Honor of the Heart

Chapter 1-Reality Check

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or I'd be filthy rich.

Chapter 1

"It's the Nine Tails!"

The responses to that cry were unbearable. The bloodcurdling screams pierced her skull, drilling into her mind as a cacophonous choir. Her heartbeat instantly became erratic, thumping wildly in response and threatening to beat itself out of her chest.

The ground groaned and rumbled, the intense vibrations so tremendous it was as if an earthquake descended upon the village. She almost fell, but due to her training remained upright. Everything was burning and entering her nose: burning wood, burning smoke, burning flesh...it made her stomach perform acrobatics, teasing her esophagus.

And then there was the heat. The sweltering temperatures were unbearable, as if they were going to melt the flesh right off of her bones, licking at her skin, ready to feast.

Everything was blurry for the moments Akari struggled to open her eyes. Misshapen figures and moving colors were all she saw until they grew clearer the more she blinked away the dirt and smoke clouding them. The figures began to take on more definition as the colors sharpened to objects.

Then it was all clear.

People swarmed the streets, scrambling away from certain death while dragging children by the hand and yelling to their loved ones to follow, or wishing off the ninjas to fight their best. Villagers knocked others down amidst the rampaging confusion to spare their lives. Feverish attempts, and though valiant, they were all in vain.

A massive paw descended to crush several men, women and children, as well as blowing others back to either collide with a wall or post or get lucky enough to just land hard on their backs. Crimson liquid stained the ground and walls that had managed to withstand the onslaught, bodies littered everywhere. An immensely evil chakra radiated from the monster that continued with the assault on the village.

This was the night of the massacre.

She stood there rigid, her rose-colored hair stiff, dirty and filled with knots. Akari's heart continued to pound wildly as an icy chill ran down throughout her body, causing her fingertips to grow cold and a sweat begin to form on her forehead. With wide, terrified eyes she could only stand and watch as more and more civilians were slaughtered without mercy or a second thought.

Akari became dazed with all the senses that filled her body and head, unable to flee for her life.

Suddenly and without warning, a structure collapsed inches away from her, spraying dust and splintered wood at the redhead as she leapt away just in time to avoid the falling debris. It cracked and screeched in protest, awakening the rest of her senses. A piece of something sharp managed to deeply cut her arm and she winced, clamping a hand down on the wound while it seeped blood.

She'd joined the other shinobi on the front lines to fight alongside her parents, but Akari lost them in the chaos.

Two figures came into view, facing off against the giant monster attacking the Hidden Leaf Village. One was a tall-ish beautiful woman with long rose-colored hair and deep amethyst eyes. The other was a man with deep brown hair and matching brown eyes.

They began to turn slowly, as she started running towards them.

"Kaa-san! Tou-san!" Akari shouted. At least they could make her feel safer.

"I want to forget. I want to forget everything! Everything about this day, I want to forget...I don't want to see anymore! Make it stop!"

As she ran, alarmed expressions crossed onto her parents' features.

"Akari, get away from here!" Her father snapped hastily, but it was too late.

A claw hundreds of feet long reached out to pierce through her body. Instead, it cut down her father, and then her mother. The two blocked off the attack at the price of their lives. Their mouths coughed up blood to splatter the dirt, trailing down the sides and from their torsos as they collapsed onto the ground. Choking sounds briefly escaped her father's mouth before he fell slack.

"Akari...run...hurry!" Her mother coughed, choking on her own blood.

Standing there, shell-shocked, she stood shaking as she watched on in absolute horror. Senses returned to her long enough to regain control of her quivering body, prompting her to rush over to her mother's side.

"Akari, please, run away!" The beautiful redhead pleaded while Akari took her hand into her own.

Trying to stay strong, she blinked away the tears that began to formulate. "No! I'm not leaving you!"

"Very well...I know I can't force you...I won't last much longer...but...I have some things I wish to tell you." The dying kunoichi smiled. Her grip tightened on Akari's small hand.

"Don't blame the next jinchuuriki for the actions of the Kyuubi. I beg you not to walk down the path of revenge," she began, wheezing heavily.

"How do you know there'll be a new jinchuuriki?" her daughter questioned, hiccupping on tears refusing to shed.

