Waking the Demon
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters. The only characters I own so far in this story are: Akki, Aiku, Gen, Katsuo, Okuri, Ayame, Haruko, Cana and the other summoned wolves.
Disclaimer #2: I do not own the song in this chapter or any other chapter. It's 'Waking The Demon' by Bullet for My Valentine.
Chapter 4
Breathe for me
Don't wake me from this slumber
Stay with me
Possession taking over!
-Story start-
I took a deep breath before knocking on Lord Hokage's office door. He had sent some chuunin early this morning to tell me to go to this one room at 5:00 AM. I, of course, went—no surprise there—and they told me I had to get my picture for some mission information. Not in the mood to argue, I went along with their little plan, got my picture taken, and then they sent me here.
I heard a faint, "Come in!" and did not disappoint, pushing open the door and stepping inside. I was hesitant, but that was no surprise. The last time I had saw him, I was yelling at him in anger, ready to attack—it was no wonder why I was acting so shy. He could easily exile me, or even kill me—no matter how old he may look.
"Lord Hokage? You sent for me?" I asked quietly, stepping into the room, my defiant personality totally dispersed.
"Akki," Lord Hokage stated softly. "Come here and sit down." He paused as I sat, but I determinedly kept my eyes on the desk. "Akki, look at me. I understand why you started yelling. You were stressed, and you probably still are. I understand that, even if that didn't happen to me," He doesn't understand either. Only Sasuke does. I thought bitterly—Sasuke, the one person who I let in, who then thanked me by turning his back to me and betraying me.
Thinking of Sasuke's betrayal led me to the thought of Cana's broken, limp body. I slightly shuddered at the picture. Now, Cana was healing nicely. After I left the training session, I took her to the Inuzuka's, who were extremely nice, by the way, and Hana, Kiba's sister, took a look at her. Unexpectedly, she had a broken leg, I guess from the force of the landing, but other than that, nothing was wrong with her. But still, I refused to leave her at the veterinary, no matter how much Hana tried to convince me that it would be better. Finally she gave in, and I took her back to my apartment to look after her. That's where she was now, probably asleep with Aiku watching over her.
"Yes, I know. I didn't mean to snap at you; I'm sorry." I told him grudgingly. Anything to get on his good side was worth it.
"Alright then, Akki, how did training go? I assume it went well?" The old man asked, shuffling through several papers on his desk, before glancing quickly at me, still trying to find whatever he needed.
"It went fine. We all passed. Did Kakashi-sensei say anything about it?" I asked, hoping Kakashi hadn't asked about Okuri's chakra.
"That's nice," He sent me a wrinkle-filled smile. "No, did you expect him to say anything?" He asked, going back to his papers.
"No, nothing at all; I was just wandering." I covered, breathing a silent sigh of relief.
"Okay. Akki, this is some paperwork that you need to fill out before you go on missions. You can stay here and finish it or you can go back to your apartment then bring it back—either way, give it to me before your first mission."
"I'll stay here and finish it, that is, if it's okay?" I raised an eyebrow, being as formal as I possibly could muster. He nodded, digging through more paperwork after giving me the paper and a pencil.
I looked at the paper, seeing it was just questions:
Your Name: Akki Akita
Age: 12
Birth date: October 10
Family: Tera Akita (mother; deceased), Lenny Akita (father; deceased), Aiku Akita (brother; living)
Kekkei Genkai: None
Other: Jinchuuriki of the Ten-tailed Wolf. At age 12, clan was killed by unknown suspect
It was quite easy to fill out the form, and I reread it a few times, checking spelling and the information over. Swallowing, I handed over the paper, in which he promptly clipped the picture I had just taken onto it. "Is that it?" I asked eagerly. I wanted to check on Cana to make sure she was still fit to come on the mission. Aiku would be going on missions as well, and I couldn't leave her there in the apartment alone.
"Yes, Akki, you are dismissed." With a smile, I charged out of the room, leaped away from the building and jogged happily toward me apartment…only to smack face first into something…or rather someone.
Looking up, I stared into the dark black eyes belonging to none other than Sasuke Uchiha. I debated on ignoring him, but our fight had to be fixed somehow, right? Or else the mission probably won't be done at our best. I blinked slowly, stepping back. I wondered why he was up so early.
"Sasuke…" I trailed off, struggling to keep from yelling at him. "Sorry for running into you, I wasn't paying attention," I said, doing my best to ignore the obvious tension in the air. "Um, and sorry about yesterday… I think." I added on dejectedly.
"Me too." Sasuke said, just as sulkily.
"Right, um, we should come to an agreement or something so our mission will get done better." I mumbled quietly. He nodded in agreement. "No wait, forget I said that. I don't like fighting with you—you were my first friend here, besides Shika, but…" I trailed off again. "I think we should stop fighting and get over our problems. We both passed, so what's the issue?" I concluded. He, once again, merely nodded.
"Fine; no more fighting. Problem resolved." He mumbled, trying to be nice, I guess.
"Exactly; but, if you couldn't tell before, I'm in a hurry to get back. See ya!" I cried over my shoulder, already sprinting back to my apartment. Once there, I collapsed against the door, breathing harder than I should have been. I really need to get back to training—I'm out of shape again.
Suddenly the door opened, and I fell back onto my back, finding myself staring up at Aiku. "Hey! It's you!" I panted, sitting back up and pointing childishly.
"I thought I heard something." He mumbled under his breath, grabbing my hand to pull me up.
"That's right!" I cheered childishly. Aiku was the only person I could really be me around. "Where were you going anyways? I told you to babysit Kia-!" I cut myself off, a saddened look on my face. "No, I told you to babysit Cana for me!" He looked at me sympathetically.
"I wasn't going anywhere. I thought I heard something so I came to check. You know, you would be a horrible spy." My older brother smirked jokingly at me.
"No! I would be a good spy." I pouted, childish once again. "I was just tired, and do tell, what reason do I have to be quiet, here?" I shot back at him.
"Maybe because some people want to actually sleep in the morning—is that a good enough reason?" He asked, pulling me into the apartment and walking towards my bedroom, where Cana was currently napping.
