I don't own Naruto and I never have, probably never will. Can never tell for sure though.
Nightfall!
Chapter 38 Their First Mission
Naruto and Akimi stood together lips locked, time seemed to not exist for the pair as the seconds ticked on.
After what seemed an eternity to the pair Naruto broke broke the kiss. Before placing his forehead upon hers. "When?" he asked.
"When what? Akimi replied staring into his rippling eyes as if looking for the whites that were no longer there.
"Since when did you have these feelings for me?" Naruto asked.
"Since our first mission together, do you remember it?" Akimi answered before giving the blond another small peck on the lips.
"Oh course I do, it was my first time leading a mission, and your first one without your brother tagging along although I think it would have been better if he did" Naruto said with a small laugh at the end.
(FLASHBACK)
A eleven year old Naruto was standing in an seemingly empty field when a hail of kunai shot out of a nearby tree. Naruto flipped away but no sooner had he landed than he was forced to duck under a powerful kick from Itachi.
"Better Naruto-kun, your ability to sense chakra signatures and pick the correct counter has improved greatly. And I do not see any point in testing your ninjutsu skills anymore, you have already proven that you are a master in every sense of the word. Let's see how you do with genjutsu instead shall we" Itachi proclaimed before his eyes began to morph and the world around Naruto began to change.
The illusion world was, for lack of a better word creepy. The sky was red and the earth black. Looking around he thought he was inside of Konoha yet something was different. Trees seemed to grow from out of nowhere blocking his path. "What the hell is this, it's like no genjutsu I have ever seen before" Naruto said.
"That's because it isn't like anything you have faced before" a bodiless voice of Itachi said. From everywhere around Naruto as if it was part of the wind.
Naruto took a step back at this. "What do you mean? Why is this any different from all of the other genjutsu?" Naruto asked.
A ghostly spectral figure of Itachi rose from the earth. "This is my strongest genjutsu, Tsukuyomi, in here I control everything including time. And I want you to break free of it. You have seventy two hours to try" the Uchiha said before bursting into crows and flying away.
"A genjutsu is still a genjutsu all I have to do is disrupt my chakra flow" Naruto said.
Again Itachi's voice came on the wind. "You are certainly free to try".
Naruto tried to fluctuate his chakra but it had no effect at all. "What the hell? Why didn't it work?" he asked.
Itachi once again appeared, his form was there but he still remained completely see through. "It's simple, this is not a jutsu that can be ended in the usual ways. Your presence is in a sense removed from your body and brought into my Tsukuyomi. It is a genjutsu void of the usual weaknesses and can be cast just with eye contact from my Mangekyo Sharingan. To escape you need to have ocular powers greater than my own, something that you have in the form of the Rinnegan. Now escape or I will be forced to torture you here until the time is up" and as if trying to emphasis his point a large blade appeared suddenly behind the blond piercing his shoulder.
Naruto screamed in pain as he struggled to remove the blade. "As you can see, pain is very real here, you can tell yourself that it is all in the mind all you want but pain is pain regardless of how it is caused" Itachi added as another blade appeared out of thin air ready to be driven through the young teen.
A split second before it struck Naruto rolled out of the way. "Shit, come on Itachi sensei, this is nuts give me a break already" he wailed as more blades shot at him. He was able to dodge mot of them but the last one left a deep gash on his arm.
"I am cutting you some slack already, Tsukuyomi can be much more powerful, now stop whining and focus on your ocular powers, I'm sure there is something that will let you get out of this jutsu, gravity manipulation and summons cant be the only abilities of those eyes of yours after all" Itachi said.
Minutes turned into hours and Naruto still had not been able to break free of Itachi's Tsukuyomi, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the jutsu to budge, his gravity jutsu did nothing and his body was severely cut up.
"Running will not do any good here" Itachi's voice bellowed as his spectral form rose up in the middle of the road in front of him.
Naruto clenched his fists in anger. "I don't know what kind of training you think this is Itachi sensei but when I get out of here I'm kicking your ass!" Naruto yelled and attempted to hit Itachi but before he could make contact he once again dispersed in a murder of crows.
"Kami damn it what do I have to do! How do I get out I need to know!" Naruto yelled to himself. Then as if the answer came out of thin air a huge burst of chakra burst to his eyes. "Preta Path" he said as if he always knew what he needed to do.
The world around him began to dissolve and Naruto stood once more in the training field across from Itachi. "Congratulations I knew you could do it" Itachi said.
"I didn't that was the worst genjutsu ever. On the plus side I think I have unlocked a new power, I was able to absorb the chakra that you were using, but I don't know how I did it" Naruto admitted.