"There is always a new jinchuuriki. It's merely...a forewarning I'm giving you. Sweetie, I want you to understand, do not hate because of this day. Make friends-good friends, even if it's only one or two. Befriend people who will give their lives for you, and you for them. Like Etsuko. Learn to fall in love with a good man who loves you for who you are when you are older..." Asami spoke softly.

"Mama, please..." Akari whimpered, gazing down at her mother, despair twisting her features.

"Akari, your father and I will always love you. I...I'm so sorry," Tears streamed down Asami's face, leaving clean little lines down her dirtied, bloodied face. But despite her tears, her smile remained. "Always know you have the Will of Fire within you, and never give up. You're my little Light, as you can be for the rest of Konoha. Hope always remains so long as you can fight." Asami's voice drifted, the light in her eyes extinguishing. Her hand slipped out of Akari's to flop onto the bloodied ground, the soil muddy with crimson liquid.

"No, mother! Mama, please! Please...don't leave me..." Akari whispered, letting herself bawl over her beloved mother's body. "Kaa-san...Tou-san..."

"Why? Why is this happening?!"

Akari could barely register anything occurring, including a figure running towards her as she forced her body to move. Putting one foot in front of the other, she slowly made herself stand, her arms hanging limply by her sides and her head bowed to shadow her face.

"Why...do good people like Kaa-san and Tou-san have to die? Why...?"

She felt tears prick her eyes, lifting her head to spot the figure that apparently belonged to her best friend Etsuko from the Hyuuga clan. She was yelling at her, frantically waving her arms while doing her best to capture Akari's attention.

"Akari! Run! Get out of here! The Kyuubi is too dangerous! Run!" Fear glinted in her pale-lavender eyes as she hurried towards her best friend.

Then Akari saw the claw again and panicked, struggling to scream for Etsuko to run but couldn't. She sprinted to help her, to try to push her out-of-the-way in time. "Etsuko, look out!"

"Not Etsuko too! I won't allow it! I can't let her share the same fate as Kaa-san and Tou-san!"

But...try as Etsuko might and as worthy of a fight she put up...a gruesome ripping sound occurred as her dearest friend stared at her with wide eyes, and the vital crimson liquid that maintained her life dribbled down the corners of her mouth.

Akari began trembling again, stopping dead in her tracks and unable to differentiate reality from fiction any longer. Her eyes were blown wide in shock and disbelief.

"This...this is fake. No, they couldn't have really died! I won't believe it!"

However the stinging pain from her arm reminded her it was too real to be fake.

"E-Etsuko..." She stammered, her eyes roaming over to the bodies of her parents. "Kaa-san...Tou-san..."

Akari clenched her hands, her heart beating faster and faster as her sanity started to slip. At least, that was what it felt like to her. She'd rather go insane and forget everything here than to remember it each passing day.

"Why is this happening?!"

She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, beat herself for not being able to do anything, and forget everything.

"I...I want to disappear...to be able to run away from all of this and just cease to exist...I want to make all of this stop!"

Akari hurried over to her best friend's torn up body only to see her turn into...

"...Kakashi?"

The tremor in her now hardly audible voice did not go unnoticed as it escaped her lips.

"...ri..."

She looked around, now on high alert for any opposing enemies.

"ka...ri..."

"This voice...isn't it...?" Gazing down at the body that turned into Kakashi, Akari was beyond disturbed to see him speaking to her. His voice was beginning to get louder and louder.

"...kari..."

Tears poured down her cheeks as she finally erupted. "What?! What...what is this?! Leave me alone!" She shouted, gripping the sides of her head. She lost the will to stand, instead sinking to her knees.

"A..kari..."

It was getting clearer and louder now.

"...Akari..."

"Leave me alone! Go away!" The girl yelled repeatedly without any results.

"Akari..."

"Get out!" She screamed, feeling her throat go raw and crack at the amount of force she used. But her burning throat was nothing in comparison to her shattered heart.

"I want to run away...to get away from all of this! Why? Why can't I?!"

"Get away from me!" Akari yelled in fright, trying to move but finding her body unresponsive to her demands. "Move...move, you...you stupid body!"

Darkness began to cave in on her, isolating her from her surroundings with a chilling quiet besides the voice that persistently continued calling out.

"No! Curse you, Kyuubi! Curse you and curse your existence! I...I want to hate you so badly! If it hadn't been for Mama, I'd get revenge! You hear me?!" She screamed loudly at the towering beast closing in. A roar made her stumble while a gleaming black claw glistening with the blood of her village shot out towards her.

