Akai feels nostalgic as she sits on the chair in her room. She's not been there for several months now and the familiar scent makes her very emotional. Can you both miss a place so much that you cry and want to get away from just that place with an equal desire? That bed she slept in for years seems so unfamiliar and foreign now and she finds herself missing her hotel room and Kumori. She longs for her friend badly.

The albino girl ties her white hair with a ribbon so it won't get in her way as she puts on some sun-lotion on her face. She's planning to sneak out to train later and she needs the protection so she won't wake up with a swollen face the next day. That would so break her cover. She was released from the hospital some days ago and Akane takes care of her now. Her health has improved quickly but the wound still hurts somewhat. Medical jutsu can do magic in Akai´s opinion.

Talking about the devil, a loud knock can be heard and Akai hears the footsteps of her mother. She hurries to hide the bottle of lotion and she wipes her face before the woman is able to open the door and enter. Akane puts a tray with medicine and tools on Akai´s bed before she starts the regular check up.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Fine, just a little sore." Akai answers absentmindedly.

Her mind is elsewhere, to be precise, she's thinking of how she can regain her condition and health quickly. The best way to train with the wound and how she can help Grass when the next raid starts. She's determined to help her team and friends from Konoha with their task of protecting her home even though her mother told her to stay indoors.

Another thing that's on her mind is a certain person who she want to meet more than ever; Hyuuga Neji. The love she feels for him seems to have grown stronger after their quarrel and she doesn't want to be away from him for too long. It's the first time she feels like this towards a person of the opposite sex and she wants to treasure that feeling.

"The scar looks fine but it'll sadly be there for some time now." Akane interrupts her thoughts of the white-eyed genius.

"It doesn't matter since I won't really be able to see it."

She can hear how her mother sighs deeply but Akai decides to ignore her silent sentence. A new pair of footsteps makes her turn her face towards the doorway. A smile grows on her lips as she recognises the new scent as her younger brother's. The young ninja-to-be walks into the room and she feels how he regards the scar on her stomach.

"Onee-san, does it hurt?" Gosai asks her.

"No, not one bit." She answers while patting his head gently. "Come here, I want a hug."

Gosai obeys hesitantly and he is sure to avoid touching her newly cleaned scar as Akai pushes his smaller body against hers. She missed her family but Gosai is the person she longed for the most when she was away.

"Welcome home." He murmurs against her chest.

Akai can't find the words I'm home even though she wants to say them. The young and innocent child doesn't notice this since he's just happy that his bigger sister finally returned. Akane interrupts them by touching Gosai´s shoulder lightly.

"We need to leave her alone for a while now, she needs to sleep off the medicine…let's go and prepare dinner."

"Yeah…" Gosai agrees.

Akai says nothing as the two of them leaves her room. But she starts to move when the door shuts close. She wraps another layer of bandage around the cut before she pulls on a t-shirt and prepares herself for training. She finds herself reaching out for her jumper but withdraws her hand as she remembers that it was ripped to pieces during the…accident. Her hand trembles for a second before she pulls on another of her jumpers, takes on her pair of ninja sandals and grabs her pole.

Her mother thinks that she's sleeping peacefully due to her medication but the woman has no idea of that she secretly sneaks out. It's the perfect way to makes sure that she won't come in to her room and find her bed empty. Akai doesn't like doing this behind her back but she can't take their argument at this time so she keeps it a secret for her and her mother's sake. Or maybe she's just egoistic for once?

Akai sits down on her bed and closes her eyes. She focuses all of her senses, except her vision, to locate her family members downstairs. The sound of metal against metal means that they're just about to start preparing the food, the low vibrations tells her about their movements and she finds the coast clear. Akai hides her chakra while she slowly approaches her window. She opens it carefully so she won't make any sound and swing her legs over the windowsill and jumps out.

"And the adventure begins…" She murmurs to herself as she slowly makes her way down the roof.

Kanaye and Yoshi greet Akai with warm expressions as she appears out of a cloud of grass strands. The grass encircles her before it falls to the ground around her feet. The smell of hay and horses reaches her nose and she frowns.