"It seems you were able to subconsciously call forth new powers when the need is great enough. Just as I thought. The Rinnegan acts a lot like the sharingan in that sense. When a Uchiha is in need and is desperate, that is when they are most likely to awaken their dojutsu and the same goes for the amount of of Tomoe in each eye. And just like unlocking the Tomoe you need to unlock the new paths. My guess is that there is a total of Six and you currently have three. The Animal path, Deva path and this new Preta path, each path has a unique skill as you know, but the question is what abilities have you yet to unlock" Itachi said.
Naruto was about to yell at his sensei for using such a powerful jutsu like the Tsukuyomi for a training exercise when Itachi collapsed holding his head. "Itachi sensei are you alright?" Naruto asked quickly running over to where the Uchiha lay.
Itachi struggled to his feet but coughed out a small amount of blood. "I'm fine Naruto-kun do not worry about me, but I think our training is over for today" Itachi said.
"I understand, but we should go see Jiraiya sensei, you can't just play this off as nothing" Naruto said.
Itachi nodded his head. "Very well, but I do not think there is much he can do for me" the Uchiha replied.
Naruto helped support Itachi as they walked back to the Yoinokuchi hideout and they headed straight for Jiraiya's room where he was working on his next novel. After knocking on the door a slightly annoyed Jiraiya stuck his head out. "What the hell do you wa... Itachi you look like shit, don't tell me the Gaki beat you this badly?".
"Not exactly sensei I was caught in this weird genjutsu and once I finally broke free Itachi sensei collapsed and started coughing up blood" Naruto said.
"I see, you better bring him in, then go take a bath" Jiraiya said and after Naruto handed Itachi over to Jiraiya he left.
Jiraiya took Itachi over to a couch and set him down. "So the illness is back I take it" the Toad Sage said.
"It only effects me when I use my Mangekyo Sharingan, I'm fine" Itachi protested.
"No you are not, it may not seem like it but you are sick, the extra strain the Mangekyo Sharingan puts on your body just amplifies that, if we let this go any longer you could die" Jiraiya said seriously.
"And what do you propose?" Itachi asked.
"We are leaving tomorrow to find Tsunade-Hime. She is the only person who will be able to know for sure whats going on with your body and if anyone can heal you it will be her" Jiraiya said.
"But we have a mission tomorrow, leaving then is impossible" Itachi replied.
"Naruto will take care of it, he needs this to help his training. So far he has always had one of us with him. He will never learn to rely on his own strength if he is always looking to us when things become difficult" Jiraiya said.
"Your going to send him out there alone? Someone should at least go with him" Itachi said.
"You're right, I'll send Akimi with him, her training has come along nicely and I would say she's easily chunin level already" Jiraiya said.
"I agree she is talented but there mission is in the Land of Lightning, what if Kumo ninja recognize her. She is considered a valuable asset to Kumo after all" Itachi said.
"Then it will be a good test to see just how far Naruto and Akimi have come" Jiraiya said.
"So this is just more training for Naruto-kun then?" Itachi asked.
"Yes in a sense, Naruto is a genius much like his father, but the problem with geniuses is they often become lazy and arrogant. Naruto is neither of those things yet, but I want him to continue working hard and appreciate that hard work is more important than any amount of brilliance" Jiraiya said.
"I think you are proof to that effect. You were considered a failure at one point and even finished as the dead last in your graduating class, paired with the brilliant Orochimaru and Konoha's own princess Tsunade. But you proved that hard work was enough to close the gap on your rival until you became known as the strongest of the three legendary ninja. It was because of that story I never once believed my fathers rants about the superiority of the Uchiha clan" Itachi said.
Later that evening Jiraiya called everyone together. In the main living area of the Yoinokuchi hideout. "Well, first things first, there will be some changes to the teams for the next week or so, I need to take Itachi to see Tsunade-Hime so Naruto, you will be paired with Akimi. Now as for your mission, you are to go to the Land of Lightning and help a young couple escape the country. The woman had escaped from a wealthy family in Kumo to be with a young man that she had met while on a business trip with her father. However he didn't approve of their relationship and when she left her father hired Kumo to locate the daughter and return her to Kumo" Jiraiya said.
"Wait, this seems a little dangerous, I'm fine with going but Akimi is wanted in Kumo, and it sounds as though we will almost certainly have to take on Kumo ninja" Naruto said.
"Hey I'm not some weak little girl, I can take care of myself" Akimi said angrily.
"I know you're not, but if they recognize you, we wont just be dealing with a bunch of chunin or foot soldiers, they will send jounin and Anbu. It's dangerous for her to come" Naruto said.
"Then you will just have to do a good job in protected her wont you, Naruto" Akaru said calmly.