I sauntered over to my bed, gently sitting down next to the puppy that lifted her head, eyes lighting up as she saw me. Ever since her parents had been killed during a summoning—not by me—she considered me as a parent, as a protector. I'd taken the job of what her mother would do when she was still so young. I guess I did see her as a child, even when she wasn't human, literally risking my life to protect her. I know that's happened more than once, not just with Sasuke, who I'd doubt would kill me just for a bell, but who knows?
"Hi Cana," I smiled, barely noticing Aiku leave the room to go sleep some more. "How are you? I did tell you that you're coming on my mission today, right?" I asked. The young wolf nodded her head, yawning.
"Yes, you did. Where are we going?" She asked, speaking quietly.
"I have no clue." I admitted. "Now get some rest," I advised.
=====7:55 AM=====
"Wha-!" I cried, shooting out of my bed, rubbing my eyes before looking at the clock once again—7:55 AM? I was going to be late—again! Why didn't Aiku wake me, like he usually did? If I was going to be going on the mission, even if it was just helping some lady with her garden or catching a lost pet, I needed to be at Lord Hokage's office in 5 minutes. I shoved the covers off of my body, shivering slightly when the cool air hit my skin. I changed clothes, brushed through my hair once, before sprinting into my living room to grab the bag I used for all of my missions. I shoved some extra pairs of clothes into the bag, along with everything else I'd need.
It only took a matter of seconds for me to finish with that, and then grab Cana. I wasn't sure if I'd have time to come back and get her before we went on the mission. The surprised pup yelped, wiggling in my arms before relaxing, her fur fluffed up. "Hey—that wasn't nice, ya know?" She slurred. "I was sleeping; you could have woken me up before picking me up like that. At least that way, I wouldn't think I was being kid-napped!" She complained, wiggling in my arms to get comfortable. I, of course, ignored the grey wolf pup, stuffing snacks and drinks into my bag, along with some food for Cana. I was about to leave the apartment, when I noticed a note. I didn't take the time to admire the neat scrawl like I usually would, and read the note:
'Akki,
Sorry I wasn't there to wake you up. Hopefully you're not late, which I wouldn't be surprised if you were. I was called to go on a mission at 6:30; right after you fell back asleep. I decided you deserved more time to sleep so I left without telling you. I'll be back in a week or so.
Good luck and be safe
-Aiku'
Good, at least he has a reason for not being here. Still, I sighed, crumpling the note and tossing it in the trash, before stuffing Cana's small body in my loose jacket, much like I'd seen Kiba do with Akamaru and how I used to carry around—
I cut my thought off purposely. Carrying her like this was easier than having both of my hands occupied. I ran out the door, letting it slam behind me as I leaped off of the balcony-like-overhang –walkway outside of the apartments. My feet landed silently on the roof of the building below, and from there, I leapt to building to building, not bothering to try to stay hidden. It didn't matter if I was jumping from roof to roof did it? I guess not since no one was yelling or coming after me.
It wasn't long until I leapt onto the ground once again, doing my best to knock the least amount of people over. Huffing, I pushed open the doors to the big red building, and then sprinted up the stairs, shoving the door open to Lord Hokage's office before collapsing on the ground, panting for breath.
"Am…I…am I late?" I puffed out, sitting up as Cana wiggled out of my grasp. Her fur was ruffled and fluffed up and the grey wolf pup was careful to keep her paw off the ground.
"You better be!" The pup snapped, shaking her fur out before sitting on the ground, her tail wrapped carefully around her paws, as she took in the people in the room: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei and Lord Hokage.
"Yes you were late." Lord Hokage informed, smiling fondly at me. Sakura looked ready to bite my head off; Sasuke had the normal emotionless look on his face; Naruto was grinning at me. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's good… except for the fact that I was here at 5:00 AM, and someone…" I sent a teasing glare towards the Hokage. "…sent my brother off on a mission so I was late."
"I'm sorry." The Hokage paused. "He was the only available ninja that could work for the job. But anyways, as I was explaining about your mission." The old man sitting in front of us closed his eyes and folded his hands. "Team 7 is to escort Tazuna, the bridge builder, and protect him until the bridge is built, and then you are free to return back to Konoha. You all are dismissed."
It wasn't long after that we were standing outside the gates of Konoha. The guy we were escorting and protecting, Tazuna, was most obviously not someone I had expected to be escorting. Naruto was celebrating his first time out of the village, and almost immediately, Tazuna started doubting him once again. "Hey, will a kid like this really be capable of this mission?" The bridge-builder asked. Kakashi-sensei laughed as Naruto froze.
"I, a jounin will be accompanying you. There's no need to worry." Kakashi-sensei reassured. I glared at the bridge-builder.
"The rest of us are just genin," I said defensively. "This is their first time out of the village, after all. Don't expect so much of us." I growled. Not only was in constant fear of being betrayed, if you were my friend, I'd defend you and protect you with my life. Like a wolf pack; my friends were like my pack and any normal, able wolf would protect their pack with their life.
"Their?" The bridge builder echoed. "What about you?" I blinked at him.
"It's, ehm, I don't have to tell you. It's personal." I finally managed to snap out, glaring and cursing the bridge-builder silently for bringing back such harsh memories, although, it didn't take long for my eyes to drop to the ground, pictures of dead comrades, family, friends, all flashing across my mind, causing me to shudder.
Quickly, I walked towards the front so I was walking along side the other jinchuuriki, Cana limping beside my feet. I kept attempting to pick her up but, each time, she would object, saying she could walk on her own—but even I could tell she was in immense pain and tiring quickly. There was silence between the two of us, the two jinchuuriki, weather he knew that or not, but it wasn't an awkward silence, like it would have been if I were walking with everyone else. Glancing back, I noticed Sasuke was walking behind us, trailed by Sakura and lastly Kakashi-sensei was walking along beside Tazuna.
We were walking along a long, dirt path, when a thought struck me. It hadn't rained in days, so why was that puddle there? Or was I just imagining things? No one else seemed to notice it. I decided to say nothing, and kept anxiously glancing around. I was sure someone noticed, but if they did, they didn't ask me about it.
