother set the table, but her mind was wholly distracted by the ridiculously complex game sitting in front of her.

As her father reached for his chopsticks, she dragged the board over to her and replayed the final move, then the one before that and the move before that. She studied each move he made as she did until she was back at the beginning and she began to play through again. What she was lacking right now was understanding and the ability to see all of the pieces at once, that would come with practise, so she wasn't too worried about that. Her objective right now was to become good enough to win the tournament, easier said than done.

She was aware of the genius of the Nara clan.

Tactics was their thing, it's what they did.

Whoever won the tournament would be whoever she'd be versing. Meaning the best of the group would be her opponent. The best from a group of Nara's, she realised. She looked at the shogi board.

The first game her father played against her, he was entirely on the defensive, letting her attack first. She thought he was just being nice, letting her get a feel for the board, she was wrong. He was teaching her, in his own annoyingly obscure way. He was simply playing a defensive style and waiting for the perfect opportunity to move against her. Her thoughts trailed to the second game, decoy after decoy had led her into the position, he wanted her in. And the last final game he went for a full-on attack, loading up the pressure which led to her making careless mistakes.

Of course, shogi wasn't just a tactical game, it was a game of conflicting styles. Having just one style, the Nara style, would only lead to her loss. Her gameplay would become stale, predictable and flawed. Like fighting her shadow, a mimicked and bothersome match. She would need to-

"Kyoko!" Her eyes snapped up to her mother who stared at her with a disapproving frown, "You haven't even touched your food! Shikaku, what have you done to our daughter!" Her father sighed loudly, "I haven't done anything." Kyoko stifled a laugh at the distressed look on her father's face and picked up her warm bowl of rice. She would need her energy for tomorrow.

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

The next morning Kyoko trotted down the hallways of her house and into the dining room. She sat at the table and quickly scoffed down the breakfast her mother had made.

"What's the rush, kiddo?" Her father asked.

Kyoko glanced over at him then over to the shogi board on the unused side of the table. She swallowed her mouthful of food and drained her glass of water, "Wasted time is bothersome." He blinked in surprise at her answer, "Pa, can I take the shogi board with me today?" Shikaku scratched the back of his head and seemed to weigh his options, what they were she didn't know. "You can take the board but let your mother know if you're leaving the compound." Kyoko grinned and gathered up the board in her little arms.

An hour later Kyoko found herself walking down the paths of the village. The Nara clan lived at the edge of the Nara forest which, according to her father, had been around since before the village was even created. It was a large forest in total and ran past the borders of the leaf village, she wasn't yet allowed to explore the entire forest, and it was the only place where she needed to have someone with her at all times.

Despite being at the tail end of a war, the village was still lively. She walked along the road that followed below the Hokage mountain cliff face, the road ran from the north-eastern gate, directly past her clan compound into the centre of the village. It was a beautiful day in Konoha, the sun managed to bring out the best of the colours in the street, the reds, blues and greens of the buildings decorated the village.

She rearranged her grip on the shogi board tucked between her arms.

Where should she go first?

Her plan was simple, she wanted to play a match against many different people and learn different play styles. That way she would have a more flexible strategy. At least, that was her theory. She was looking for people who were battle-tactic wise and preferably shinobi. The easiest was to find a shinobi was to visit their homes.

Of course, she didn't actually know any individual shinobi other than her father's teammates.

Kyoko only knew of a few clans in Konoha, the ones that were usually in the stories her mother told to her. Those were mostly the four founding clans of the village, the Senju, Hyuuga, Uchiha and the Sarutobi clan. And no Nara could grow up without hearing of the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans.

Kyoko stopped on the bridge and looked around, she was in the thick of the shopping district in the heart of the village, she had wandered through here many times and often accompanied her mother on her shopping trips through the district. The Yamanaka flower stall was close by, maybe her Uncle Inoichi would have some time to spare for a match.

Kyoko dodged the odd villager walking down the path and turned a few corners along the way. A shadow passed over her quickly, this was a common thing in a village of shinobi who liked to travel by rooftop.

She rounded the final corner and smiled having come to her destination. The Yamanaka shop was a wide two-story building with the shop on the bottom story. The wide arched doorway opened the flower shop to the road giving it an inviting feel. Outside the building were several large pots filled with beautiful flowering shrubs and pink signs advertising the shop. She strolled into the colourful shop and looked around for the tall blonde man she had intended to visit. She found him in a corner of the shop, tending to some of the pretty blue flowers.

He noticed her walk over and smiled at her, "Well hello there, Kyoko. On a job for your mother?" He asked cheerily, putting down the scissor-like tool he was using.

Kyoko shook her head, "No, I was actually hoping you had a bit of free time." She held up the shogi board in front of her and he eyed it strangely.

"I can make some time, but I warn you, I'm not as good as your dad."

Kyoko chuckled and shook her head, "Yeah, I'm not sure anyone is."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow at her and watched her curiously as he guided her to the store counter and pulled over an extra chair for her. "You know," He began, "You seem a little different today." Kyoko looked up at him as she untied the small bag holding the pieces, "I suppose I am."

The older man said nothing as she tipped the bag over, letting the pieces spill out and clatter against the board. She began moving the pieces into position and once they were set up properly, she handed his remaining five unplaced pawns over to the Yamanaka, "Your toss." He smiled and thanked her, taking the pieces from her little hand. He shook them briefly and scattered them on the board. Three pawns, two promoted pawns, Inoichi had the first move. Kyoko gave a polite bow to the Yamanaka clan head, "Please don't hold back." He paused, gave her a quick glance and placed his pawns in position to make his first move. He smiled at her as he picked up his rook, "If you say so." He said and with a satisfying click, the game began.

Piece after piece was moved into a new position and halfway through the game Kyoko found herself growing more and more confused, some of his moves just made no sense. He played neither defensive nor offensive, sometimes he would simply move a piece back and forth from the same positions, letting her take control of the attack and force him to move. It was frustrating, it seemed like he didn't plan anything and just moved random pieces according to where she focused her pieces. It became obvious to her that she wouldn't figure out his playstyle very quickly by solely versing him in a match.

"Uncle Inoichi?" She spoke and placed her captured pawn in the promotion zone.

"Hmm?" He responded and took a moment to look over the board.

"The Yamanaka have a clan Jutsu, right? Like the Nara has the Shadow Jutsu."

