Chapter 3: Nighttime habits
If there was one thing Haruno Akina loved, it was star-gazing. Blame her Uncle Shikamaru for this, but there was something about the shining of those balls of flames, of the warmth of the summer air, of the stillness of it all that the six year-old loved. She was still young enough to enjoy the simplicity of life.
Of course, her mother knew nothing of her daughter's late-night excursions. If she did, she might burst a capillary. Akina chuckled, folding her arms behind her head. She breathed in deeply. All around her, the crickets chirped, the birds twittered in their nests, and the fireflies blinked sleepily. The girl was wide awake. She had gone to sleep early due to a headache, and knew her mother would not wake until dawn. Therefore, Akina had a couple of hours until that time, and decided to take advantage upon such a rare gift. The only other time she got to do this was at Aunt Ino's. Akina yawned. Okay, so perhaps she wasn't as wide awake as she thought...Getting up, she brushed the dirt off herself. She wasn't exactly exhausted, so she decided to go wander around Konoha.
She knew that the ANBU guards wouldn't disturb her. She had been out enough to know that they knew her, trusted her. After all, she had been out here many times before, sometimes alone, sometimes not. But she was familiar. Akina smiled as she walked around the sleeping town of Konoha. Everything was peaceful and silent, the exact way she liked it. The lively, bustling Konoha wasn't bad, but there was something about silence that Akina loved. She supposed she got it from her Uncle Shika because her mom hated silence. She found it oppressing.
Akina knew it was late, and so, she didn't blame the guards for lightly dozing. She knew they weren't really asleep, and that they were still in tune with everything around them, but they were merely resting their tired eyes. Eventually, she sat down on the bench that was a little away from the gates of Konoha. She laid down, trying to get comfortable. She knew that the guards would wake her up before dawn, and so, she didn't worry. It was just a little nap.
"Hey, girl, wake up!" Came a rough voice and an even rougher shake. Akina moaned. She then froze. These weren't the guards. They all called her
"Akina-san.'' So then who was this man...? She opened her dark eyes and tried to make out who it was that had awoken her from her slumber.
"I'm up." She muttered, sitting up. It was dark, and she could barely see. He didn't look familiar.
"Who are you?" She asked curiously. The man snorted.
"That is none of your business. What are you doing out so late?" He shot back.
"That's none of your business." She retorted nastily. She was angry at the stranger's rudeness, and knew he must not come from Konoha. The man chuckled.
"Go home, little girl. The darkness isn't a place for the innocent such as yourself." He said. Was that a hint of bitterness she detected in his voice? Akina's curiosity was peaked, much to her chagrin.
"The ANBU guards are out. They know me." She told him matter-of-factly.
"What would happen if those guards weren't there? If they were all dead and unable to protect you?" Akina thought for a moment.
"If I were watching them all be killed, then I'd rush to my house." Akina stated. She was beginning to like this stranger less and less.
"What if they caught you before that?" He inquired. The little girl thought about her answer.
"I don't know." She admitted softly. The man scoffed, and Akina felt her anger flare dangerously.
"Who's daughter are you?" He asked her, getting up.
"I'm sure you don't know her. Haruno Sakura." The man froze in his tracks.
"Sakura..." He breathed, and Akina tilted her head.
"She...she had a daughter, did she? But why did you call her Haruno?" He asked, voice hard. 'Interesting.' Akina thought to herself, her inner self grinning evilly. The little girl fidgeted though.
"I, uh, my mom isn't married. I think she's been on a couple of dates, but not with the same guy." She confided. 'Did this man know her mom...?'
"Your father. Where is he?" Akina shrugged, then mentally smacked herself. The man couldn't see that.
"Well, my Uncle Naruto told me he was out at war. But every time I mention my father to my mom, she stiffens up, which makes me think he's not where my uncle told me he is. I don't really mention my dad, cause it hurts my mom." The man was silent for a little while, and Akina began to get uncomfortable.
"Come on, I'll take you home." He turned to her and smirked.
"I take it Sakura doesn't know of your little habits, does she?" Blushing, Akina shook her head.
"No. But I like the darkness. It's peaceful, and quiet." The man laughed, at what, the six year old didn't know. But she liked it. It was deep, a rumble from his chest.
"Come on, let's get going." He said, motioning his head. Akina stood up, and stepped into the light. He was a little farther ahead of her, so he turned to wait. He stiffened, and Akina thought she heard a hiss, much like an intake of breath.
'Odd...' She thought.
"What is your name?" He asked.
"Um, Akina. Haruno Akina." She told him.
"And you are how old, little Akina?" Although her nerves a lite with fire at the ''little''comment, she answered him anyways.