"So you can already use some jutsu?" Kanaye asks her as he keeps brushing his horse Yuki´s mane.

"Yeah but just some basic stuff." Akai answers. "Hey Yuki-chan."

She pats the horse and the animal spares her a single glance. Akai has never really been good with animals but the horse has finally started to accept her as a presence that'll be close by during missions. A low neigh leaves the grey giant.

"Did your mother let you out or…?" Yoshi asks her hesitantly.

"Let's not talk about it." Is her short reply.

Kanaye stops brushing his animal and glances at his female team mate. He knows that she and her mother doesn't agree about her training or missions but Akai´s reaction makes him think that it has gotten a lot worse than before. The more mature young man recalls how she struggled with her mother when they got their first big mission outside Grass´ boarders. The strict doctor almost forbade her to do anything that could hurt her.

"It's time for me to get independent and I won't care what she says about it." Akai tells them in a distant tone.

"Good." Yoshi nods. "Then let's start warming up."

Akai´s mood gets better by each second that she is in her team mate's company. Their close bond makes it possible to handle heavy situations without words and she sometimes feel that they understands her better than she does. Words are not needed. She and Yoshi starts to run laps while Kanaye continues to tae care of Yuki.

Yoshi is quick to notice Akai´s disadvantage now after her injury but he decides that she will have to say stop if he gets too serious. He knows that Akai hates when you doesn't fight with you're all even though you have a disadvantage of some sort. The golden-eyed boy doesn't want to face her fury so he acts just the way he used to during their regular spars.

Yoshi stops to think how he should approach her without getting noticed but decides just to run. Her eyes are closed but he can see how she frowns as he comes closer; she has sensed him. Golden eyes widen as a quick kick is directed towards his stomach but his small and gracious body makes him able to evade the attack. He inhales deeply as he regards her and he notices how her fighting pose has changed since he last fought her. Akai is more collected and calm in her body language than she was before.

"Come at me seriously!" She shouts at him.

"Heheh interesting."

Akai turns her head towards his voice and uses her foot to locate precise location. The vibrations in the ground guide her as she runs towards him with her palm like a weapon. Yoshi leans back, meets her hand with his and pushes her away by using her own power against her. Akai can't stop and continues to run forward in the direction Yoshi turned her and it doesn't take seconds before she feels a sharp pain in her leg. He kicked her.

"Your offence has improved greatly Akai-san." Kanaye comments her fighting style. "But that leaves your defence totally open. Fix it."

"Yoshi don't get so full of yourself, if you decides to kick her leg chose a vital spot like the knee."

"I don't need your help!" Yoshi yells back at him.

Akai bites her lips out of frustration, she needs to calm down and fight like she used to in Konoha. She needs to be more collected, calmer and have control over her body. She needs to relax. A deep sigh leaves her slightly parted lips. She clenches her fists and stretches her fingers twice before she gets back into a more defensive pose. I've to remember what Neji taught me…Instead of attacking she waits for her opponent's first move this time.

Yoshi, who's very impulsive, doesn't see the hidden pattern behind her change and he hurries to attack her from behind. His eyes widen as she suddenly grabs his wrist, pulls him forward and punches him straight in the face.

"You've to find a better balance between offence and defence to improve." Kanaye tells her.

"Hey! Why don't you help me too?"

"Hn." You told me not to, idiot.

Akai feels how her body starts to get flushed by the exercise and her ragged breath makes her irritated. Her body isn't in a good shape, she knows that, but being this tired after a little sparring isn't fun at all. She understands that she won't gain anything by pushing herself too hard.

"Let's take a break."

"But we just got started!" Yoshi pouts.

"I'm tired. I need to rest."

Yoshi stops complaining when he notice how Akai wipes away some sweat from her forehead. It's hard to see how a person that's more skilled than him being this injured and weak. His sneaky eyes turn soft as he regards her touch her stomach with a pained expression. Even though he always has regarded her as a rival does he care for her deeply. Her pain is his pain.