He nodded. "That's right." Inoichi moved his Gold General directly in front of her pawn. She frowned, annoyed by his deliberate sacrifice of a relatively good piece and decided she would leave it there and see what he would do, the pawn was protected so it was unlikely he would take it.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

Inoichi chuckled at the frown beginning to deepen on her face, "The more commonly known Jutsu of my clan is the Mind Transfer Technique. It allows us to project our minds onto our target and take over their body." He explained. Kyoko had to take a moment to process that. They could take over a person's body? "I didn't know Jutsu like that existed." It seemed like a scary Jutsu to fall victim to.

"There are many, many different types of Jutsu and people are inventing more as the years go by." He took her pawn with his Gold General. She fought off a miffed expression.

"People invent Jutsu?" She asked and took his General with her Lance.

He gave her an incredulous look, "Where do you think they come from? Jutsu was first created by the Sage of Six Paths by harnessing the chakra, or life energy, inside us all and using it to create the supernatural phenomenon we call Jutsu. He passed that knowledge onto the people and we used it to create fire from nothing and shift the earth to our will. Over time, many new Jutsu have been developed for many different purposes. The Nara clan, for example, originally developed their Shadow Bind technique to capture deer." Kyoko watched as he took her captured pawn and placed it in an opening in her formation, she internally cringed, she hadn't seen that spot.

"So would you say your clan style is more offensive than defensive?" He seemed to think about the question briefly, she used this time to analyse the board a little bit more. His next turn he could promote that pawn and use it to push her out of her area, that and his bishop was annoyingly lined up with her escape route. She placed the captured Gold General in position to capture his bishop.

"While each individual has their own style, I think the Yamanaka are more inclined to supportive roles on the battlefield." This caught her attention enough to pry her focus from the board.

"Supportive?" She asked, "Even with your clans Jutsu?"

Inoichi nodded and moved his silver general to protect his bishop. She all but glared at the Silver General, she was beginning to see the supportive aspects of his gameplay. She positioned her own Silver General to block off the pawn that threatened her within her area. "The Mind-Body Technique doesn't come without its flaws on the battlefield. It's most effective in psychological interrogation." She gave him a confused look, "Psycho-what?" Inoichi chuckled and tapped the side of his head with his finger, "Psychological. The mind and how it thinks, the information it holds and how it's processed, the way people react and what feelings they show. It's all thanks to what's in here."

She was aware that knowledge came from the mind but she didn't know it was to that extent. "And your Clan Jutsu can," She paused trying to find the word, "Access this? Get into peoples heads, not just their bodies." Inoichi smiled, "It is called the Mind-Body technique after all." He moved his Lance from the back of his side of the board to clip down nicely beside her king, protected by his Bishop, he flipped the piece over to promote it.

Her eyes widened, "Checkmate, I believe."

What?

What just happened?

Her brain was still trying to process, how the hell did she not notice that?

The Lance had a direct line to checkmate her and she had cut off her only way out. It wasn't even a decoy, she just hadn't noticed it. She made so many mistakes because she hadn't noticed her opponents plan.

Was she so preoccupied with their conversation that she simply didn't see it?

How could she let it distract her?

Wait a second, her thoughts paused. Her eyes flickered up to him, steel black pools demanded answers. Had he?

Inoichi gave her a knowing smile and tapped the side of his head, similar to the way he had only a minute ago. Shock filled her.

He had!

All his confusing moves, his fake sacrifices and repeated movements had all been deliberately set up to distract her, to leave her semi unfocused without her realising it. It was amazing, she couldn't help the grin that stretched across her face.

"Once more please!"

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

As it turned out, even if she knew her opponent was playing mind games with her, having the Yamanaka head as her opponent meant he fooled her anyway.

With two more losses tucked under her belt, she trudged out from the Yamanaka flower shop happier than she thought she would be after her sixth consecutive loss. The way Inoichi played was eye-opening in terms of strategy. He had taught her that the game wasn't just on the board but in the mind too, keeping a level head while trying to upset the focus of her opponent.

Kyoko looked up at the sun, it was just a little before midday, plenty of time to find another opponent. The Yamanaka shop was south of the Nara forest, near the south-eastern gate. She looked to the left at the path that crossed over the river that ran into Konoha. If she took that path, it would lead her to the main village gates at the south-west of the village. That area was mostly shops and restaurants, it was the road that most travellers used when they come to the village. Further west of the main gate was the Akimichi Estate.

She liked her Uncle Choza, the head of the Akimichi clan, he was a bright and happy man with a reasonable manner and uncommon patience. But she had a feeling that her Uncle Choza wasn't much for shogi, from what she had seen, his wisdom was more emotional and real-world than hypothetical tactical games.

Also, the Akimichi Estate was a, somewhat, far away walk.

The road to her right would lead her directly into the centre of the village. If she cut across the training ground before she hit the residential area then she'd practically already be at the Hyuga compound. Kyoko looked to her left, then to the right and back to the left again. Akimichi, where she was guaranteed a game or the Hyuuga where she knew no one.

What was it her mother would say when she didn't want to try something new? Nothing tried, nothing earned? That sounded close enough.

With that in mind, she turned to the right and made her way to the Hyuuga compound carrying her father's shogi set.

The entrance to the Hyuga compound loomed not too far away from one of the large bridges that stretched over the Naka river that twisted through the village. Peeking her head past the wooden frame Kyoko shifted her eyes over the compound. There was a large open courtyard in the centre with a single tree in the far corner. The large traditional two-story building wrapped around the courtyard. Two paths off to each side led around to the back of the houses to what Kyoko could only guess to be more homes for the rest of the clan.

There were three people sparing in the courtyard and another man sitting on the engawa that wrapped around the outside of the house. She stood there watching the three men in the courtyard sparring for a brief moment. Until they halted their spar and turned their gaze to her direction.

She caught sight of their veined pale eyes and felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Do you have business here, child?" One of the men's deep baritone voice called to her.

Kyoko swallowed down the nerves bubbling up in her throat and took small steps through the gate and into the courtyard. All four men watched her as she approached. Her eyes darted over them all quickly then refocused on the man who called out to her.

Kyoko approached the man and bowed politely, "I apologise for disturbing. I was wanting to ask if someone could spare some time to play a game of Shogi against me."

The men fell silent and the prominent veins faded from the men's eyes. The man she was addressing crossed his arms and his eyes darted to the side to the man sitting on the wooden panelling of the engawa.

"Hizashi may have time."

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

"Hyuga, huh? How was it?" Shikaku asked his daughter, sipping quietly at his tea.

His daughter sat across the table from him slumped back in her chair and glaring at the roof.

"Brutal." Was her reply.

