Chapter 3

Thank you so much to LittleBlueRobyn and Lucy for reviewing! Your reviews are much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira (and others) and the parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto.

Akira tossed and turned in her bed. The covers and blankets were suffocating the girl but if she removed them, she would feel cold. Akira didn't need to look at the clock beside her bed to know that it was around 1 am.

"Why the hell can't I get to sleep?" There was an unsettling silence as the girl felt the fleeting sign of chakra. It was cold and unwelcoming but it felt so… familiar.

Akira sat up and rubbed her eyes. Reaching for the knife that was under her pillow, she sleepily fell into defensive stance.

"Akira…"

The girl whipped around, turning to look behind her. By this time, Akira was wide awake and no longer blinking the nightmares from her eyes.

"Come back…"

Akira jumped up and started moving around the room, thoroughly freaked out.

"Show yourself! Are you so cowardly as to try to scare a girl like this? Why are you haunting me?" Akira said, her voice unwavering but her mind in slight turmoil.

"Why did you forget?"

Once again the smooth voice whispered, this time it felt much closer to her.

Akira felt a spike of chakra and turned toward her window, which was open. That was odd, she thought. Akira never opened her window at night.

"Do you really think they trust you?"

Akira slammed her kunai behind her as she heard the voice right next to her ear.

"Akira… Akira! AKIRA! AKIRA! Akira, AKIRA, AKIRA!"

Voices screamed her name. They were all hauntingly familiar and Akira screamed too.

She let out a huge shriek but to her dismay, no one heard her.

"Where is everybody? Sasuke? Naruto? Kakashi? Itachi?"

Akira sat up abruptly in her bed, trying to calm her thoughts and slow her heartbeat.

"What was that? It was a dream? I can't believe it."

The Akatsuki! Akira was dreaming of the Akatsuki! Those voices she had heard weren't from ghosts, they were of everyone's; Konan's, Pein's, Hidan's, Kakuzu's, Sasori's, Deidara's, Kisame's, Tobi's, andItachi's…

"No! Why now? I've been fine up until now but why me? So many dreams so many!" Akira flopped back onto her pillow and turned to her side, silent tears dripped down her face, leaving a silver trail.

Akira cried quietly to herself, slowly falling back to sleep, haunted still by the voices of her friends and sensei.

The next morning Akira could barely wake up. Everywhere she turned, the girl could hear whispers from her dream. Akira could see the disappointment in everybody's face.

When she looked into the mirror, Akira wasn't the least bit surprised to see her hair sticking up in all directions and gigantic bags under her eyes.

She heard a sound at her window but the girl didn't bother to turn her head.

"Ugh, so tired…" Akira moaned sleepily. "Can't they meet their team and sensei tomorrow?"

She heard a chuckle from the window and was curious enough to find the energy to turn her head.

"What do you want, little Uchiha?" Akira asked tiredly. She wasn't in the mood for his stupid antics.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to get some ramen for breakfast... but it seems like you're a bit too much on the tired side." He said with a grin, managing to raise his voice a few decibels, just enough to give the girl a pounding head ache.

"Ugh go away; I am too tired for this." Akira threw whatever was in front of her mirror at him, which just happened to be her headband. It landed a few feet away from her target and she groaned, annoyed and tired.

"Well if you're not going to get dressed I'll have to do it myself." There was a warning tone in his voice but Akira was too drowsy to comprehend what the meaning of his sentence was.

"Okay, if you can get a clean shirt from over there." Akira lifted an aching finger over to point at, where Akira assumed was, her closet.

"Uh-h-h," Sasuke stuttered a bit, obviously not expecting this response, "Okay…"

If Akira had turned around she would have seen the red tint on his face clearly. But Akira could see just enough with the mirror in front of her.

"Hey Sasuke…" Akira drawled drowsily.

"Y-y-yes?"

Akira blinked, she had made him stutter, when she was half asleep.

"Are you blushing? Turn around!" Akira slurred at him, before slamming her head on the dresser in front of the mirror.

Sasuke walked to the girl, shirt in hand, and poked the girl in the shoulder. He shoved and pushed and pulled but Akira didn't wake up.

"Five more minutes, damned Uchiha…" Akira groaned, unsure of whether she was talking to Sasuke or him.

Akira felt a sigh and movement around her shoulders and head before something slipped over her.

"I've put on your shirt. Now can you please wake up and put on your shorts, Akira." He whispered in her ear. It was pretty obvious he was annoyed at the girl but amused at the same time.