Yoshi sits down next to her in silence, he doesn't know what to tell her. He runs his fingers through his green hair. Kanaye joins them after a while and the three-man cell enjoys the silence together.

"I need to buy some garlic."

"Why all of a sudden?" Yoshi asks her.

"It's said that garlic speeds up one's recovery."

The smiles return to both Yoshi´s and Akai´s lips. Kanaye sighs mentally; both of them acts just like a pair of children sometimes. Her two team mates decides to make her company and the trio walks, well Kanaye rides Yuki, to a well known store. Kanaye leaves the animal outside and the loyal horse stands still as they enter the building.

"Oh that girl…she's back!" An old lady comments as they enter.

"Hey don't stare she'll notice…" Another one warns her.

"Nah I heard that she's completely blind."

Akai ignores the comments but the ladies receive a disrespectful glare from Yoshi. The two of them flinch and turn away with shame. The smaller of the team snorts as he also turns away to help his friends shopping.

"I want this one, please."

Akai, who knows where the garlic is, is quick to grab what she want and pay for it. She hands the lady a little more than the actual price and waits to get her change. The lady glances at her before she puts down the money and hands her some coins.

"Here you go…and here's the change."

"…" Akai opens turn her eyes to the woman. "Miss, knowing that I'm blind you tries to deceive me…This is not enough change."

Kanaye, who was about to react, turns his eyes to the lady to regard her expression. The word Busted is written on her forehead and she is quick to give Akai some extra coins. Her shaking hands tells Akai of the situation and her face turns sour.

"Oh! I- I- I must have counted wrong!" She tries to explain.

"Say what you want." Akai sighs and turns away.

"You know, I really have to save up money now when the future is uncertain and…." She tries to make herself look better by blaming it on the war.

"I don't care! Now, good bye."

Even though Akai knows that what happened in the store was a stunt to trick her does she understand that her home is in a bad spot at the moment. The Sound's troops blocks their export and import of food and water as if they're trying to weaken them until they get what they want. It won't take long before their food and water disappears.

"Have you heard from Yamamoto-sama? What should Grass do?"

"None of us knows yet, if you want to ask, ask Shikamaru-san." Kanaye tells her. "He seems to be a brilliant strategist and is planning our counter attack at the moment."

"It'll be ok if it's Shikamaru." She tells them in a confident voice. "But I don't want to do nothing!"

She's somewhat relieved to hear that Shikamaru has been put into charge. The laid-back young man doesn't look smart but he's really sharp in these kinds of situations. Ino told her about some missions they were able to complete only because of his skills to calculate the outcomes of a battle. Akai will finally be able to see him in action.

Akai snaps out of her thoughts as she senses a hard stare on her.

"Your task is to get better. That should be your priority."

"…Yeah." She shrugs it off.

"Akai-san, I'm serious." Kanaye tells her in an intense voice.

She nods at last and sighs. She can't be foolish and rush into action when she's not perfectly healed. Uchiha Sasuke almost killed her when she was as good as she can be and he would succeed to take her life is she attacked with her body in this shape. Her goal is the same; to protect her village but she's now even more determinated to do it since she doesn't have to face her fears alone anymore.

"We'll be able to win somehow, as long as we stick together."

"I agree."

She smiles broadly to no one in particular. Her battle against the Uchiha made her realise a lot and she's somewhat glad that it happened. She wouldn't be so close with her friends if it didn't and a certain good-looking Hyuuga wouldn't have embraced her like that. Akai enters her own world of fantasies. She never thought that he would come here to help, she knows that he probably got the orders to do so but it doesn't make her happiness fade. Akai recently understood that she loves the man but she still can't understand how strange she feels when he is concerned. He makes her act like a love sick girl and she dislikes it.

"I want to see Neji." She murmurs to herself.

Akai´s eyes snap open as she realises what she just said out loud. And she's right; the cunning member of her team caught her little mistake. A cold feeling enters her body as she realises that Yoshi is looking at her with those eyes.