"Akari!"

Akari's POV

I jolted awake with a start in my bed, drenched in sweat. My senses flaring, I grabbed a kunai, screaming when I felt hands shaking my shoulders. But then a gloved hand stopped me from lashing out, forcing me to look at them. I smelled something like ninja gear, the Konoha forests, and...incense? Since when did any sane Inuzuka member own incense? Especially my own sensei?

"Hey! Get it together! Calm down, you're safe."

My eyes widened as I saw the silver spiky hair and masked face. "Ha...Hatake..."

I despised how weak my voice sounded, especially in front of Kakashi. He was already a jonin (and an ANBU, but he didn't know I knew, although it was pretty easy to discern since no one had hair like Kakashi's) at the age of fourteen, and I a mere genin at eleven. Our difference in skill and strength always irked me, so I resolved to try and best him, despite knowing I never would.

I tried to get a grip on my senses, but I was still disoriented; my body was trembling from the after-effects of the nightmare. The kunai quivered in my unsteady grip. I could tell from the lack of shadows and muffled illumination from my window that sunrise hadn't come yet, meaning it was still around 5 in the morning. I felt tears prick my eyes and drip down my face as I spoke again, finding my voice to be stronger than a few minutes ago.

"...Kakashi...?"

"Are you okay?" I heard him ask in his regular smooth voice.

I actually saw a hint of concern in his one visible eye. The other was hidden by his hitai-ate as usual. I grabbed his arms to make sure he was really there. He felt real, and he sounded real. But these nightmares...again...

Instead of responding, I simply clung to Kakashi, gripping his arms tighter in confirmation of his existence. I remembered the wound on my arm and gripped it to keep the blood from flowing out more, but as I lifted my palm to check there was nothing but my usual flesh-completely healthy. I felt dazed out of my mind, and still could not tell whether this was real or not.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so..."

"Good. Come downstairs when you're dressed." Kakashi told me, got up, and started to leave.

I panicked. "Wait!"

He stopped on cue, as if he anticipated it. "Could you please...stay here with me, for a bit?"

At the moment, it was far too terrifying to be alone with my thoughts. The jonin pondered a minute, nodded, and headed back over to me. He sat down at the end of my bed, glancing at me carefully as to not startle me further.

"All right, I'll stay. But not for too long, we have a long day ahead of us," he warned me.

I sighed in relief, shivering too much to care for what he said. As long as he agreed to stay with me, it was fine. As I tried to gather my bearings, Kakashi stared at me every once in awhile as he patiently waited for me to calm down. It was soothing to be in the presence of a real, familiar face. I immediately pulled my thoughts away and directed them towards Kakashi, who was always such a big mystery to me, wiping my eyes of the tears that fell against my will.

He still abided by the rules a bit too much, but after what happened to his team in the past year - including losing Minato-sensei several months ago - it was understandable. The fact that he'd improved a little showed that Obito at least affected him to some extent. I hugged myself, resting them on my propped knees.

Obito.

Shutting my eyes, I could still see the images of the Kyuubi Attack burned into my memory, which transitioned into smiling pictures of the Uchiha I...that I befriended. That was another pain - one on the same level as the Attack - that I wasn't ready to revisit. I quickly reopened them, sharply inhaling from the sight.

"When will I be free of this nightmare?" I wondered. A part of me answered "never".

"Deep breaths, deep breaths...breathe in, breathe out. Don't show too much weakness in front of Hatake." I told myself, rebuilding my walls.

Once he sensed I was nearly back to normal, Hatake looked at me and said, "Let me know when you're ready."

I met his gaze, prepared to face the day. "I'm okay."

He nodded at me again, then stood to leave the room. "I'll be waiting with your sensei."

"Uh, hold on a minute."

Kakashi stopped and turned. "Hmm?"

"Why are you here? Why were you there to wake me up?" The question seemed stupid, but I needed to know.

"Ah, well...come downstairs and we'll explain everything. It's better to speak of such matters when you're not distracted by food." He answered with a serious tone, though I could have sworn I saw a small smirk outlining his mask.

My stomach rumbled at his mention of food. I blushed in embarrassment. "All right..."

Content with my answer, Kakashi started to leave again until I murmured, "And...thank you."

He kept going, but I heard him say, "No problem."