But, as cautious as I was, I still nearly stumbled back as two foreign ninja lunged towards Kakashi-sensei. There was a spiked chain-like weapon attaching the two ninja, I jumped out of the way, pushing Naruto at the same time. I saw Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna all safe as well, but where was—?
A gasp escaped my mouth as I saw Kakashi-sensei wrapped thoroughly in the chain, unable to break out of it. The two ninja, taking advantage of our shocked state, pulled the chain, leaping back and squeezing Kakashi-sensei. I took an unintentional step back, my mouth hanging open in—what?—fear; surprise; anger? I couldn't decide which as I watched Kakashi-sensei, well, explode. Several wails of surprise escaped the other genin, as well as me and Tazuna, as we watched helplessly.
Even if Kakashi-sensei was killed, which I'm fairly certain he was, he'd want us to protect Tazuna, right? He'd want us to get Tazuna back to the Leaf Village, unscathed, instead of leaving him here to die. My thoughts were interrupted as one, or both for all I could tell, of the ninja yelled, "You're next!" My head snapped up to see the chuunin charging towards Naruto and I—more so Naruto than I though—and, acting purely on impulse, I shoved Naruto out of the way.
I was certain I was about to be killed, even with Cana rushing toward me, as the chain formed a lasso-like trap. It happened too fast for me to even begin to get out of the way—that, and I felt like I was frozen. I clenched my eyes shut, willing my legs to start working again. I managed to duck down, and gasped as I looked up to see that, if I had been standing a moment longer, I would have been crushed, just like Kakashi-sensei. The two ninja aimed the chain at me again, frustrated. I went to leap away, but found I didn't have to as a shuriken pinned the chain to a tree, and then a kunai was thrown at the shuriken, successfully securing the chain.
My mouth fell open once again as I saw Sasuke land on the claw-like-"hands" that were attaching the chains to the other ninja. He kicked the two ninja away from the tree, causing the chain to be yanked out of the claw-hands. A sigh of relief escaped my lips, and I crouched down, my legs like jelly. My eyes shifted tiredly towards Naruto and my eyes widened as I noticed his hand was oozing blood. My face paled—how hadn't I noticed that earlier? More importantly, when did it happen? Was it the claws when the two ninja got up to attack Tazuna? I knew, for one, that the claws had poison on them, and I stumbled over to him, knowing Sasuke and Sakura could protect the bridge-builder for now. Right now, I needed to make sure he didn't move around too much.
I heard the fast-paced footsteps suddenly stop and risked looking, only to see Kakashi standing, holding the ninja in a choke hold. For the, at least, tenth time today, my jaw dropped. He looked at Sasuke and Sakura, instantly noticing both Naruto and I were gone, before looking our way. He saw me crouched on the ground, looking between Naruto and him. "Hi." He said grimly, no emotion on his face. "Naruto, sorry for not coming sooner. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I just didn't expect you to freeze up like that." He paused. I gave him a short glare, but I kind of expected it, and turned back to Naruto. "Good job, Sasuke, Akki…Sakura." He praised, and started to walk away.
"Come on," I sighed, following our teacher, my eyes on the ground, until I heard Sasuke call out to Naruto.
"Hey," He paused, looking at the yellow-haired jinchuuriki teasingly. "You're not hurt are you? Cry baby." Sasuke taunted. I glared at him, but refused to say anything as I hurried to catch up. I almost ran into Kakashi, who was still holding the guys under his arms.
"Kakashi-sensei? Naruto got wounded by those guys' nails." I informed almost silently. He nodded, showing me he already knew. He warned Naruto to try to refrain from moving too much, before turning to Tazuna—I didn't bother listening to what they were talking about, that is, until Sakura insisted that we go home. Naruto, of course, objected.
He grabbed a kunai and stabbed his own hand which had the scratches. "Why am I so different? Why am I always…" He paused, trailing off and cursing in anger. He ignored Sakura's cries asking what he was doing and telling him to stop. "I should be stronger… I've accomplished lots of missions and practiced techniques every day…" Once again, he let himself stop his own sentence. "I'm never going to do something that will require someone to help me." He stated, though I knew his rant wasn't over yet. "I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things. I'm not going to lost to Sasuke. I vow that to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with this kunai." He grinned, turning back to face us. "The mission is still on."
"Naruto, as awesome as that speech was and all, but you're going to die from loss of blood if any more comes out." Kakashi-sensei said, surprising me. "It's not good if you don't stop it right now. Seriously." Kakashi-sensei said cheerfully. Naruto, of course, started freaking out. I sighed—I knew he wouldn't die… well, that is, if his demon is anything like mine.
It wasn't long until we were all perched in a rowboat, unable to see nearly anything through the foggy blanket of mist. It didn't take too long after that, that we could see the bridge. "Tazuna, before we get to the pier, there's something I need to ask you." Kakashi-sensei stated, his eyes bored, as always. "The identity of the ones after you and why they are after you." He finished. "Or we can call this mission off when we get to the shore."
"It looks like I have to tell you the real story." Tazuna sighed, almost regretfully. "I mean, I would like for you to hear my story. As you said, this mission is most likely out of your job description. An extremely terrible man is after my life."
"An extremely terrible man?" Kakashi-sensei echoed questionably.
"Yes," He breathed. "You should have at least heard of the name: Marine transportation billionaire, Gatoh."
"Gatoh—the one from the Gatoh Company—?" Kakashi asked, his eyes widening a bit. "He's one of the richest men is this world." They went on for a bit, and in that time frame, I zoned out.
It wasn't too long after that, that we were walking Tazuna home, taking in the sights. It didn't look like this country had been taken over by that billionaire, Gatoh, but you can't be sure, can you?
Sasuke moved to walk beside Naruto, leaving me alone, walking in front of Sakura. I raised an eyebrow as Naruto ran ahead, scouting the area. What was his problem? Was he really that jealous of Sasuke? Naruto suddenly through a kunai into a bush, causing everyone in our group to stare, before Kakashi-sensei and Sakura began scolding him, although he appeared to be ignoring them and paid no mind the fact that he was getting yelled at. He continued boasting, throwing another kunai into a different bush, claiming something was there.