He didn't doubt it. "The Hyuuga possess the Byakugan, a power that resides in the eyes of their family, otherwise known as a Dojutsu, to see the chakra flow inside a person. They use this in battle to target the Chakra Tenkketsu points inside their foe. Destroying them from inside."

Kyoko snorted in annoyance, "Yeah. Destroyed from the inside, accurate."

She sighed and heaved herself into an upright position then followed the momentum and slumped across the table. "I haven't won a single game." She whined.

Shikaku shook his head, of course she hadn't won a game. She'd only just learnt it.

"Perhaps you need a younger opponent." He suggested, she bought her head up and rested her chin on the table, looking straight at him.

"Whoever I'm going to be versing will probably be way older than me, Pa. I can't pull my punches in practice." He said nothing in response to her and took another sip from his cup.

She was right of course, whoever won was most likely going to be around 10 years older than his daughter. That thought made his tea taste thoroughly bitter. "Who are you going to target tomorrow?" He asked her when the green cup was finally empty.

She sighed and moved her forehead to press against the table. "The only clans I have left are the Uchiha, Inuzuka and Aburame. And I've been told that the Inuzuka aren't one for Shogi. So that leaves me with just the Uchiha." Kyoko hauled herself to sit properly and grabbed at the small glass filled with water. She dragged it over to her and cradled it in her smaller hands.

"What about the Aburame?" he asked and watched his daughter shiver in distaste.

"No thanks."

So his daughter wasn't a fan of bugs, he smirked.

"So, the Uchiha, huh?" Kyoko sighed again. She did that a lot now, he noticed.

Her steel black eyes flickered up to him. "Do you think I shouldn't?" Internally, Shikaku recoiled, as if the blood in his veins froze. "What makes you say that?" He asked but really, he didn't need to. He already knew. But still, he needed to hear the words from a four-year-olds mouth.

"The villagers talk."

She paused, "Complain." She corrected herself, "They only say bad things about the clan."

Shikaku closed his eyes and thought. The Uchiha were in a bad spot, slowly but surely tensions were rising. The villagers who are opposed to the Uchiha for being the police were the loudest and their words were becoming an infectious opinion. The Uchiha, on the other hand, were becoming agitated by their situation. With so many of their shinobi becoming one of the police force, their ninja never tended to advance over Chunin and the older members of the clan saw the lost potential of the once great clan. Uchiha Shisui was their only shining jewel and the boy had just recently been pulled from the front lines after his Genin teammates died in battle and the war unofficially ending.

"Just do what you want to do." Kyoko blinked and looked up at him.

She hummed in thought, closing her eyes and crossing her arms with her head tilted back slightly. A warm hand on his shoulder was all he could feel as he watched his daughter. His eyes slid over to his wife. A small smile on her face in a distinctly 'I told you so' manner. He frowned at her and her smile grew.

Your daughter is more like you than you'd be willing to even think, Shikaku.

Her words from earlier in the week still rang clear in his head. It was this same sentence that drove him to that fourth bottle of sake. Only now that he was actually watching, interested, that he began to pick up the subtle quirks of his that she seemed to have adopted.

"I'd recommend looking for an Uchiha by the name of Shisui."

Kyoko's dark eyes fluttered open and peered at him curiously. "Shisui?" She asked.

Shikaku nodded, "He's a Chunin a few years older than yourself. He should still be able to give you a run for your money though. The kid is quite clever."

Kyoko looked into her glass of water and bought it to her mouth. She threw the water back, drinking it all in one.

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

All in all, it took her most of the afternoon to find this Uchiha Shisui. She had spoken to a total of twelve different people and checked three different training grounds before she discovered the right one.

The boy she found matched the descriptions of dark fluffy hair, wearing a black wide-collared shirt and a tanto strapped to his back.

What she didn't expect was to find the boy laying on his back, on the ground, covered in dirt.

She approached him carefully. Being a ninja, she knew the boy already knew she was there. He'd be a pretty poor ninja if he couldn't sense a four-year-old approaching him. She halted her approach roughly a meter away from the boy and waited.

He turned to her after a few seconds. His eyes were red. Not the famous Dojutsu of the Uchiha Sharingan red she had heard about.

Bloodshot.

His dark eyes were lined with bags, the same she'd seen on her father after he had a particularly hard night. The boy glanced her over, taking in her appearance and the Shogi board she had cradled in her arms. She wore her favourite tan dress and a cream light coat over the top and her normal black ninja-style sandals she'd gotten for her most recent birthday. She wondered what the dark-eyed boy saw when he looked at her.

"Can I help you?" He asked, his voice was raspy like he was dying from thirst.

"Are you Uchiha Shisui?" She asked. Better to make sure she had the right boy first.

The boy sat up and folded his legs underneath him, "Yeah, that's me. What can I do for a little lady like yourself?" Kyoko blinked, his voice evened out in a matter of seconds and a cherry light spread across his face.

She couldn't tell if he was faking it or not. Kyoko held out the Shogi board towards him and bowed. "Please spare some time and play a game against me." Shisui frowned and turned his head in confusion. "Why?" He asked.

Kyoko blinked again in surprise, "Ahh..." She trailed off, she hadn't been confronted by this question yet so she wasn't too sure how to respond to it. Shisui must have seen her dilemma, he patted the grassy ground in front of him and offered her to sit.

Eventually, she found her words. "If I don't get good enough then I'll be married off to some lazy jerk way older than me and be forced to be a housewife for the rest of my life." Shisui simply stared at her, then scratched the back of his neck and chuckled. "Well, I guess that's a good reason. Alright then, I can play a few games. Though, it's been a while since I've actually played Shogi."

Kyoko smiled and shook her head, placing the board on the grass between them and spilling the pieces on the board. "It's alright, I haven't even won a single game yet, so I think you have a good chance."

The training grounds were quiet save for the song of the birds and clicking of Shogi pieces setting on the board. Kyoko glanced over to the Uchiha boy across from her. He was silent for the entire game so far, his eyes were clearing and the sombre mood he held to faded just a little. He moved his piece and his dark eyes flicked up to her. Endless pools blacker than a moonless night. "Yes?" He asked.

She wasn't expecting him to talk, let alone question her on her blatant staring. So, naturally, the only thing that rolled out of her mouth was a "What?"

He rose an equally dark eyebrow in question, "You were staring." This was fact, he was pointing it out for her to explain. She wasn't going to answer, she knew from the shinobi headband he wore that this boy had been on the front lines of the war. He had seen the true despair of the world and she didn't doubt that the boy had lost a comrade in the process. She knew from her father that asking of the war was a bad idea.