"Mmmm… whatever… Go away Sasuke; wait outside the window or something…" Akira groaned as she stood up and started fixing her hair, not even noticing Sasuke raising his eyebrows.

Sasuke stood up to leave and she went to find a suitable pair of shorts for the day.

When the girl finally finished getting ready, they were already ten minutes late. Akira wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke ditched her.

Akira wasn't expecting him there so when she zombied to the window and was about to jump out, she screamed bloody murder as he grabbed her hand.

"Come on, let's go. We're late enough Akira." He grabbed her hand tighter and they took off running. Actually, he was the only one running; Akira was sort of dangling in the air behind him.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura screamed into their faces when they arrived at the classroom. Some teams had left already and so there were only a few kids left.

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed before turning his head away from the girl. He still hadn't let go of Akira's hand yet and Sakura zeroed in on that fact.

"A…Kir….A!"

Akira sleepily turned to look at her, unaware of the deathly aura surrounding her.

"Let go of Sasuke-kun's hand, baka. You're not allowed to hold his hand!"

Akira didn't hear her words as she had already dozed off, slightly drooping her head on Sasuke's shoulder. He reminds me of Itachi so much…

"Oi, teme, get off me." Sasuke tugged his hand away and attempted to push the girl off. Akira snuggled in closer to him, not even realising it.

By this time, all the other students had been collected by their appropriate sensei. The only ones left were them.

"Get your hands off Sasuke-kun, baka-kira!" Sakura started pulling the girl from Sasuke. Akira assumed there was a wild glare on her face.

"Eh… Sensei's late…" Naruto frowned. "I know!" He was completely oblivious to what was happening and had instead started setting up a chalk on top of the classroom door.

Akira jumped and opened her eyes immediately, pushing both Sakura and Sasuke to the ground. The girl had heard it again, the voices that were whispering her name. Akira pulled into a defensive stance and checked the classroom.

"Naruto, the sensei will never fall for that stupid trick!" Apparently Sakura had already gotten over the fact that Akira had pushed her to the ground and was now focusing on reprimanding Naruto for his antics.

"Hn." Sasuke stated, merely watching with bored eyes. Naruto started complaining but Akira soon fell back asleep. There was no-one suspicious in the classroom.

The door started to open and Akira lifted one tired eye lid. What she saw made the girl jolt awake in both shock and amusement.

"Kakashi? You're teaching us?" She sunk to the nearest table and started fake sobbing.

"My first impression of you guys is… You're all a bunch of idiots."

Akira sat straighter and opened both eyes to glare at the silver head.

"How dare you! I am not an idiot and besides, this isn't the first time you've met me." Akira smiled smugly at him.

"You don't count Akira, you're just plain weird, and suspicious."

Akira felt a movement and found herself being lifted up and carried somewhere. "Where are we going, Uchiha?" Akira poked him in the chest lazily. He only scoffed and picked up his pace.

"Mmmm, whatever don't answer me, then." Akira fell asleep once more, but not before hearing Tobi's loud obnoxious voice yell her name out.

Akira opened her eyes slightly when sunlight filtered into her eyes. They were on the roof?

"Put me down, Uchiha." Akira mumbled sleepily. As soon as her butt touched ground, she curled up and fell back asleep.

She heard someone groan but payed no attention to it. The girl was too busy hearing voices scream her name. She curled tighter and frowned.

"Hey, are you all right?" Naruto asked the girl, his voice surprisingly soothing. Akira opened her eyes and smiled tightly at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." She smiled at him again before adding, "Believe it…" The girl could hear his chuckle.

Kakashi frowned at the girl before motioning for her to sit up. Akira did so.

"So, we're gonna begin by introducing ourselves." He motioned to Naruto. The blonde just sat there, staring stupidly at him.

Kakashi face-palmed.

"A bunch of idiots…" he muttered. Sakura looked at him carefully before speaking up.

"Why don't you go first, sensei, we don't know much about you."

You don't know anything about him, moron, Akira thought. What a stupid statement.

"Hmm, well, my name's Hatake Kakashi, I have many dislikes and likes. I don't have any hobbies. My goal in life is… nothing you should worry about." He answered with his signature smile.

Oh how Akira had come to hate that closed eye smile. It was so fake. Not like she could complain, fake.

Everybody sweat-dropped; all they learnt was his name.

Sakura stated everybody's thoughts but Kakashi merely shrugged before stating that it was Naruto's turn.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, and Akira."