"Uh, also..." I started, hearing him sigh and throw me a glance.

"What?"

"...why do you reek of incense? I thought you hated the stuff." I said without really thinking about it.

Hatake stared at me strangely for a moment. "Gai kept pestering me about it - something about stress relief. It was either that or another noodle-eating contest."

I managed to smile and chuckle a little. "You guys really are rivals, aren't you?"

"I suppose. Is that all?"

"Mmhm."

"Okay. See you downstairs." After he closed the door, I threw off my covers and hopped out of bed.

Stumbling a little, I finally walked over to my closet, pulling on a mesh/fish net shirt, wrapping white bandages around my upper arms and lower torso. Then I threw my scarlet v-neck, followed by my shorts. I then tied wrappings around my right leg as well as my supplies pack, followed by my long black socks and fingerless gloves.

Turning to my vanity mirror, I stared at my reflection to witness my bed head, frizzy rose-colored hair that stuck out with tangles, my slight dark circles growing increasingly prominent, and my skinny figure. I sighed deeply, bowing my head in exasperation.

"I could almost pass for a dead person."

I brushed my hair back into a high ponytail, then redid my bangs that had gotten all over the place during the night, making it slightly sweep to the right side with some near my eyes, feeling my layered hair frame my face occasionally tickle my cheeks.

Edging a smile, I tried to be cheerful, but all I could manage was a small twitch to the sides of my mouth. I sighed again, feeling my heart heave in response.

"I'll never become as strong as Kurenai, Kakashi, or Gai...not even my own teammates...maybe all I'm cut out for is just staying out-of-the-way."

With Kakashi

He didn't even walk downstairs, instead appearing in a flash at the bottom of the stairs before he continued walking towards the dining room to stand in front of a tall man with short dark brown hair, his hitai-ate reflecting the beams from the light bulbs above him.

Scarlet fang markings on his cheeks went well with his slightly tanned skin. His canines were a bit longer than normal, though not overly so as to jut out from under his lower lip.

The man was busy preparing meals and so far did not acknowledge Kakashi's presence. The room filled with the savory aroma of his cooking, causing Kakashi's mouth to water from the hunger-inducing scents. He could smell cooked egg, fried rice, vegetables, soup, and an assortment of meats.

A large ashen-grey and white dog sat beside the man anticipating his breakfast. It nearly looked like a wolf with a sharper muzzle, pointed ears, and a slim yet muscular build.

"Kakashi, why don't you sit down? It will take me a moment longer to prepare breakfast and I know you haven't eaten yet, since you visit the memorial stone so early and for so long. Really, you have to take better care of yourself."

The silver-haired teen merely nodded and sat down on his knees in front of the table. "Sorry."

A hand was waved in dismissal as a response. "Ah, by the way, is Akari awake now?"

Kakashi nodded once more. "Yes, Jiro-sensei."

"Tell me, was she having a nightmare? I could hear her screaming." Jiro questioned.

"Yeah. She even called me by my first name, which has never happened before."

The dog-owner sighed. "Another one..."

"You mean this has happened before?" Kakashi narrowed his eye(s) in bemusement.

"Correct. Akari has experienced recurring nightmares these past several months, ever since the Attack. She always avoids the subject, but I can see that it's starting to affect her," Jiro explained. "She's tried depriving herself of sleep, only to fall asleep in the early hours of the morning and have the nightmares come then. I've tried helping her any way I can, but nothing has worked so far."

He finished making the dog's breakfast and placed the bowl a few feet away from the side of the table Kakashi was sitting at. "Sorry, Haimaru. I made you wait for a while, didn't I?" Jiro smiled while stroking his dog's fur. Haimaru merely continued eating with a 'swish' of his tail.

As Jiro headed back to making breakfast for the three humans present in the house, Kakashi quietly thought back to when he awoke Akari. She'd been so terrified she actually clung to him as if her life depended on it. She even asked him to stay with her until she was able to calm down. The Akari he knew, however, was too prideful to ever consider such a request.

"Then again, ever since that attack she's changed. She's the same as me now...an orphan." He mentally noted. The jounin merely continued blankly staring at the table, lost in thought.

Kakashi folded his arms, wandering in his concentration. "Well, not like it's my business...I have other things to worry about."

Jiro had inclined his head slightly to see Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. "I can never tell what that boy is thinking." He sighed before continuing to finish making breakfast just in time to see Akari descend from the stairs.