Her silence dragged on as they continued playing their game. Shisui's playstyle was one that Kyoko found highly intriguing. It was obvious to her, even as a beginner, that the boy didn't play Shogi often at all. He made simple mistakes and forgot the move set of his silver knight twice.

And yet, "Check."

He was pushing her into a corner. She took a breath and analysed the board. The way he moved his pieces around the board was not unique but a the same time, it was. There were feints and distractions scattered through a frontal assault. What's more, despite being on the attack, no piece was left entirely unguarded. Any piece he took he deployed once short a piece. It was an annoying but flexible strategy.

She moved her king out of check and he followed, "Check."

She moved again.

And again.

And again.

Until the game was lost.

"And that's checkmate." Shisui declared with a small grin. Kyoko sighed in irritation, adding another loss to her collection. This boy was only a few years older than her and yet, he was a tactician. He was a shinobi, Kyoko reminded herself. Her eyes flicking up to the steel of his headband. Any ninja that returned from the frontlines of war would have to be at least somewhat tactical, she rationalised.

"Would you mind playing again?" Shisui smiled at her question and crossed his arms as he sat proudly.

"Only if you give me your name. It's unfair that you already know mine."

Kyoko smiled a little, "I'm Nara Kyoko. It's nice to meet you, Shisui-san." Shisui nodded his head and agreed with her.

They set the board once again.

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

"Shisui?" Once again, for the second week in a row, the thirteenth consecutive day. Two young children sat in one of the training grounds the Leaf village had to offer. It was the same training grounds where they had first met. Every day they would play a few games of shogi. Kyoko had come to find her first friend in Shisui. He was a grounded person with a bright outlook on life that was infectious.

Shisui looked up at her curious tone and hummed his questioning reply.

"What's it like? Being a ninja?" The older boy closed his eyes in thought and hummed again in contemplation. "It's hard work."

That was to be expected. She already knew that nothing came easy. She'd learnt that recently enough that the prospect was still solid in her mind. She didn't mind hard work, despite being a Nara, despite all the narrow-minded labels, so long as it wasn't wasting her time. Wasted time bothered her, effectively used time solved many problems one came across.

Kyoko rolled her eyes, "Thanks, that tells me so much." Kyoko said sarcastically.

Shisui chuckled at the agitation in her voice. "Why ask if you already knew then?"

Kyoko thought briefly and replied, "It's somewhat expected of me to become a ninja then get married and birth the next clan heir. But I'm not going to be a ninja if it all becomes pointless as a wife. And I'm not going to become a housewife if I'm a ninja." Shisui raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't want to be married off." Kyoko hummed in agreement.

"But do I want to be a ninja?" She said out loud.

"Ahh." Shisui said, understanding her original question. He flopped back onto the ground and kept his eyes trained on the trees above. "It's painful." He said, "But as long as to have something that makes it worth the pain then it's okay."

Kyoko watched him curiously. "Why did you become a ninja, Shisui-san." Shisui frowned slightly, "Thought I told you to drop the 'san' off. I'm just Shisui."

"At first, it was because I wanted to be recognised by the clan but now..." He trailed off, "But now that I've seen the war, I've lost friends and killed so many people. I just want to keep those I love safe. I want to protect what little peace I have in my life."

Kyoko found this to be an honourable reason. There was nothing wrong with valuing one life over another. It was just the way people worked. Kyoko thought of the people she loved. Her mother and her father first came to mind. But they didn't really need protecting. Both her parents were shinobi themselves, granted her mother retired but she was still a trained ninja.

What would she protect?

She drew a blank.

Shisui drew her from her train of thought, "I'll be going on a mission in a few days, so I won't be around for a bit." This saddened her slightly, she was really beginning to enjoy the older boys company. Also, he was the perfect shogi partner. She hadn't won a game yet, but she could tell she was improving and that was something that she needed.

Kyoko pouted and sighed. Now she needed a new person to play against.

"I've been watching this kid in my clan train for a few months." Shisui started, "It's obvious that the kid wants to be a ninja and he's pretty smart. I've been thinking about befriending him, but I've mostly chickened out every time."

Kyoko couldn't imagine Shisui shying away from anyone. He was such a verbal person, just shy of a social butterfly. "You chickened out of talking to a kid?" Kyoko asked.

Shisui went quiet then, "I chickened out of making a friend."

Oh, she thought. This, all her intuition told her, was a touchy subject.

"Wasn't till you came along and didn't give me much of a choice on the matter that I saw how dumb I was being." A small grin stretched across his face. Kyoko was slightly confused.

"Me? What did I do?" She asked. The boy's black eyes stayed fixated above them. "You reminded me that having a friend is important." Kyoko hesitated, "We're friends?" Shisui blinked in surprise and looked down at her, "Well yeah, why not?" He said.

Kyoko panicked and waved her hands in defence, "It's not that I don't want to be friends..." She trailed off and felt a blush of embarrassment creep up on her face. "I've just, never had a friend before. So I don't really know anything about being one."

Shisui smiled brightly at her, "You're a sweet girl, Kyoko." Kyoko frowned at his words, she supposed they were a compliment, but it made her feel little. She didn't like being little. She shrugged it off and pulled her legs into her chest, a slightly more comfortable position than her folded legs.

"So, you going to talk to this kid or what?" Shisui hummed, "You know, you shouldn't leave out words when you're talking. You might confuse some people." Kyoko huffed and stared past the boy into the shadows of the trees, "You're just being picky. You understood me perfectly."

Shisui snorted a chuckle at her defensiveness. "I'm going to introduce myself to him tomorrow, if things go well, I'll bring him along." He was going to introduce the kid to her too. Did Shisui intended to replace himself with the other kid while he was on a mission? Would she also gain a new friend?

Kyoko smirked. "Don't chicken out this time."

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

Shisui lurked in a grove of cedar trees not far behind the main Uchiha house.

A young boy stood in the dark shadows of the wooded area. The boy held eight kunai, four in each hand, and breathed evenly. He knew who this boy was, even if Shisui hadn't been following him for the last few months he would still know who this boy was. He was Uchiha Itachi, son of the head of his clan and its heir.

This was a boy, a child who had been shown the hell of war. His father had taken him to the front lines and had his child gaze out at the battlefield.

Shisui couldn't say he approved of Fugaku-sama's methods but Itachi, who's genius was becoming more and more prominent, needed to understand what the older generations were passing on to him. Making Itachi aware of the hell of war would make him more likely to survive it. Still, it shouldn't have had to happen.