"Heh…? That scary looking guy with long hair?" Yoshi asks her with a smirk.

"Yeah. Oh wait a second, I haven't really introduced you to the Konoha team right?" She tries to avoid Neji as the main subject.

"Oh it doesn't matter, we have already met." Yoshi makes gestures with his hands. "Who's this Neji? Where did you meet him?"

Akai knows that her face is about to turn as red as a tomato and she tilts her head to the side so she can hide her blush.

"….But…I've to sneak back before mother gets suspicious… Let's meet again, ok?"

"Don't run away from this!" Yoshi yells after her in a playful tone.

His nice expression fades as Akai turns her back to him. His golden, cat-like eyes follow her as she hurries away and a new seriousness can be seen in them. His dark green hair frames his face and the most childish-looking member of the team looks grown up for a second as a new emotion graces his face. Kanaye sends him a quick glance.

"Yoshi?" Kanaye dislikes this new expression on his friend's face.

"It's nothing."

"She sure has changed, Akai-san." He tells him. "Maybe being away from Grass was what she needed."

Yoshi shrugs and stays silent.

Akai sighs in a relived manner as she slips through the window into her room. There are no signs of panic or anger so she believes that no one noticed that she was gone at all. Wiping away the sweat on her forehead she tries to make herself look relaxed and innocent. I was supposed to sleep, not train so…Akai puts the garlic on her desk and thinks about how she should prepare it later.

A loud knock warns her of the danger before someone enters the room. Akai sits down on the chair quickly and pretends to comb her hair.

"The food is ready, onee-chan." Gosai peeks at her from the doorway.

"I´ll be there, just give me second, kay?"

"Mm." He nods and leaves.

Akai joins the other Isozaki members at the table. The nice smell of newly boiled rice mixed together with beef makes her mouth water. But the amount of food is different to what she's used to and it bothers her.

"What's wrong with the food?"

"Don't complain." Aoi tells her. "This is our family's share for the day. We can't eat unnecessarily much now when Sound is blocking our resources."

This…is more serious than I thought…Akai chews on a piece of meet while pondering about the war. She can't help but feel a small amount of stress since she's probably not healthy enough to battle when the new battle will start.

"Okaa-san, I want more rice…" Gosai complains.

"Oh sweetie we have to save our food at the moment. I'm sorry."

Akane touches Gosai´s her to comfort him.

"Something has to be done…why is it taking so long?" Akai comments.

"These things can't be rushed." Aoi tells her and is about to say something more when their mother opens her mouth.

"Don't talk about it at the table!" Akane tells them in a loud, irritated voice.

Akai flinches violently by her voice and turns her face to the woman. Aoi reacts the same but hides his surprise better than his younger sister. The two of them looks at their mother with shared feelings. Gosai glances at Akai and then at Aoi with a nervous expression; he doesn't like how things turn out.

"Mother I've to inform Akai about Grass´ situation is she should be able to help out when the attack comes."

Oh no, Aoi! Akai shakes her head. Just great…doesn't he know that mother… she tried to stay in good terms with Akane but Aoi ruined it totally by being too straight-forward.

"Akai won't do such things! Aoi you should know better than urge your injured sister to fight a war! End of discussion."

Aoi´s brown eyes narrow at this but he says nothing more. A new tenseness spreads around the table and no one wants to break the silence. Akai pierces her meet with her chopsticks, which is very bad manners in their household. She feels as if the cage around her gets narrower by each passing second.

The darkness of the night cover the sky but the once calm village hidden in the Grass stays awake with several lit torches. The only proof that the village is there is the growing dots of fire. Even Akai can see the lights clearly from her window. The young woman leans against the windowsill while observing how the ninja outside does their tasks. She wants to join them so badly but thinks it's a bad idea after the incident at dinner.

"Should I go…?" She asks herself. "I can't stop fighting now!"

Akai gets up and slips out through the window in a sneaky manner. The cold air hits her skin and she shiver due to the cold and the excitement. Her long hair looks like silver in the darkness and it floats behind her back as she makes her way down the roof and down the street.