Naruto and Sakura began yelling at each other, but that was no surprise. Sakura always had to have everything perfect. But it wasn't Naruto's fault that he was jealous, was it? Kakashi and I, deciding the smart way out, walked over to the bush, and peered at the tree behind it. A rabbit was lying against the tree, a terrified look on its face, a kunai right above its head. Sakura followed, as well as Naruto and Sasuke, and looked at the white rabbit, before ranting to Naruto once again. Oh, how I'd hate to be in his position. Naruto, being the soft-hearted boy he was, ran over and picked up the rabbit in distress.
"Everyone, get down!" Kakashi-sensei yelled, just as a large, well, something that looked like an oversized steak knife, began flying towards us. It wedged its self in a tree, and lithely, a man leapt down onto the handle of it. "Oh," Kakashi-sensei said 'happily'. "You are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Village of Mist." He stated. Naruto ran forward, only to be stopped by Kakashi's hand. "You're in the way, stay back everyone." Kakashi directed. Naruto, as expected, threw a tantrum.
"Why?" He wailed.
"He's way different from the guys we met before," Kakashi-sensei explained, before slowly lifting the Forehead Protector off of his right eye. Everyone gaped. I heard Zabuza speak, but ignored it.
"Everyone, protect Tazuna." Sensei ordered, and instinctively, the four of us genin surrounded Tazuna to the best of our ability. At that moment, I noticed, as he opened his eye, that it was, in fact, red. At first, I was confused, until I remembered the bloodline limits. Sharingan? I thought incredulously. But, aren't the only sharingan users the Uchiha's, like Sasuke? I would never understand that, at least, not for a while. They began explaining to Naruto what Sharingan was, but I didn't pay attention.
In a motion I couldn't catch, Zabuza and his sword-like weapon disappeared from my view. Looking over, I ignored the other's exclamations of surprise. Zabuza was perched, standing on the water next to us. But I couldn't see him for long, as mist formed around us, blocking him from view. "Mist Concealment," I heard, before I couldn't see anything, not even if I were to wave my hand in front of my face. It was like I was blind, only instead of seeing darkness, I saw silver-white. Instead of focusing my sight, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my hearing.
"Eight points," A taunting voice called from the fog. "The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collar bone, kidney and heart," The voice echoed. "Now, which vital organ do you want to get struck out?" I shuddered. None of the above, I thought defiantly.
Suddenly, the mist cleared, if only for a second, and I saw chakra swirling around Kakashi-sensei. At that moment, I shuddered… the thirst for blood; the intent to kill was terrifying. It felt like I was the one about to fight a life or death battle with one of the jounin. Doing my best to calm my tensed nerves, I noticed that I wasn't the only one quivering. Sasuke was struggling, as well, I could tell, especially as he reached out, clasping his kunai in both hands.
"Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei scolded. "I'll protect all of you with my life. I won't let anyone on my team die—I promise." He vowed. The three of us stared, as we saw him through the lessening mist, throw us a smile. The intent to slaughter was still there, but it wasn't as, well, fierce as before. It was easier to breathe; to think.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Another voice, definitely not someone on Team 7, or Tazuna, teased from behind us. I forced down a gasp as I finally heard Zabuza in the middle of the 5 of us. "This is the end," He growled out, and I forced my tense body to move, although my legs seemed to be frozen to the spot. I was about to shove Tazuna out of the way, even if it did mean my life being ended, when suddenly, Tazuna, me and everyone else was pushed to the ground. Glancing up, my mouth agape, I realized that Kakashi-sensei was fighting Zabuza. No, wait. That wasn't right. He wasn't fighting him; he had just stabbed him in the stomach with a kunai… except, that wasn't blood that was pouring out of him… it was… water? He was using a water clone, then? It was possible, and I wouldn't doubt it.
"Sensei, behind you," Naruto suddenly cried, pointing. Kakashi-sensei froze, much to my surprise, and I gasped as Zabuza swung his over-sized sword right at Kakashi. I gasped as it hit the target and…water went everywhere. Well, at least he was safe, and not dead.
"Don't move," Kakashi threatened, suddenly holding a kunai to the man's throat. "This is the end," He echoed. Naruto and Sakura cried out in astonishment, while Sasuke and I kept quiet. I didn't think it would be over this quick.
"However," A voice suddenly said. "I'm not that easy to defeat." I watched in astonishment as Kakashi was kicked into the water, followed soon after by a determined Zabuza. What really surprised me? When Kakashi came out from underwater, Zabuza had him instantly trapped in some sort of water prison.
I gaped as a water clone of Zabuza appeared in front of us. I tuned out on what everyone was saying, trying to think up a plan. So, Kakashi-sensei was trapped, and that leaves me, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura to protect Tazuna.
Suddenly, it was impossible to see again. I felt a sudden gust of air beside me, and I snapped my head to the side in time to see Naruto go flying and a foot appear in my view. There he is… along with Naruto's Forehead Protector. There goes Naruto. All that's left, for now, unless Naruto can recover, is Sasuke, me and Sakura. I don't think Sakura will be much help if she refuses to leave Tazuna's side.
Kakashi-sensei was yelling at us to run, and I actually expected Tazuna too. But was it not Kakashi-sensei who said those who abandon their friends are worse than scum? All in all, Sasuke had just described what I was thinking. He was suddenly sprinting towards Zabuza, throwing shuriken. As I had thought, he blocked them with ease, and allowed Sasuke to get above him. Just as I thought Sasuke would land a blow, Zabuza caught Sasuke by the throat, choking him. "Sasuke," I yelled, immediately rushing forward to help my comrade. Cana, her exhaustion and pain seemingly completely gone, ran by my side, growling.
Forming the hand signs, I summoned one of the larger wolfs, he definitely wasn't Ayame, but he wasn't as small as Convel, Cana and Kurt, who are the size of normal wolves. He was called Dib, although I could almost guarantee that Dib wasn't his real name. That was just a nickname for him. Dib was about the size of a horse, and, although, thin, he was stronger than he looked. But before the three of us could reach the two, Zabuza had thrown Sasuke through the air.