Akira smiled tiredly at him, still not rid of the Akatsuki's accusing voices from her head.

"I dislike Sasuke, my hobby is… EATING RAMEN! And my goal is to become Hokage so people will respect me, BELIEVE IT!" When Naruto stated his reason, Kakashi glanced at Naruto with an odd look on his face.

Next up was Sakura. She glared at Naruto and Akira and stared at Sasuke a bit before starting.

"Well, my name is Haruno Sakura."

Akira mumbled something in her sleep, accidently cutting her off.

"My likes are…" Sakura turned to stare at Sasuke. Akira sniggered, even in her sleepy state Akira could hear what she was saying, and the meaning behind her words.

"My hobbies are…" the pinkette stared at Sasuke some more. Akira thought it was time she spoke up.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, my likes are Sasuke, my hobbies are stalking Sasuke, my goal is to rape Sasuke and my dislikes are Naruto and Akira." Akira stated for her, annoyed with the girl's rambling. The stupid voices were tipping the girl over the edge and Akira was kind of grumpy.

"My name is Miyuki Akira, I like things that I like and dislike things I dislike. My hobbies are not normal and my goal in life is unimportant to you guys. And girl."

Everybody sweat-dropped at the girl but Akira shrugged and closed her eyes, trying to get rid of the images in her head.

Be nice, Akira, these are your future team-mates. Akira could just picture him saying that.

The girl didn't really catch what Sasuke was saying but her eyes shot open at his last few words.

"And my goal is… to kill a certain someone."

Sakura and Naruto shivered whilst Kakashi looked at Sasuke weirdly. Akira just glared at the young Uchiha, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"Kakashi, I'm leaving." Akira growled at the sensei before disappearing.

She reappeared in her room and picked up a picture frame from under her bed. It was in a small wooden box.

Akira dragged her finger over one of the people in the picture. He was hugging her from behind, his chin on her head. They were both covered in scratches, the girl more than him, but they were both smiling.

"Itachi…" Akira whispered as tears fell silently down her cheek. She felt a breeze and looked to her window. It was open and the wind blew coldly against her tear stained cheeks.

Akira didn't know, but there was someone outside, and he whispered her name quietly before disappearing.

"Akira…"

The girl broke down onto the ground crying and cursed fate. She vowed then and there that she would do whatever it took to become stronger and to get back to Itachi and help him.

"Ita-sensei, this is for you. Always and forever, remember?"

"Ugh... I feel weird... My head's spinning..." Akira sat up in her bed and groaned. It was so not a good morning.

"Why does it feel like I'm forgetting something... Was there something important that Kakashi said yesterday during that meeting thing? I can't remember... I was half asleep." Akira shrugged her shoulders and stepped out of the warm covers.

Making her way into the bathroom the girl nearly screamed when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Akira had bits and pieces of things stuck in her hair, her shirt was inside out and she had a pair of panties on her head.

"Bleh." She commented in disgust. That was nasty.

After cleaning up and looking... Presentable, the girl sat down in the kitchen and ate some toast.

"Nom." She chewed slowly, reading a random book she had found under her pillow.

"Hm, that's interesting, a girl getting eaten by a wolf but is then regurgitated." Akira paled a bit as the food in her stomach rolled around at the thought of regurgitation.

She finished reading the story before looking up at the clock on the wall. Akira sweat-dropped; it was already fifteen minutes to one and she hadn't even started heading toward... she couldn't remember where everyone was supposed to meet.

Akira scratched her head awkwardly but just figured she'd walk around aimlessly until she found wherever her team was.

When Akira finally found the training area, it was well past one o'clock and Sakura, Naruto and even Sasuke were already there.

"You're late."

Akira had that statement shoved in her face as the pink haired fan girl glared at her, an irk mark appearing on her abnormally large forehead. Akira just looked past her indifferently.

"Listen, I don't actually know why you don't like me that much, but it's not very attractive reprimanding every step I take." Akira paused thoughtfully, "Especially when I don't give a crap..." She trailed off when she noticed Naruto lying on the ground, nearly dead.

"Oi, Naru-kun." Akira nudged him gently with her left foot. "Wake up Naru-kun."

He still didn't budge and the girl was starting to get just the teeniest bit worried. Sasuke looked at the girl weirdly before speaking up.

"He's not going to wake up. He's been like that for a while. Something about no ramen." He sniffed indifferently. Sakura looked at him with shining eyes. Is this the first time she heard him say more than two words? Oh yeah, it is.