Akai is quick to find her friends and to her surprise her team is also there helping them with preparing weapons for the upcoming battle. Many faces look up as she approaches them but a bright and happy voice makes her smile.

"Akai-chan!" Naruto greets her with a smile. He has a very sharp spear in his hands.

"Woah, don't point that toward me, thank you!" She smiles back.

"I'm glad you were able to sneak out again." Yoshi tells her. "My spy lessons paid of right?"

This comment and question makes all her friends look at her for a moment. They're all quick to understand that Akai have some family trouble that she doesn't want to be so open with. Akai turns away a little and avoids Yoshi´s question.

"I thought I could help out but small, pointy things isn't really my speciality." She explains. "I would surely point out somebody's eye out of mistake!"

Yoshi looks at her for a while and understands that he shouldn't have mentioned it. He thought that all of her new friends already knew about her but he was wrong. It makes him somewhat content since it means that they're not as close as he first thought.

"Then why don't you join Neji?" Lee suggests with a smirk.

"Huh?"

"He's over there, meditating."

"Sure…I can do that."

"He seemed a little off today so talk with him." Kiba tells her. "He has been acting strange lately."

Akai wrinkle her nose. Something big must have happened if Neji is acting strange since last time he did he told her about his fear about a pair of twins in the clan. What could have happened now? What Akai doesn't know, and probably never will know, is that she's the reason behind his mood swings.

"Why do she has to do it?" Yoshi asks them.

"Eh? Oh Akai is one of the few who can handle his cold temper you see." Lee explains to the Grass ninja.

"Care if I join you?" She asks him in a quiet tone.

Neji is sitting alone in the darkness where the light from the torches can't touch him. His back is turned towards Akai and she's afraid that she disturbed his peace with her question. A small nod makes her sit down next to him. She exhales deeply and starts to relax while thinking about many things.

"Are you alright?" She dares to ask him.

"Isn't that my line?" He answers her question with another question.

This makes Akai turn her full focus to the man. His white eyes are glued at her and their whiteness makes her very wary. Neji sounds almost as if he was worried about her. Akai turns away a little and closes her eyes. She touches the grass with her fingers.

"I'm…getting better slowly." She confesses. "But it feels like I haven't made any progress at all. My mother she… she's so…"

She finds herself at a loss of words. An irritation grows inside of her and she realises that she won't be able to meditate at all. The calm atmosphere around Neji is ruined and she's about to apologise when he moves closer to her. Akai shuts her mouth and pays attention to what he's doing. He pats his lap twice.

"This is a one time offer…you know." Neji tells her with a slight hint of warm amusement in his voice.

Akai looks at him with a surprised expression, and it doesn't turn prettier when she understands that he used her own sentence. He's…offering…? She can feel how a blush starts to grown on her cheeks and the embarrassed girl is quick to accept the offer since she knows that he won't ask her again. She stomps her foot against the ground one more time to locate Neji´s exact position before she lower herself down to his lap.

His hand touches hers for a second as he guides her gently. Akai feels really clumsy as she accidentally bumps her chin against his knee but he doesn't seem to mind it at all. His long fingers lead the way until she's lying with her head in his lap. Her misty eyes stare up at him and she wishes that she could see the expression he's wearing.

Akai wants to hide her blush even though she knows that it's impossible. Her albinism makes it even redder and she hates it. A wish is that her bruises makes it hard to spot. Her face is probably as red as a tomato at the moment. Akai looks away and closes her eyes in an attempt to hide. Then she recalls that it's night but who knows how much Neji can see in the darkness?

"Relax." He murmurs quietly.

She tenses as she feels how Neji starts to massage her temples and touch her hair as she used to do with him. It makes her very alert but his gentle touch coaxes her to relax and enjoy the attention. Her body becomes lighter against his as she finally gives in and Neji keeps on touching her hair.