Zabuza was now standing over Naruto, who was quivering in fear, on the verge of running… well, until he remembered his vow of pain that is. Naruto, before I could even comprehend it, was sprinting right at Zabuza. He was thrown back, no surprise there, but when he sat up, I realized he had retrieved his headband. At that moment, I vowed, to myself, that I would never give up, like Naruto. I would follow his lead. I wanted to be just like him, from that moment on... other than the different dreams. Much to my surprise, he stood up. He wiped away the blood under his lip, turning to Sasuke to explain his plan. I was eager to see what they had planned, as I stood, not far from Zabuza, beside Dib, who had Cana on his back. I was amazed that they didn't listen to Kakashi-sensei when he yelled at them again, but then again, it is Naruto we're talking about, right? He listens to no one.
"Old man?" Naruto checked. Tazuna objected, meaning we didn't leave. Zabuza started claiming that we weren't ninja, and talking about a 'Final Test'. Of course, I didn't listen. I had a habit I needed to break, I realized. I needed to start listening. What would happen when I missed something important?
This was important. I gasped as; once again, Sasuke was flying through the air. No sooner that he had landed was Zabuza slamming his elbow into Sasuke's stomach, causing Sasuke to cough up a decent amount of blood.
"Die." Zabuza growled, and instantly, using the Body Flicker Technique, the wolves and I were standing beside Zabuza. I formed another hand sign, and about 10 shadow clones appeared, surrounding us.
"Back off!" I spat, causing Dib to snarl, showing pearly white fangs. I grabbed a kunai, and aimed at his throat, but only managed to make a gash in his arm, because of his speed, but he didn't even cry out in pain. Naruto was now here too, along with his 50 or so shadow clones. Zabuza stepped off of Sasuke, and Sasuke struggled to his feet. Naruto's were seemingly falling from the sky, straight at the masked man, aiming kunai.
Naruto's landed directly on Zabuza, forming a barrier almost, around him. I stared in wonder. How'd he come up with that? I crouched beside Sasuke, staring at Naruto as he and his clones went flying into the air. Naruto threw something, a fuuma shuriken, I believe, and Sasuke caught it.
Somehow, I managed to zone out, and zone out I did, well, that is, until blackness overtook me, and I passed out. My eyes shut, even as I struggled to hold them open, interested in what was going on, and the last thing I heard was two howls, several whimpers, along with a few gentle nudges, before I fell backwards, my vision blurring, until it was gone.
The next morning, I woke up in an unfamiliar room, the sound of seagulls giving me a headache. "Ehh," I groan. I open my eyes, to see the blurry form of Cana leaning over me. I struggle to sit up, and once I manage, I groan once again, grabbing my head. I was quite dizzy, and the headache I had wasn't helping that fact at all. "Hey, Cana?" I mumble out, still clutching onto my head. "Where are we?"
"We're at Tazuna-sama's house." The young pup barked.
"Well, okay then, if you're sure. What happened? Last thing I remember, we were fighting Zabuza. What happened to him?"
Just then, a beat-up looking Naruto and Sasuke entered the room I was in. I was still sitting up, clutching my head, and I looked up at them.
"Akki," Naruto yelled, causing me to give him a death glare.
"Shut up, would you? You're being too loud." I groaned out, flopping down on my new bed. Naruto looked at me apologetically.
"Oops—sorry Akki," Naruto found it in him to whisper. "I forgot. Tazuna's daughter said that you apparently got poisoned somehow. Do you remember when it happened?" I shook my head no. It hurt to think. "Oh well, then. You passed out, and your wolf took you away from the scene. When the hunter-nin got there and Kakashi-sensei passed out-," I cut him off.
"Kakashi-sensei passed out?" I yelled, only to groan in pain and clutch my head, mumbling "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"Yeah, we already visited him too! His sharingan he used after you passed out puts a lot of strain on his body. Sakura is still with him." I nodded my head in understanding. I knew he wasn't from the Uchiha clan, so it was obvious that he had it transplanted or something of that sort.
"Sasuke," I asked, noticing he looked a bit troubled. "Is something wrong? What happened with Zabuza? He's dead, right?"
"No," He admitted with an emotionless mask on his face. Deciding to drop the subject, I nodded a crestfallen look on my face.
"I see. Well, we'll defeat him soon enough." I said determinedly, staggering to my feet. The dizziness had gone away, and I felt perfectly fine. I guess they had treated the poison in time.
"Kakashi-sensei said once you've recovered enough, that we're going to train," Naruto stated.
"Train," I snapped. "But Kakashi-sensei is hurt! How can he train us?" I asked, concerned. Sure, I wanted to get stronger, but not if I had to hurt my sensei—my friend—in order to.
"We don't know," Naruto said innocently. It was weird to think of him as innocent; "He didn't tell us how, he just told us that we were going to." I nodded.
"Well, I think I'm better now. I just need to eat something then I'll be ready." I announced, and shooed them from the room. I didn't know why I got a room to myself, but why complain? It was better than sharing it with four other people, right?
Excited to be, once again, training, I hurried to change clothes, check Cana's leg, which, from what I could tell, was completely healed by now, since, for one, it wasn't too badly broken, and she's still growing, along with my care. Once I finish my training today, I thought as I finished up my breakfast. I'll help Cana with that one fire jutsu she's been having trouble with. I decided, before standing up, taking whatever uneaten food that was left, and throwing out the scraps.
After I finished getting ready, I put Cana in the front of my jacket, and walked out of the room, to see everyone waiting.
"Oh," I blinked. "You didn't have to wait for me, you know." I said, slightly embarrassed. Had I really kept everyone waiting, while I took my precious time getting ready? "Sorry. Let's go." I covered, cloaking my voice in excitement. We hadn't trained too much in a while, just went on a ton of missions.
The five of us went to a field surrounded by trees, and I gazed around expectantly. What were we supposed to do here? Just then, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura launched into details about chakra. Once again, my habit appeared, and I tuned out. But that was expected, right?