"Fine, I swear on my life I won't let anything bad happen to Akimi while I am still breathing. I will protect her no matter what" Naruto said.
(END FLASHBACK)
Akimi smiled and blushed slightly. "I remember that well, I was only young and you were promising that you would protect me with your life. I remember thinking you were just a big show off but I couldn't help but feel a little touched that you would do that" she said.
"So that was when you started to like me as more than a friend?" Naruto asked.
"No, I was touched but in truth I still found your eyes creepy, and you were more of a rival, someone that I wanted to beat at anything, I would go as far as saying I hated how calmly you were able to accomplish everything you tried while I would work just as hard if not harder and everything seemed so difficult" Akimi laughed.
"Yeah I remember now. You always used to make fun of my eyes after we would spar saying that my tiny pupils and no scrlea made it look like I was squinting" Naruto chuckled.
"And you would say that I was just upset because I couldn't beat you although I think you may have been right a few times... And I will beat you one day" she replied with a chuckle looking back fondly at how they used to interact.
(FLASHBACK)
"Hurry up, we need to meet up with the clients before anyone from Kumo finds them" Naruto lectured to a hunched over Akimi who was panting in exhaustion.
"Can't we stop for awhile, I'm exhausted" she whined.
Naruto stopped in mid step. "No we can't stop, if we know where the clients are hiding then there is a good chance that Kumo will know by now as well. I thought you were stronger than this, but then again I guess it's not really surprising considering I beat you every time we spar" he said.
"I'm not weak, I'll show you!" Akimi said and quickly finding a second wind powered past the blond. "Well are you coming or not squinty eyes?" she called back.
'Ah I don't know why I even bother to go along with her, maybe if I just let her win something other than a race she will leave me alone? Then again I have a feeling she will just gloat and be harder to control than ever before' Naruto thought before following after his substitute teammate.
They ran on for a few more hours before arriving at a tiny village, that was little more than a road side stall and a few houses. "Well, I guess when you are looking for a place to hide, someplace like this would be perfect, ample supplies and inconspicuous enough to avoid attention" Naruto said.
"That, or this was where they had hoped to live. Its quite nice, even if it is small" Akimi said.
"Yeah I guess so, either way they are in this village somewhere, and we need to find them quickly. We don't know when a team from Kumo will arrive" Naruto said the last part with a distinct amount of venom in his voice making his hatred for Kumo evident.
"Easy there squinty if you peak your chakra levels just because you think about Kumo ninja your going to give away our position" Akimi said.
Naruto took a moment to respond then shook his head. "Your right, sorry about that. It's just hard not to blame them for the death of the only family I knew before Jiraiya sensei that all" Naruto admitted sadly.
"Yeah I get it, but not everyone from Kumo are monsters look at Niisan, he was an elite jounin and you might not trust him much yet but he is a good person, he abandoned his village to save me. Someone who would throw their career and home away for family can't be a bad person" Akimi said.
"I will try to remember that" Naruto said.
They walked through the village until they came to a rather well kept farm Naruto knocked twice on the door and just as he was about to knock a third time it opened and he was met with a swinging blade of a katana.
Naruto jumped back and readied a jutsu but just before he fired he saw who had attacked him. A young man in his mid twenties and a woman around the same age. They were both dressed in civilian clothes and looked scared for their lives. "Looks like we found the clients" Naruto said standing up.
"You can put your blade away we wont hurt you" Akimi said with a smile.
"Who are you kids? Why are you here?" the man said still gripping his blade for safety.
"We are here to escort you out of the Land of Lightning and to safety in a neighboring country we saw your mission posted in the bounty hunters office and wanted to take it" Naruto said, it was not exactly true but the blond decided against telling the two civilians that they were members from a mercenary ninja organization.
"Well we are glad for the assistance and I know ninja have strong powers but aren't you two a little young for this kind of thing?" the man said.
"Hey don't judge us because we are young, I will have you know we are more than enough to deal with whatever second string teams Kumo sends after you" Akimi yelled angrily.
Naruto was similarly annoyed but refrained from yelling at least for the time being. "Cool it Akimi, they do have a point, it's the reason why I am paired with Itachi and you Akaru for missions. However, our age will work in our favor, it's like Itachi sensei tells me, that I am even more dangerous because I am so young. Because of our age people tend to underestimate us which will work to our advantage in a fight" Naruto said to the raging young kunoichi. "I can assure you we have both been trained since we were very young by some of the strongest ninja alive. I assure you we will get you both to safety" Naruto said. 'Man I miss doing this stuff with Itachi, I hate having to be the responsible one!'.