Neji has always been fascinated about her hair color, and he recalls that when he first saw her that was what made him really notice her. What made him truly see her was the time when they met during practise and she found the bird he couldn't see. He thought that she was one of those brats that only wanted to annoy him or there to confess her love for him but she was different. Well, she did annoy him that day but something she said caught his attention. He remembers how tense their first meetings were and smiles in a contented manner as he notices how much their relationship has improved since then.

"I think your brother dislikes me." He states out of the blue.

He has met the young man twice but always under strange circumstances, and the Hyuuga has a feeling that the man won't accept him easily. The first met when he carried his unconscious sister and their second meeting was when he interrupted them in the hospital. He must think that Neji is after Akai, in a bad way. The Hyuuga isn´t at all used to situations as those since he´s often so composed and polite.

"Don't take it to heart." Is her short answer. "It's easy to get into his bad book, trust me I know." She's ironic but it lingers a hint of irritation behind her words.

Akai feels how Neji´s stomach tightens, and vibrates in what she thinks is a small, silent chuckle. She has missed these moments with him and she thought that she never would be able to do this anymore. It makes her treasure the moment more than usual. She missed the times where they could just hang out and be honest, she even missed the times when they just were together without having a real conversation. She missed him.

She can hear the distant voices of her friends and it seems like they're discussing something. The sound of crickets, the darkness and the sound of the wind make it very cosy and the two of them enjoys it together.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Neji asks her after a while.

Akai is quiet for a while but she starts to explain when she understands what he was referring to. She feels as if she has already told him this story but doesn't hesitate to open her heart for the man she likes once again. Now she knows that she can trust him.

"Well…I…my mother won't let me leave the house anymore. I've always had a hard time to make it as a ninja due to her but she won't leave me alone after the incident."

"But you're here." Neji states the fact.

"I sneaked out." Akai explains. "I feel like my home and village are what's holding me back. That they're the fences I need to climb over to reach freedom. But…no one should feel like this about one's family or home."

Neji listens to her voice in silence. He understands her better than he thinks she knows. He feels almost the same since the Hyuuga clan keeps him in a leach all the time. His family is also his cage. But this is the first time he gets the chance to fully understand what Akai is going through. The girl he got to know in Konoha is different to the girl he has in his lap now, and Neji wants to see all sides of her.

"I should be happy that I'm home again but I can't truly say that I'm glad to return. I have never been as close to freedom as I was during my stay in Konoha. I wish this never happened…" Her voice is close to the breaking point. "Sometimes I wish that I wasn't born like this with useless eyes, oversensitive skin and freaky-looking appearance. It always bring me down in the end."

Neji feels how Akai shakes slightly against him. His eyes soften as he holds her and he tells her his opinion. He doesn't say it just to make her feel better it's just the way he sees things and he wishes to share it with her.

"A lot of people are born with disadvantages, but it's their road to be able to fend for themselves that makes them truly strong." Neji tells her. "I don't see your albinism as a bad thing, it has made you work harder than most."

"Really?" She questions him with doubt in her voice.

"Your lack of eyesight has made your other senses much stronger than those of the average. Isn't that something to be grateful for?"

"I guess you're right."

"It's important to think positively when you're facing hardships."

"Thank you Neji." A deep, relieved sigh leaves her lips. "Everything you say sounds so right. Have you practised or are you born with that advantage?"

"Who knows." Neji smiles slightly.

The two of them enjoys the silence together and the uncomfortable sensations are far, far away now. Neji keeps on combing her hair with his fingers and it makes her a little sleepy. Just being with the Hyuuga like this makes her feel protected and cared for but at the same time feel respected and like she's worth something. Neji has never treated her as if she was fragile and that makes her accept his way to comfort her.

"Akai!" Kiba yells out her name.

The sudden voice makes her jump in Neji´s lap and both of them turns to look at the Inuzuka boy and his dog. Neji dislikes the expression that's on his friend's face and he doesn't need his Byakugan to see that something isn't right. Akai pushes herself out of Neji´s embrace out of embarrassment, she doesn't really feel that Kiba should see their closeness, but her nervous feelings fades as she also understands the situation.

"What is it?"

"Your mother is here and…she's FURIOUS!"