"So what are we going to do?" I heard as I drifted out of my trance-like state.
"Climb a tree," Kakashi-sensei answered pointedly after a few moments of silence.
"Climb a tree?" The four of us questioned. I didn't know what we were training for, but how could climbing a tree help us? I've climbed hundreds of trees in my life time.
"That's right. But it's not ordinary tree climbing." Not ordinary? "You're going to climb without using your hands."
"Eh? How do we do that?" Sasuke deadpanned. I smiled, already figuring it out in my mind. So, we were going to work on chakra control, right? We probably had to walk up the tree, using chakra.
"Just watch." Kakashi explained, making a hand sign before walking over to one of the trees, and climbing it, with only his legs, vertically. That's what I had thought. I tuned out everyone, including Kakashi-sensei and concentrated on my chakra, and making it form at my feet.
My eyes widened as a kunai landed at my feet and I looked up at Kakashi. "Use that to mark where you are able to get with your current ability." He said, and then casually walked off of the tree.
The four of us concentrated the chakra to our feet, and then each of us ran towards a tree. I choked back a laugh as, as soon as Naruto put both feet on the tree, he fell backwards. Instead, I looked back at him in amusement, and continued running up the tree. Both Sakura and Sasuke were a bit farther up than me, but no matter, I didn't mind. I watched as Sasuke started to fall, and then dug his feet into the tree, making a mark on the tree with his kunai, before flipping off backwards. As I watched, I lost sight of Sakura. Did she already fall?
"This is easier than I thought." I heard above me and to the right. I gaped as I saw her standing on a branch at the top of a tree. This of course, because of the surprise, caused me to lose my concentration. With a gasp, I quickly marked the spot on the tree, and fell backwards, Cana yelping in surprise. I landed nimbly on my feet, and took Cana from my jacket, setting her on the ground. "Sorry girl," I murmured, ignoring the others. "I forgot you were there. I'm not used to carrying around a wolf in my jacket. Stay there, be quiet, and rest. I don't want to risk hurting you if I fall and land the wrong way." I explained seeing the crestfallen look on her face. She simply nodded her head.
With a sigh, once again, I closed my eyes, concentrating my chakra to my feet. I ignored what the others were doing, and ran at the tree once again, clutching the kunai. I got farther up than before, but not as high up as Sakura did, before cutting the bark, and falling to the ground. I witnessed Sasuke and Naruto exchange competitive glares, before running at their trees once more.
It was around 12:00 am when I finally got to the highest tree branch, and Naruto and Sasuke were still struggling. Really, how much chakra did they have? Or was it just pure determination driving them on? I collapsed on the tree branch, closing my eyes and resting, trying to calm my fast beating heart. Wait, I made a promise to someone, didn't I? Yes, yes I did. I promised to help Cana with her technique once I was done training. But I wasn't done training, I realized. Sakura got done a long time ago, but she had just now gone back. With a groan, I rolled off of the tree branch, falling towards the ground, before turning so that when I landed, I would land on my feet.
I kept training until I literally collapsed. I had made it to higher branches each time, and I was fairly certain I had my chakra under control. No, I was certain. I ran out of my own chakra about two tries ago, and I had used Okuri's chakra. Not enough to give me extra power, only enough to give me some of her seemingly unquenchable stamina. With the amount of chakra lent to me, I had some more stamina, along with my senses becoming enhanced. I probably would have had more of my own chakra, had I actually rested in between attempts. "I think," I panted. "I've earned a break," I yawned, emphasizing my lack of enthusiasm.
I blanked when no one said anything, and I began stumbling back to the house.
- Just because you all probably know what happens in that last fight between Kakashi and Zabuza [if you do not, I advise you to stop reading now. May contain spoilers later on in the story], so I'm going to skip it. I will begin while they are in the Forest of Death. Thank you. –
I swallowed fiercely as I gazed upon the person before us. He wasn't normal, that much even I could tell. He just gave me the impression of death; evil; like no one else ever had. Not even Katsuo. It wasn't just me either, I thought, sending a glare at the caged wolf demon. Okuri was now fighting fiercely against the bars trapping her spirit inside me, snapping and clawing at the unbreakable seal. She was struggling to take over, struggling with the need to defeat the man, rid the world of threats to herself and her 'pack'. Sasuke and Sakura seemed dazed; I had no clue where Naruto had been thrown when the man arrived, but I hoped he was in a better situation than us. He was getting swallowed by a snake, as I later found out, though.
I was busy trying to hold back Okuri's raging spirit, and didn't hear any of what Sasuke and Sakura were arguing with the strangely snake like man. However, I did get to see my death flash before my eyes. Screams of agony filled my ears as I cried out, along with Sakura and Sasuke's yells and whimpers of pain; it hurt me to know that I was powerless to help them, although I knew, deep in my mind, that it was not real. Kunai were flying this way and that and blood was splattered on the grass, on trees and bushes, even on Sakura and Sasuke's motionless bodies. Even on my motionless body, although my eyes were glinting with a dull tint of scarlet as Okuri struggled to keep us both alive.
And suddenly, I was back. So were Sasuke and Sakura it seemed, although they too were shaken up badly. Sakura still had her eyes clenched shut tightly, hands in fists, shaking and kneeling over in fear. Sasuke, it seemed, was in better condition. He had managed to get to his feet and, although he was shaking slightly and his face was fearful, he managed to clutch a kunai in his hands, facing the man, who I later found out, was Orochimaru.
For once, Okuri was silent; obviously she was shaken as well. I wanted to help soothe her, but seeing as I was no better, if not worse, I didn't attempt it. Knowing me, I would probably just manage to upset her more. I staggered to my feet, snatching my own kunai from my weapon pouch and aiming it the best I could with my blurry eyesight.
One second, I was standing on shaky legs, a kunai flying at my forehead as I tried to force myself to dodge, the next, I was flying through the air before being dropped gently onto my legs, which promptly gave out, and I landed on my knees in a sitting position, much like Sakura was.