"Six." The man nodded to himself, but didn't say anything more as they began to head somewhere.
"Um, this isn't the way to my house..." Akina said, licking her lips nervously. She hoped he wasn't going to kidnap her.
"Well then, Akina, lead the way." He said, gesturing for her to move in front of him. Akina nodded. They finally arrived at her house, and she turned to the stranger. He was a little bit weird, but she liked him. She felt strangely attached to him, but didn't know why.
"Well, um, thank you." She said awkwardly, gently nudging her sandal into the soft ground. The man dipped his head to acknowledge the fact he had heard her, and turned around.
"Wait!" Akina called, and the stranger stopped.
"I don't know your name." She told him. He turned to her and smirked.
"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. Goodbye, Akina." And with that, he began to walk away. Akina watched. Once he was totally out of her sight, she shook her head, and walked around to where her window was. It was still open. She silently climbed through, and laid down, dozens of thoughts running through her mind. They attacked her mind until she was jolted from them when her mom's alarm clock began to buzz angrily. Sakura noticed her daughter was oddly quiet the entire breakfast. She just brushed it off, blaming it on not being totally awake. Even so, she was a tad bit unnerved.
"Uncle Shikamaru is coming to watch you, okay Akina?" Sakura said on her way out.
"Okay." Akina agreed quietly. The pink-haired woman arched a brow, but said no more. A couple of moments later, her Uncle Shika came in.
"Troublesome." He muttered, and Akina smiled.
"Uncle Shika, are we gonna go cloud watching now?" She asked eagerly.
"In a couple of minutes. I know your mom is walking to work today, and I don't want her to nag that I'm not watching you properly or something of the sort." The young girl giggled. That was so like her mom. In her head, Akina could hear her mom saying all those things. She could also envision her smacking Uncle Shikamaru around. Now THAT is a funny image. A slight breeze drifted across the hill. It played gently with Akina's shirt, and she smiled, content for the moment. It was a warm afternoon, which wasn't uncommon, seeing as how it was summer.
The dark-haired girl closed her eyes. She felt so peaceful, like nothing could touch her. She opened her eyes and gazed at the clouds. Akina lazily thought of the shapes that they looked like, not really bothering to think about it. Yawning and stretching leisurely, the youngest Haruno unknowingly fell asleep. Nara Shikamaru glanced at her, smirking and chuckling.
He wished he could fall asleep, but knowing Sakura, she would take off his head if he abandoned his duties of watching her. Though he would never do that. He cared for Akina just like he cared for his own daughter, Yumi. The girl was slightly older than Akina, but not by much. She was 8, but her name stood for it all. She truly was beautiful, and Shikamaru could tell (grudgingly tell) from the way the guys looked at her. Long, silky dark hair, Yumi possessed her mother's blue eyes. Shikamaru didn't know wether this was a curse or a blessing, and settled for both. The man shook his head.
"Troublesome women." He mumbled, a small smile on his face as he thought of his wife, Ino. After all these years, she still possessed that fiery spirit. After awhile, Yumi had stopped asking why her father was always getting smacked around by her mom. She now just shrugged and accepted it while walking away. Shikamaru turned his attention once more to the clouds. After awhile, he felt Akina stir gently beside him. He averted his gaze to the obsidian-eyed girl beside him.
"Have a nice nap, Akina?" He teased, and his niece scowled at him.
"Shut up, Uncle Shikamaru. It's because of the sun. I felt so warm and comfortable that I fell asleep." She covertly forgot to add that she had barely gotten four hours of sleep last night. Her uncle muttered a
"Hmm..." And returned to gazing at the fluffy objects in the sky. Suddenly, somebody rushed up to them. Shikamaru frowned, sitting up. The man had blond-hair, and was practically screaming at them. Akina sat up as well. Shikamaru knew immediately from the look on Naruto's face that something was wrong. Very wrong. His mind began to whirl furiously. He barely saw that look on the blond's face, that panicked look.
Huffing, Naruto put his hands on his knees, trying desperately to catch his breath. Shikamaru waited for him patiently.
"Uncle Naruto, what's wrong?" Akina asked, fright laced in her voice. So Akina had sensed it as well. Naruto set himself upright, a hard look on his face. At this, the two other's become more worried. He was always happy, so what had happened? Immediately Akina thought of her mother, and hoped nothing bad had happened.
"Alright, Naruto, spill." Shikamaru said calmly. Naruto took a deep breath, and stared at Shikamaru.
"The teme's back."
A/N- Okay, just to clear things up. Akina means ''Spring Flower'' which is why I chose it for her. For Yumi, her name means "Beauty." I thought that this was suitable, seeing as how she IS Ino's daughter, after all.
A/N- is my cousin giving you some info.