Ever since the boy had come back from the front, he had thrown himself into ninja training. It concerned Shisui. Itachi was a strange boy, mature and sharp for his age but isolated. Completely unsociable. He didn't leave the compound so he hadn't made any friends and what little Uchiha children there were tended to shy away from his advanced nature.

Shisui watched as the boy's eyes snapped open and he launched himself off the ground. From the air, Itachi gave a quick and deliberate flick.

Thk! Thk! Thk!

The sound of the kunai embedding into the centre of the wooden targets hanging from the tree echoed. Shisui smiled. Damn this kid was good, he thought. He decided to voice this, "Not bad at all."

The youngest boy whirled around from his landed position and searched for the origin of the voice. Finding Shisui leaning against a tree, Itachi straightened and his eyes scanned over him. They began at his feet, no doubt taking Shisui's relaxed posture in mind and dismissing him as an immediate threat. Itachi's eyes stopped on the regulation headband that sat snugly on his forehead.

"How old are you?" Shisui asked, creating conversation, even though he already knew the kid was around the same age as Kyoko.

"Four." Itachi said shortly.

Shisui whistled impressed. "You're really something. Being that good with kunai at your age is impressive." Shisui complimented but the boy's face remained passive and unresponsive.

Shisui flinched mentally, no reaction from this kid huh. He opted for a different approach and offered his hand in greeting, "I'm Uchiha Shisui." He said warmly. Itachi made no move to take his hand, "I'm-"

"Uchiha Itachi, Military Police Chief Fugaku's kid, I know." Now Itachi just looked confused, the boy was probably wondering why Shisui was even here.

Shisui closed his eyes for a brief second and shrugged. This was harder than he expected, befriending Itachi. "I knew you were a strange kid and you don't really talk to anyone. But man, you sure are stubborn, huh?" Shisui was an honest person and sometimes words just flowed right out of him, this was one of those times when he wanted to stuff the words back in his mouth.

As expected, Itachi didn't seem to care for his honesty. "If you don't need anything..." 'Go away' was left unsaid to keep polite facades.

Shisui's inner voice was shaking his head in disappointment, dismissed like a four-year-old by a four-year-old. How could he get through to this kid that he just wanted to be friends? His eyes flickered to the glint of the kunai embedded in the targets. Maybe he could impress him? Show him that Shisui was someone worth having around. It was worth a shot.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Shisui opened his arms wide, bringing all of Itachi's attention onto him. Then he flickered up. Using the Body Flicker Jutsu was somewhat second nature after all the time he had spent into perfecting it. He felt the usual rush that came with the speed enhancing Jutsu. Shisui was in the air in a fraction of a second, following the same moves Itachi had displayed earlier. He slipped four kunai in each hand and with eight flashes the weapons were embedded immediately beside Itachi's kunai.

"Woah!" Itachi's dark eyes shined with amazement. Shisui chuckled and settled into a small smile. "I'm not too bad with kunai either, right?" Shisui once again just went with the flow and approached Itachi slowly, "I've been watching you train around here for a while." Shisui stopped just in front of Itachi and once again offered his hand, "Let's be friends."

There was a heartbeat of a pause, then Shisui felt a smaller hand in his own. It was slightly colder than his own, but it was there. Shisui couldn't help the beaming smile that crept onto his face.

Finally, he thought.

Shisui spent the next hour attempting to converse with Itachi, he got answers but they were minimal at best. Mundane things with the briefest answers possible. Itachi liked training, his goal for the future was to get stronger and his favourite food was onigiri.

Onigiri.

Onigiri.

Honestly, how plain could this kid get? But, in a way, it made Itachi unique.

The sun had risen to its midday point. Kyoko would be showing up at the training grounds soon, dragging around that well-ventured shogi board. He was honestly a little tired of playing shogi. The headache it gave him afterwards was not worth the victory. It took a lot of concentration and mental energy to beat her in shogi, she was progressing remarkably well for her age, so the difficulty only increased.

He had tried throwing in the towel, letting her win. Until she got hostile after she noticed and demand that they restart and Shisui give it his all. He admired her for it. Apparently, she had lost 43 times consecutively. That took determination, he would have given up at, say, the 20th loss.

Shisui's eyes flickered over to Itachi who sat beside him. Practising a chakra trick to stick kunai to the back of his hand. Shisui had shown him only a few minutes ago and to Shisui's surprise, he was struggling. Of course, having naturally larger chakra reserves made it difficult to learn how to finite control it.

"I have to go soon." Itachi's eyes flickered up to him. The hesitance and disappointment filled the young boy's black eyes. "Where?"

Shisui blinked at this curveball. This was the first question Itachi had asked that didn't directly relate to shinobi training. Did Itachi not want him to leave? "I have to go meet up with another friend of mine." Shisui watched as Itachi's eyes slid to the side and a deeper sadness filled them.

Shock settled in him, did Itachi already value him so highly? They had been here for little more than an hour. Shisui paused in his thought and reminded himself that Itachi was four. He was a young boy that had probably never had a friend, never wanted to spend social time with someone. Shisui considered himself lucky. His heart warmed at the notion of being missed, there weren't many people left that would miss him, but he missed them.

"You want to come?" Shisui asked and surprise flickered onto Itachi's face.

The boy visibly hesitated and looked like he was about to reject the offer. "I'd like it if you came." Shisui interrupted Itachi before he could even speak, "You and Kyoko are the only friends I've got now. It'd be cool if we all got along." Itachi blinked in smothered confusion and took a moment to think.

"Okay." Shisui felt himself beaming once again at the boy.

"Awesome. Let's go. Best not keep the princess waiting." Shisui led the way.

"Princess?"

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

Itachi stared at the small girl with dark hair, slightly longer than his, as she frowned at Shisui. When Shisui first said he had another friend, Itachi felt something akin to disappointment and jealousy.

Of course someone as warm and friendly as Shisui would have other friends. So it was natural that he was shocked to find out the older boy had only one other friend, that was a girl. It was also natural that he was compelled by curiosity to find out what sort of person she was. To top it all off, Shisui called her princess. Only now did he see that the nickname didn't fit her at all, if anything, it had been a joke to himself.

The girls face had been set in a frown since before they had even arrived in the training field. Her eyes were trained to the board as she moved pieces around. Only when Shisui sat on the other side of the board did the girl shift her gaze up. She looked at Shisui and her eyes briefly flickered over to him. She sighed and moved all of the pieces on the board into what Itachi assumed was the beginning position.

He had seen this game once before in the village, but he didn't know anything about it, he didn't even know its name.

Shisui moved the piece first and she soon followed after.