At first glance around, I noticed that Sakura had finally calmed down enough to stop her shaking but Sasuke was now being paranoid. He kept staring around, tense, and that bothered me. Never before had I seen Sasuke this scared. But he had a right to be scared, I noticed, as a huge snake, a lot bigger than the three of us put together appeared, silently, lethally. Sasuke wouldn't even have noticed if Sakura had not panicked and shook him from his panic-driven trance.
It didn't take long, Orochimaru had appeared out of the giant snake's mouth, and I was sure we were all going to get killed, until Naruto appeared. Of course, now Sasuke felt they would all die if he didn't hand over the scroll. Our scroll; the scroll we needed to become chuunin. I, of course, pleaded against it. But there was nothing I could do, unless I wanted to risk hurting Sasuke. At the sight of Orochimaru, Okuri had immediately begun to plead for me to let her take control so she could eliminate him. If I moved towards Sasuke, towards Orochimaru, I was sure I would lose it. Or, something like that, at least. I watched, body and mind tense as I tried to keep myself calm, under control. I couldn't think if I was out of control, going on a rampage. That would only make things worse.
'No,' I told a furious demon spirit firmly. 'It would only make everything worse. I won't allow you to hurt Sasuke, Naruto or even Sakura.' I refused Okuri's demand, much to the demon's displeasure. I came back from the depths of my mind to see Sasuke throwing the snake-like-man, Orochimaru, our scroll. I tensed, ready to leap forward to snatch the scroll away from the man, but Naruto was much quicker. Before I could even move, he had already grabbed the scroll right before Orochimaru grabbed it and landed safely a few feet away from Sasuke.
Sasuke, it was plain to see, was furious. He didn't want to die. But so was Naruto. He must have seen this like a mission, I did at least. On a mission, you're supposed to risk your life to finish it, not willingly give away what you're protecting. Naruto knew that, and I was glad. Naruto, his eyes shadowed, turned and flung his fist right into Sasuke's face, making him cough blood up and nearly fall off of the tree branch the three of them were on [Orochimaru included]. Luckily, he twisted around and caught himself gracefully on a second branch.
I watched as the two yelled, Naruto breathing heavily. I watched, struck with horror, as Naruto ran towards the raven-haired, snake-like person, kunai out, anger flashing in his gaze. "Don't mess with me!" He howled. But his confidence didn't last too long as he was thrown back with a gust of… air; chakra; what?
It explained itself soon, though, as a snake appeared, the pale man standing on its scaly head. I gasped as Sakura screamed, "Naruto!" just as the snake lunged towards the blond-haired jinchuuriki. Naruto dodged the attack and splinters of wood flew everywhere as the snake's head rammed into a tree, causing it to break into millions of pieces. I was thankful, I really was, that Naruto hadn't been hurt that time. But surely he could tell how powerful that thing was? Why did he keep going back? I watched in sheer surprise as several more trees were destroyed until Naruto took it upon himself to destroy the snake. He threw several punches at the snake and even I was surprised that by the sheer force of the hits. Finally the snake got mad. But so was Naruto; he looked like an animal himself, a fox maybe, as he leaped into the air, teeth clenched. It only took me moments for me to register that his eyes were scarlet.
It's Kyuubi. I heard Okuri's voice echo softly in my mind.
'So, what? What's wrong with that? Can you tell if we are in any danger being here while Naruto doesn't have full control over him?' I asked her cautiously. She was a demon too; she should be able to tell, if only just a little bit.
'No, we're in no danger right now. Kyuubi just wants to get rid of his enemy. He's just helping your friend.' Okuri explained easily, obviously relaxing a was obviously glad she wasn't relying on a human now.
But after a while, Orochimaru seemed to tire of his antics. She made a jutsu, a fire jutsu and he was sent back, flying through tree branches before finally landing with a loud crack. I was sure he had broken something, or at least had a serious injury. I wanted to help him, but now since Kyuubi had been taken down, Okuri was in panic once again. I couldn't move towards Naruto without moving towards Orochimaru, and I couldn't risk hurting anybody any more than they already were hurt.
"You're next, Sasuke-kun." He hissed and immediately, the snake began flying towards him, Orochimaru still standing on his head. I gasped. Even Sasuke couldn't dodge that speed. "How will you fight?" Orochimaru seemed to enjoy the fear.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura cried.
"Sasuke, move out of the way, he's going to kill you!" I yelled. Of course, it was too late now. Sasuke, don't die! I thought. If only I'd known. Before the snake could reach Sasuke, Naruto had stopped the snake; kunai plunged deep into the snake, holding it back. When he looked up, I saw that this was the Kyuubi's doing. His eyes were scarlet again and some of his teeth had turned to fangs. I was amazed, but then fear over-powered me once again as Orochimaru's tongue caught Naruto and hauled him into the air. What was with all of these emotion changes? As much as he struggled, he couldn't escape, even as Orochimaru drew him closer.
"I'm surprised that the Nine-Tails kid is still alive." Orochimaru said, although he didn't look surprised, at all. He said something else, but it was too low for me to hear, or maybe, I just may not have been listening close enough. He formed a jutsu and what looked like purple flames appeared on each of his fingers. He lifted the bottom of Naruto's shirt up, and said, "See? Your seal surfaced." He paused, drawing his left hand back, before saying the jutsu, "Five Element Seal!" Okay, so I was wrong, in a way. It was a seal, not a jutsu, not that it mattered. Orochimaru's hand flew forward, catching Naruto on the stomach, right on the seal. Naruto howled in pain, writhing in Orochimaru's grasp. But that wasn't for long; everything went silent to my ears as Naruto went limp.
'Okuri..?' I asked, letting myself disappear into the depths of my mind, to the familiar place where the seal locked Okuri. A huge, shadowy white wolf with blood-red eyes was locked behind the bars.
Akki. A soft voice answered and the white wolf approached the bars. I already knew where the voice had come from; Okuri. The voice was so sweet, caring, nothing of how a demon should sound.