Smiling, he turned to his pupil/subordinate. "Akari, I see you're finally awake."

The girl nodded back, the beginnings of a smile growing on her pale complexion. "Yes. Hatake woke me up."

Jiro grabbed various plates of food to set them around the table in front of Kakashi and Akari, who awkwardly sat across from him. The two didn't exchange words or conversation of any sort.

"Oh? For once you're not in a foul mood! Kakashi, how'd you do it? Ah, perhaps it's just that Kakashi makes more of an impression than I do." The Jonin-level shinobi smirked, causing Akari's face to flush red.

"Sensei! I-it's not like that!" She protested, Kakashi speaking in unison with her. Though, he was calmer about it.

Jiro laughed heartily. "Hahaha! You two need to relax more! It was a joke!"

"I'm pretty sure I was relatively calm." Kakashi mused, though voicing it to Jiro-sensei would probably do nothing.

A vein popped out on Akari's right temple as she turned red. "Yeah? Well I'm not laughing!"

"Ah, you're just cranky because you're hungry! Here, eat up!" Jiro grinned, revealing his fang-like canines as he sat at the head of the table, crossing his legs while setting his own plate of food in front of him.

Akari picked up her chopsticks tiredly, her previous energy having sputtered and died. "Thank you for the food."

"Yes, thank you. I really enjoyed it." Kakashi said politely with a clean plate in front of him. Akari's eyes bulged in disbelief to see his plate completely cleared off.

"Eh?! You eat almost as fast as me!" She exclaimed, despite lacking the proper energy.

Jiro sighed, setting down his own plate. "Well, I was hoping we'd all be able to eat together since Akari can't go without arguing for more than five minutes. It would've been some very valuable bonding time."

Akari, who had started to eat, choked suddenly on her tamagoyaki (rolled omelet). Flailing, she brought a fist to her chest while grabbing her glass of water nearby in an effort to clear her clogged throat.

"Bonding time? You're kidding, right? That's-"

"I did not consider that option. I guess I wouldn't have minded much - apologies." Kakashi replied, cutting off the redhead before she could say anything offensive.

"That's alright, Kakashi. Glad to hear you would've been on board with it!" Jiro grinned, stuffing his mouth full of tamagoyaki and rice.

Before the red-headed girl could say anything more, her sensei spoke up once more after swallowing. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Akari! The entire reason Kakashi is here is because he will be acting as your leader in your latest mission. Taiki and Saburo have already been informed."

The redhead flickered her amethyst eyes over to her sensei, her lips upturning in confusion. "Why aren't you going?"

"I have been assigned a different mission. Normally this wouldn't happen but given how short we are on manpower now, it cannot be prolonged. Don't worry, Kakashi is a perfectly capable leader."

Akari closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't think I'll be of much use..."

Jiro's laughing eyes turned stern as his mouth formed a thin line, letting his fang-like canines poke out. "Never say that, Akari. You are a ninja of Konoha, and I've seen that you have the Will of Fire within you. You're a part of Team 5, and they never see you as a liability. That's the end of this discussion; you need to prepare for your mission."

Akari shut her mouth, bowing her head in compliance. "Yes, Jiro-sensei," she turned to look at Kakashi. "Well, we should get going then, shouldn't we?"

Kakashi nodded. "I believe it would be proactive to go over the details of the mission with everyone before we leave, so we should join the others quickly."

The redhead stood, stuffed extra ningu (ninja supplies) and medical equipment into her pockets and ninja leg pack, then opened the door to leave. She turned her head to look back at Kakashi. "What're you waiting for then? Let's go!"

Kakashi sighed, heaving up onto his feet and bowing to Jiro. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Jiro grinned. "Of course! Anytime. Take care, both of you! Try not to kill each other, okay?"

A vein bulged in Akari's forehead. "We won't! Bye, Jiro-sensei, Haimaru!"

Haimaru barked in response and wagged his tail as her sensei continued to smile. "Goodbye."

And with that, the two ninjas departed to join the others.

The Inuzuka member slowly became serious. "Hmm...I honestly hope Akari's temper doesn't get the better of her. Although, I'm sure she'll behave since it's an A rank mission..."

A/N: I'm sorry if this isn't the best Naruto fic...it's my first one. Well, please Favorite, Review and Follow! ^^ It makes my day :D