This hadn't been what Itachi was expecting, he didn't know what he was expecting but this was definitely not it. Itachi stood off the side of Shisui slightly, not really knowing what to do. Several clicks later her frown deepened and her eyes snapped up to him.

Itachi swallowed his surprise, her eyes were black but at the same time almost not. They reminded him of the black steel of his kunai, undertones of grey, changing shades in light and shadows.

"Can you sit down?" Kyoko snapped, "I'm trying to concentrate." The bite in her tone all but threw him off, he didn't expect such hostility from the girl.

"Wow, you sure are in a bad mood today." Shisui remarked.

Not knowing what else to do, Itachi sat on the grass beside the two, they now formed a semicircle around the square patterned board.

"Gee, thanks for pointing out my foul mood, Shisui. That just makes me feel loads better." Both boys recoiled slightly at the malice in her voice. Shisui went from joking concern to worry.

"What happened?" Shisui asked.

Kyoko sighed again, for the second time, he counted.

"The date of the tournament has been pushed up." The venom vanished from her tone and her tense posture relaxed slightly.

"Oh." Was the older boys reply. "How much?"

"In a month." Shisui cringed.

Itachi had no idea what they were talking about, he felt lost, a little disconnected in the conversation. Not that he was attempting to join in at all. Still, the lack of information bothered him.

"You're going on a mission tomorrow," This was news to Itachi, "and I'm still not good enough to win yet." The girl stared at the board with what Itachi could only call a sad expression.

"Surely you have other people you can play against?"

Her dark eyes looked up into the trees, "I play against Uncle Inoichi when he has time and Hizashi-san if he isn't busy with his son. But those times are few and random. Dad is at work so often that I only see him at the dinner table and he's too tired to play most of the time." Shisui closed his eyes and folded his arms, he seemed to do that when thinking, Itachi noted. Shisui's eyes opened and flickered over to him. Itachi met and held Shisui's gaze not wanting to back down. Itachi felt uncomfortable with the gleam in the older boys eyes.

"How 'bout it?" Shisui asked and Itachi had absolutely no idea what the boy was talking about. His confusion must have shown, "Wanna play shoji?"

Well, at least he now had a name for the game they were playing. "I don't know how."

Shisui's smile grew and waved off Itachi's excuse. "No problem! We'll teach you, right Kyoko?"

The girl stared at Shisui with a flat look and Shisui's smile turned sheepish. Sighing for the third time she turned to Itachi, "If you want to learn, I'd appreciate it." The politeness in her voice made him re-evaluate his quick judgment of her being a rather snappy person. Maybe today was just a bad day?

"Battle tactics are an important part of being a shinobi." The blatant attempt at convincing him made Itachi slightly suspicious.

"Shisui," Her tone was scolding, "Stop trying to convince him. If he wants to learn, he'll learn. Either way, you're not getting out of playing against me." Shisui just chuckled.

Itachi looked at the board and the girl, she didn't seem as thorny as she did a few minutes ago. His eyes and thoughts turned to the board, Shisui did have a point. Battle tactics were important. Since this was apparently a convincing factor for Itachi to learn the game perhaps he should give it a shot. Itachi nodded his head slightly and Shisui visibly brightened, "I'd like to learn this game."

"Okay then." "Great!" They said at the same time.

The board was reset and they both spent time explaining the game to him. The piece move set, the rules, the objective, tips and tricks and they began the game. Before he knew it, the sky was darkening as the sun dipped towards the horizon. It was getting late. Shisui must have seen his sky turned gaze and echoed Itachi's thoughts out loud.

"We should all be heading home." Itachi agreed, he had stayed out later than he usually would, he might even be late for dinner and that was unusual.

They all stood from their spots on the ground and brushed themselves off. Itachi watched the birds fly into their nest ready for the night that was quickly approaching. Shisui stretched out beside him, Itachi could relate. He had never sat in the same position for so long before this day. The jingle of shogi pieces being piled into a small green pouch took his attention. The girl's fingers were nimble, he noticed as he watched her pack up the game and stand perfectly unbothered by the time spent sitting. He briefly wondered how long she mulled over the game every day.

She looked over to the two of them. "Good luck on your mission tomorrow Shisui." She then turned to Itachi and went to speak but paused. Her face moulded into shock and she buried her face in her free hand. "I'm so sorry." This girl continued to surprise him, "I was in such a bad mood, I didn't even introduce myself or ask for your name."

Now that Itachi had thought about it, he knew her name but he continuously called her girl in his head. Well, he was just as guilty. Itachi offered his hand, like Shisui had earlier that day, "Uchiha Itachi." The girl, Kyoko, he corrected himself, looked at him with slight shock that soon melted into a bright grin.

She took his hand and her warmth filled his palm, "My name's Kyoko. It's nice to make a new friend." The peaceful ambience around the group of new friends made Itachi feel more comfortable than he ever had before. It's nice, he concluded.

"I'll see you guys later." Kyoko waved, still wearing the bright grin, and turned around with one final look back she started lightly running out the training grounds. "Where's she going?" Itachi asked Shisui as they watched her go. Shisui gave him a visibly confused look, "Home."

But...

His confusion was paused when Shisui started laughing loudly. The older boy laced his hands behind his head and they turned in the direction of the Uchiha compound. "Yeah, I thought she was an Uchiha too, at first." So she wasn't an Uchiha. That would make Kyoko the first person outside the clan he spent time with. "She's Nara Kyoko. Her father's the Jounin commander so people around the village know her pretty well but she isn't really a people person. She's a weird kid, like you." Itachi had no response to this. He knew of both the Nara clan and Kyoko's father, his own talked about the Jounin commander from time to time.

"How did you meet her?" He asked.

Shisui snorted, "What do you think? She wrangled me into playing shogi against her one day and I haven't been able to escape." Itachi had the feeling Shisui was exaggerating but decided to humour him anyway, "Escape?" Shisui crossed his arms and nodded strongly. "It takes a lot of energy and patience to play shogi every day, multiple times a day. I'm just not cut out for it. I have to escape before I fall to the pits of shogi hell." Now the boy was overtly joking.

"Why does she even play so much?" This was a question that had been turning in his mind for the last half hour or so.

Shisui's joking air faded into a more serious tone. "Ahh, well. Kyoko is the firstborn of the head of the Nara clan. Surely you can relate to the expectations that come with that." He could, "But Kyoko, being a girl and all, has it a bit different to you." How did that make things any different?

"How so?"

"Well, the Nara is a crazy old clan, almost as old as the Uchiha. They have certain traditions and customs, one of them is that the clan head is always male. So whenever the firstborn is a girl, a shogi tournament is held to decide who will marry her and become the next clan leader."