'What did Orochimaru do to Naruto? Will he be alright? Will Kyuubi be alright?' I asked the white wolf. Okuri was just like me, misunderstood. We were friends, somehow or another. We used to despise each other, but we had been brought together and we realized that we were the same. We bonded, and somehow, even if Okuri did annoy me sometimes, I loved her as a best-friend, as family.
He'll be fine. They both will. It was a seal; he probably just passed out from the pain or something. The seal Orochimaru put on him was just to make sure that Kyuubi wasn't going to escape. Orochimaru was afraid. The white wolf came up and sat beside the bars, peering out at me. I felt sorry for her, but I knew that if I took off the seal, I would die. Our chakra had already mixed, it was too late now. And it would be useless anyways; Okuri would just be captured again and sealed in some person's body that cared only for themselves.
'Thank you, Okuri.'
The white she-wolf nodded, and warned, you've been here with me for a day or so. So don't be alarmed when you wake up and find that you're not where you were.
I nodded to her form as she gradually faded. That had happened a few times, now I was used to it. I opened my eyes to see Sakura leaning over the three of us, Naruto, Sasuke and I. She looked half-asleep. I felt bad for her.
"Akki," She exclaimed, her eyes snapping open as I sat up slowly. "You're okay! I wasn't sure what happened to you. One second you were fine, the next you were collapsed on the ground, passed out. Are you in pain?"
"Mmm," I mumbled. Of course I wasn't in pain. "No, I'm fine. You know about Okuri, right? That she's sealed in me? I was talking to her. I wasn't aware that I had been with her for so long." I told the truth. At the shocked look on her face, I quickly added, "I'm fine. It was my choice to talk to her. She's my friend, practically family. She didn't hurt me." I sputtered.
She nodded, still surprised, but she seemed relieved that I was okay. "Hey, Sakura, how long was I out?" I asked.
"A day; Naruto and Sasuke still haven't woken up though." She was stressed again. Wonderful.
"Oh. You get some sleep. I'll keep watch for now." At the calculating look on her face, I went on, "It's fine. I'm fine. Get some sleep or you won't be any help at all. I promise I'll wake you if Naruto or Sasuke wake up." I tell her. She really did look tired.
"Mmm, yeah. Thanks, Akki," She yawned, letting herself slump down, closing her eyes again.
I sighed in boredom, glancing at the boys before letting her eyes drift out of the entrance to the make-shift den. I quickly formed a small jutsu, biting my own thumb until blood spilled from it to do so. Three wolves seemed to poof out of nowhere and from behind them, you could just make out the black fur of the fourth. The wolves looked up at her expectantly after looking around the Forest of Death.
After explaining everything to them, she sat back leaning against a tree, eyes peering towards the entrance. But she got bored of that soon and she looked over at the alert wolves. The four of them were lounging around, staring out of the den, completely relaxed. Well all of them except for Koda, the Captain of the group [Group 1]. There were 5 groups of summoning wolves, Groups 1 through 5. Each group had a captain, a general and at least 1 other wolf, usually more. They were sometimes called Pack 1 through 5 as well.
Koda was the biggest of them as well, with different shades of black and grey fur and silvery-grey eyes. He was strong-willed and never let his mind drift from the job at hand. He was brave and trustworthy; hot-headed and loyal; defiant and protective; and he knew when to keep quiet—that's how he became to be the Captain or Alpha of Pack One. He was pacing restlessly, eyes flickering and body tense, ready for battle.
Kurt was Koda's twin brother, although all of them were related. Kurt was the General, or Beta of Pack One. He was glossy white with a necklace of black fur circling his neck. His paws were coal black, along with the tip of his long tail. He always wears a bright, blood red forehead protector sporting the Konoha leaf to keep the fur out of his bright blue eyes. And while Koda was larger and bulkier, Kurt was thin with a lithe body and long legs, making him the fastest of the pack. Kurt was a lot different from Koda, both personality and appearance-wise. While his brother was always tense and battle-ready, Kurt preferred to be laid-back and calm. He was trustworthy and protective, like his brother; he was loud, hot-headed, free-spirited, strong-willed and often acted like a pup. But when it came to important situations, he always knew what to do. That's how he became the general or beta, in wolf terms, and that's also how he became worthy to be Cana's mentor. Kurt was lounging right inside the entrance, peering out into the darkening day with lazy eyes.
Next was Convel, the wolf no one could hesitate to rely on, even if he was quiet, dark and mysterious. No one could help but trust him. Convel preferred to stay hidden in the shadows, ready to strike at any given moment instead of barging in and making a big scene. If you hurt one of his pack-mates, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you. When he became your friend, you could always rely on him and he would protect you with his life. Convel was thin but had rolling muscles under his dark black mane of fur. Convel's fur was littered with specks of white and he had intense golden eyes that no one could object to. Convel was sitting closer to me, although his back was turned to me and he had a clear view of the entrance.
Lastly, there was Cana, the youngest of Pack One. Her inky black fur shone brightly even in the evening light and she was lounging across her mentor, Kurt, her black fur standing out against Kurt's snowy pelt. Her blue eyes were bright, staring out the entrance, but half-lidded. Cana had to be my favorite, maybe because she was the smallest or even because she was the only girl, but that didn't matter. She was only about a third of the size of Kurt and the others, but she definitely had the personality and attitude to make up for that. The rest of the pack protected her fiercely, deciding that she couldn't take care of herself, no matter how many times I or anyone else told them she had to learn sometime. And Cana wasn't too fond of constantly having her pack mates hovering around her. She was just like her mentor; strong-willed, hot-headed, free-spirited, loyal and she always tried to look on the bright side of things.
Cana looked back at me to see my staring at her and she crawled over to me, laying her small body across my lap after licking my face in a very puppy-like way. We all stayed like that for a while, me stroking Cana's fur absentmindedly as I watched Naruto and Sasuke for Sakura when suddenly Kurt scrambled to his paws, snarling, the other wolfs quickly following his lead, including Cana, who had leaped out of my lap and landed on Kurt, her front paws on his head.
"Wha-?" I gasped, scrambling to my own feet quickly grabbing a kunai and standing protectively in front of Sasuke and the others.