"Come to think of it," Sasuke continued, now staring at Akira, "weren't you dead yesterday?"

"Ch, you made Sasuke worry about you. What were you doing? Eating fatty chips in your house and crying over the fact that you can never be as pretty or rich like me? Or the fact that I deserve Sasuke way more than you? I bet even your mom hates you."

Akira frowned at her. First Sakura accused her of eating chips. Akira hadn't touched a potato chip since she was five. Then, Sakura compared her appearance and social statues? Who did this girl think she was? And then, oh Kami, then Sakura, dared to say that her mom, Akira's mom, hated her.

With every thought Akira grew madder.

"Before I yell at you, Sakura, for being an inconsiderate little brat, I will first apologise to Sasuke for worrying him. Sorry."

Akira paused and took a deep breath, turning to fully face Sasuke.

"Hn," he stated, "You're stupid." Akira blinked. She had just thanked him and he called her stupid? She shoved her anger at the boy away. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

"Sakura," Akira turned back to face her, "I may not watch my diet as carefully as you, I may not care about my hair as much as you and I might not have parents who love me as much as you," the girl's voice broke, "but mark my words, I am as much of a ninja as you are."

Sasuke clenched his fist at the girl's words.

Sakura was about to say something when Kakashi appeared.

"Oi! Sensei! You're late, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto's stomach ache seemed to have disappeared.

"Ahaha…" Kakashi chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, "I'm sorry, I was walking through this road and a black cat crossed my path so-"

"That's bullshit sensei, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto fumed. Sakura temporarily forgot about the girl and joined in on scolding Kakashi.

Akira turned to look at Sasuke; he was already staring at her. Self-consciously, Akira checked to see if she had anything on her face.

"Baka, stop worrying so much, your face is clean."

Akira froze, how'd he know?

Sasuke just laughed and patted her head before walking to the rest of their team.

"So your objective is to get these three bells off me by noon - by that I mean a bell each - which leaves you exactly 2 hours."

Sakura complained about there not being enough bells for everybody but Kakashi just smiled.

Naruto laughed obnoxiously before charging at Kakashi with a kunai. The jounin just dodged him skilfully before slamming the blonde onto the ground.

"I didn't say start yet, Naruto."

Akira laughed at him; he was acting so oblivious but it was kind of obvious he knew how powerful Naruto could be. Or maybe Kakashi was just tired.

"Start," he said and the three of them dispersed, heading to the safety of the trees. Akira turned to look back at Naruto. He was still in the clearing with the silver-head and he was headed for a minute of pain.

Akira turned back to face the tree she had been leaning on. The girl had to figure out what this test was really about.

"That's it!" She cried before jumping back to the clearing to find Naruto. When she found him, he was muttering about Kakashi's book, something perverted, and rubbing his backside woefully.

"Hey, Naruto, do you want to work with the girl?" He looked at the girl for a second before grinning widely. Akira thought he was going to say yes before he spoke.

"Sorry, Kira-chan, but I want to be the Hokage one day which means that I have to be able to do this myself!"

Akira sighed as he disappeared. She really didn't want to do this but the girl had to go ask Sakura. When Akira found her, she was spying on Sasuke from behind a tree.

"Hey, Sakura," Akira started out carefully. Before she could ask her, though, Sakura cut the girl off.

"Listen, Akira, I don't know what you have with Sasuke, but he's mine, do you hear me?"

Akira cringed at her glare but swallowed the lump in her throat. "Sakura, it would be easier to get the bells if we work together, Kakashi is a jounin, you know."

Saukra just sneered at the girl. "Like I would work with a tramp like you! I'll only work with Sasuke."

Akira sighed before walking away. The only person left to ask was Sasuke. She had already wasted half an hour and time was precious.

"Sasuke? God damnit where the-" Akira cut off as she nearly tripped over his head. "How the hell did you get down there, little Uchiha?" She chuckled at him. His body was buried in the ground and the only thing showing was his head.

"Quit laughing and help me up, baka."

Akira complied but couldn't stop herself from laughing. "So, Sasuke, do you want to work together?"

He looked at the girl weirdly. "Look, Akira, it may seem like I am willing to work with you but I'm not. I am an avenger so I can't be in need of the help of others, especially weak ones." He flashed away, leaving the girl standing there fuming.

"How dare he? I am not weak, damnit. WHY THE HELL WON'T ANYBODY WORK TOGETHER WITH ME?"