Itachi never really liked traditions, they were just ideals pushed onto the younger generation by the old. Shisui continued, "The only way Kyoko can get out of it is if she beats whoever wins the tournament in shogi. Even then, that's only temporary, until the next tournament and the next one and the one after that, until she loses." Itachi felt like he understood her drive and the intensity of her frustrations more from hearing her conflict. "The Nara clan are known for being tactical geniuses, she's fighting a losing battle and she knows it. Got to give her credit though, she's ballsy, trying to defy her clan."

The sun had set by the time they arrived at the compound. Itachi was, for the first time, late for dinner. He could have made it back in time if he had rushed back but he enjoyed simply walking back with Shisui, the companionship was tranquil and warm.

Shisui stopped at what Itachi guessed to be his home, "Want me to walk you back?"

Itachi shook his head, "I'm fine."

Shisui nodded, "I'm going on a mission for a week but I'll see you when I get back, yeah?" Itachi made a sound of agreement. "Look after Kyoko while I'm gone." The grin that formed on Shisui's mouth was cheeky. Itachi had a feeling Shisui was going to enjoy the break from shogi.

"I will."

Shisui nodded and turned to his home, giving Itachi a short wave. Itachi carried on down the street and stepped through the doors of his home. The smell of his mothers cooking reminded him that he hadn't eaten lunch. Itachi took off his shoes and arranged them neatly. He stepped up onto the wooden floor and made his way into the dining area.

Both his parents looked at him from the table, "You're late." His father said in his callous voice.

Itachi apologised and sat at the table, saying a quick thanks for his meal and restrained himself from shovelling it into his mouth.

"What have you been doing today, Itachi?" His mother asked him with a small smile, "Your filthy."

Itachi looked over himself at her statement. His pants had collected dirt and grass from sitting in the training field and he had tiny pieces of autumn leaves stuck to his clothes. He hadn't noticed, he hadn't cared, he still didn't.

"I was training, then I made some new friends." This seemed to catch the full attention of his parents.

"That's lovely, Itachi." His mother voiced first.

"Who?" His father's question was almost immediately after his mother's words.

"Shisui."

"Our Shisui?" His mother interrupted him and he nodded taking another bite of his dinner.

"You said friends, who else?" His father continued the interrogation.

"Nara Kyoko." There was a slight pause, "Shikaku's daughter?" Itachi supposed that was his name but didn't confirm or deny it.

"Shisui is a good comrade to have but you should be more selective with the quality of those you surround yourself with." Itachi felt a bubble of anger and a need to defend his friend.

"Kyoko is my friend." That was final, already established, unchangeable. It was the first time he had ever openly defied his father.

"Hn." Was the only response he got from the man.

"It's good that you've made some friends, Itachi."

And there was his mother, ever the peacekeeper and he loved her dearly for it.

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

Kyoko sat in the same training field as all the days prior. She knew Shisui wouldn't be coming today, he was on his mission. There was a chance Itachi could show up but she had never asked him to so there was more of a chance that he wouldn't. Still, she found herself in the same spot as ever. Glaring at the same board with the same pieces dancing over it.

Yet her mind drifted.

She had been having trouble focusing all day. It was mostly out of worry for Shisui. Yeah, he was a ninja who could handle himself but that didn't stop her from thinking the worst. Anything could happen on a mission.

The war was quickly coming to a close, even though according to her father it was mostly over already but danger still lurked. What if he happened across a rogue ninja or if his squad got ambushed or they got separated or lost.

A black figure sat directly across the shogi board from her. Her eyes snapped up in surprise, startled from her thoughts. Itachi watched her with his ever quiet eyes. Her eyes flicked further up to the sun, it was mid-morning at best, she hadn't expected him to show up so early if at all.

"Morning." He greeted. Her gaze met his inky black eyes, "Morning."

It started off a little awkward at first, both children not having much experience in socialising with others but eventually, the awkwardness faded and they settled into a peaceful appreciation for the simple company. Kyoko fiddled with the pieces on the shoji board but mostly stared at the swaying red leaves decorating the trees.

A catch of light caught her attention. Itachi had taken out a kunai knife and was staring at it with a fierce determination. He had the kunai attached to his pointer finger as his hand was parallel to the ground. It was like he had glued it to the tip of his finger, defying all sense of gravity. His frown deepened and the kunai wavered slightly, even though there was nothing around to disturb it. Suddenly the kunai dropped and Itachi's hand snapped out with lightning-fast reflexes to snatch the kunai out of the air before it fell to the ground.

"Awesome." Itachi's surprise at her comment was obvious.

"How did you do that?" She questioned.

Itachi held up the kunai, "Shisui showed me it yesterday. If you focus the perfect amount of chakra to the spot you want, it will stick." Chakra, the life force accessible by ninja that allowed them to perform extraordinary feats like walking on water and summoning lightning, Kyoko recited in her head.

The metal caught the sun on its razor edge. It was only now that Kyoko realised this was a kunai he was holding. No one gave children real kunai, especially sharp ones.

"Why do you have a kunai?"

Itachi frowned at her question, "I use it to train?" His reply was mixed with a question as to why she was asking.

"Train? To be a ninja?"

The boy nodded. Did he want to be a ninja or was it expected of him?

"Why?"

Itachi's eyes flickered off to the side as he thought, "I want to become a ninja among ninja who can stop war."

Wow, Kyoko thought, now that was a goal.

"You want to stop all war... You've seen it?"

Itachi nodded and a darkness passed over his face. "My father took me out there a few months ago." Itachi went silent, then, "It was utter hell."

She felt a cold shiver wash over her. "Are you going to enter the academy?" Itachi asked, moving away from the topic of the war.

Kyoko hesitated, he had told her it was only fair she give him an honest answer. "It's expected of me to, but no one really expects me to stay a ninja all my life. My clan wants me to retire and be the perfect little housewife." She screwed up her nose in distaste, "If I become a ninja, I want to put everything I have into it. Become the best I can be and explore my limits."

Itachi nodded as if he understood her perfectly. "Well, why don't you start now?" Kyoko looked at the Uchiha boy sitting across from her, "I want to have a reason." Itachi made a strange sound she couldn't place, a sort of "Hn." she had no idea what it meant.

"Even if you don't have a reason now, doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare and get a head start." Kyoko shrugged her shoulders, "I wouldn't even know where to start." He stared at her for a moment then stood up.

"With Kata and kunai. Stand up, I'll show you."

Shock numbed her mind, but her body followed his order anyway. Were they really going to do this now?

Well, it wasn't like she was going to be able to play any shogi today with how fickle her mind was being. Itachi positioned his body in a basic fighting stance next to her. "Copy me." She did. Moving her legs apart and standing strong with her arms up as a guard. Itachi switched his position, he stepped out with his left leg using his left arm as a low block. She followed his example. Right step, right punch. They turned around to face the opposite direction. Right step, right low block. Left step, left punch, turn. Kyoko followed him through the steps like a dance. She wobbled a few times and stumbled once but he always waited for her to get the correct position before moving on to the next position.

That was all they did for a solid hour until she had every step memorised and he no longer needed to wait for her to get the position. Until they moved perfectly in sync.

When Itachi pulled out his kunai again and offered it to her, she hesitated. The kata was using her body but this kunai was a weapon. It had the potential to kill. Kyoko didn't know if she was ready for that yet.

The gentle look in Itachi's eye gave her the confidence and encouragement she needed. The kunai was heavier than expected. The metal sucked the warmth from her skin and the glint of the steel held her mesmerised for a short second.

"Try throwing it at that tree." Itachi said and pointed to a tree not too far from them. Kyoko buried the butterflies in her stomach and pulled her arm back and threw.

The kunai landed with a clang.

"That was the worst I have ever seen."

Kyoko felt her face flame in pure embarrassment, "Shut up! Like you did any better on your first time."

The taunting grin on Itachi's face said otherwise.

His eyes went behind them, "I, at least, threw it in the right direction."

Kyoko felt it was impossible for her face to get any hotter. She whirled around and went after the wayward kunai. She returned to his side and tried again.

And again. And again. "You're really bad at this." He commented after her tenth miss.

She whirled around and faced him. The hot blush of embarrassment was still present on her face. "Then teach me, damn it!" Itachi had this catlike grin on his face ever since she had thrown the first kunai. This grin crept higher, "Maybe next time."

He turned to leave, back in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

"What!? Uchiha! Get your ass back here and show me how to do this properly!" She shouted after him. He raised his hand and waved without turning around to face her. "See you tomorrow, Kyoko." He called back.

She was fuming, embarrassed and annoyed. She held her grip on his kunai tighter. She turned around and threw it with her anger.

Thk!

Kyoko blinked in surprise staring at the kunai embedded haphazardly in the tree. Kyoko huffed and stomped over to the tree, yanking the kunai out and went back to her spot.

Stupid, dumb, frustrating Uchiha!

Thk!

His high and mighty attitude.

Thk!

Stupid Uchiha and their stupidly pretty eyelashes.

Thk!

"At least I threw it in the right direction. Whatever!"

Thk!

"Stupid Itachi!"

Boyish laughter echoed at the edge of the trees. Kyoko whirled around and saw Itachi leaning against a tree with one arm and the other clutched at his stomach. The mortification settled nicely in her chest.

"I thought you went home!" She cried out in disbelief with a finger pointing in his direction. She marched up to the boy incapacitated by his own laughter.

"Stop laughing at me! Stupid Itachi!" Her shouting did nothing to stop his peels of laughter as he struggled to hold himself up.

Her eye twitched in annoyance. She launched at him and tackled him to the ground. His instincts kicked in as he rolled with the momentum and flipped her on her back, jumping away as soon as he could.

Kyoko frowned up at the trees, then got up.

Itachi seemed surprised by himself. His eyes shifted from his hands to her and smirked. It sent her blood boiling again. Her embarrassment was still fresh.

She launched at him again as he danced out of her reach. Landing harshly on the grass, she pushed herself up and turned to him. Her face set in plain annoyance. He watched her with a hand on his hip. He bought the other up and curled his fingers inwards twice.

Come and get me, he was saying. His smile morphed into a smirk. If you can.

Kyoko had a sudden desire to hit him. Hard. She launched at him again, this time not landing on her face as she flew past him. She quickly whirled around and struck out at him. He dodged her, she could feel his hairbrush against her fist as it sailed by his head. She struck again and again. Each time he maneuvered out of reach. He suddenly dipped down and swept his leg out. His shin caught at the back of her calf and swept her legs out from under her. She landed harshly on her back.

Kyoko groaned and looked up as Itachi stood up, watching her. Her anger no longer boiled but it was still hot.

Okay, she really wanted to hit him now.

But that wasn't her primary objective. Her new objective was to get this guy on his ass at least once. No matter how many times she landed on hers.

So she stood again and settled into the basic stance he had shown her earlier that day. They watched each other, Kyoko took the first move. She stepped out and threw her fist out towards him. He blocked it and replied with a punch of his own. Kyoko just barely managed to move out of the way. She looked up at him from her lower position. His arm extended over her as a punch and his torso now guarded by his other arm. Kyoko swept her leg out to the exposed side. Itachi jumped back, avoiding the kick. Kyoko chased after him and they danced in a flurry of punches and kicks. He had landed one solid kick to her side but she shook it off. She kept advancing on him, pushing him back as much as she could.

She was gradually getting the hang of dodging.

His fist came flying towards her, with little time to react she quickly judged she couldn't dodge this one. She bought her arms up to block. And stumbled back slightly. She immediately shook off the pain and regained the ground she lost, she couldn't afford to let Itachi take one step forward. Her leg swung up to a high kick losing her balance, she could already tell she was going to fall from the sheer momentum she put into the kick. Itachi stepped back to avoid the kick and his back collided against the tree.

She landed harshly on her side but never took her eyes off of her opponent.

He turned in surprise to look at the tree.

Now!

She pushed herself up into a low crouch and mimicked Itachi's sweeping kick. Her shin caught on the back of his calf, ignoring the pain of contact, she pushed with every ounce of the strength she had left. Itachi yelped in surprise as he landed on his side. His wide inky eyes flicked over to her in surprise. She sat clutching her shin and stared at him with equal surprise.

"Yeah!" She shouted and threw her hands up in triumph.

Itachi had won the fight, there was no way she could continue, she was way too tired and her leg hurt too much but she was still celebrating. She had accomplished what she wanted, she might have been on the ground but so was he. She threw herself back on the ground and laid there. Itachi sat and leaned against his surprise tree.

"That was fun." She said and a string of giggles followed after.

"Your weird."

"Shut up!"

(Ξ'Д')/((0)) RASENGAN!

There we have it! The first chapter, first draft (after many corrections) and the beginning to what looks to be a loooooong story.

I make no promises on updates considering I just broke my laptop so until then I am stuck with my phone. I will try to update every month though.

/ First edit 20/02/2020/