"It's not like anyone else is going to show up, taking on this mission means going up against one of the five great ninja villages, most mercenaries would see that and immediately label it a suicide mission" Akimi said as if to emphasis Naruto's point that they were capable shinobi despite there young age.
"She's right" the man said hanging his head. "And I couldn't afford to hire ninja from another village, all I could do was put what reward I could and send it to a bounty office in the land of fire so nobody from Kumo would see it. We accept your help kids, I'm Kirsuke Saki and this is my fiance Shana" the man said with a small respectful bow.
Naruto bowed in response. "Nice to meet you, I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this is".
"Akimi Hayaku" Akimi finished for him enthusiastically shaking the hands of civilians.
Naruto shook his head at the antics of his comrade. "Look we need to get moving, the longer we stay here the more time Kumo have to find this place. And as we will have to move at civilian speeds it could take a few days to get out of the Land of Lightning" he said.
"Very well, let me just go grab our things" Kirsuke said and walked inside the house.
"Uh how much are you taking, because if we are forced to fight or run during this trip too much luggage will be a problem" Naruto said.
"It's only one bag each, we don't have all that many possessions that we wish to keep. And Kirsuke has already sold this farm we were leaving tomorrow whether help had come or not" Shana explained.
A minute later Kirsuke returned with two bags that could be strapped to the backs of himself and Shana. They were just about to step out of the door when three kunai landed at their feet.
Spinning around Naruto and Akimi saw three Kumo chunin standing in a row. "Where do you think you are going. Give up the woman and nobody has to get hurt" the center chunin said.
"Forget it, we're not letting you take her" Naruto said slipping into a stance ready for a fight. Akimi copied him.
The three ninja all burst out laughing as if what Naruto had said was the funniest thing in the world. "That's classic kid, what could a pipsqueak like you do against three ninja like us" the center ninja chuckled not even looking at Naruto. When he finally turned back however. "Hey where did he go?".
"Behind you" Naruto said. Shocking all thee of the chunin who didn't even see him move and spun around kunai drawn. Naruto simply smiled. "I think you're forgetting about someone" he added and the chunin on the right was brought down with a kunai to each shoulder and another that was swiped arcoss the back of both knees disabling him completely.
"What the fuck! That's it you're both going to pay for that" the head chunin said and threw a kunai at Naruto who easily batted it away.
"What a pathetic throw. You know I really hate Kumo ninja, so it's always nice to be able to test out my new jutsu on them. And Jiraiya sensei just taught me a great one. "Bansho Ten'in" Naruto said pointing at the other ninja leaving the one who had done all the talking alone for now. The other ninja flew forward and Naruto began gathering chakra into the palm of his other hand. "Here goes nothing... Rasengan!" Naruto yelled slamming the ball of chakra into the chunin.
The remaining chunin took a step back, 'Oh kami, what a powerful jutsu. What is this kid' he thought. An answer would not come however as a kunai coated in Fuuton chakra passed right through his heart.
Naruto showed no signs of remorse for killing either Kumo ninja and the two clients were shocked at the ease in which these two kids had taken out three chunin from one of the top ninja villages.
Akimi went to collect Naruto's kunai as he walked over to the last of the living ninja. "There should be four ninja in a group, I take it you were sent as a test, that means you must have a leader hiding somewhere waiting for you to return with Shana, tell me where he is" Naruto said.
"Fuck you kid, I'm not telling you anything" the survivor said.
"I see, well in that case" Naruto created another rasengan and began grinding it into the open wound on one of the ninja's shoulders.
The civilians were completely shocked that an eleven year old boy would do something like that. "That's horrible, how can he do something like that?" Shana said covering her eyes.
"Squinty over there is a completely different person when it comes to dealing with Kumo ninja. I don't know the full story but apparently it was Kumo ninja that killed his family. Normally he is a kind person even if he is difficult to get along with at times" Akimi said.
"Yes he certainly didn't seem to be a heartless killer" Kirsuke said.
"He's a ninja it is his job to kill, just like it is mine" Akimi reminded them.
"You are both rather mature for your age, don't you want to live a normal life and play with your friends?" Shana asked.
"Huh" Akimi sighed, "I don't really have any friends, well I used to but I was forced to flee from Kumo because they saw me as nothing but a tool to make the village stronger by putting me in a breeding program for my Kekkei Genkai. Now the only friend I really have is my brother" She admitted.
"What about Naruto?" Shana asked.
"He's a jerk, always acting so high and mighty just because he is stronger than me, well I would be that strong too if I was trained by Itachi Uchiha and Jiraiya-sama from the age of eight" She said angrily.
Shana giggled at Akimi's reaction. "Sounds to me that you like him" she chuckled.
Akimi went red. "Like anyone would ever like squinty eyes over there, he looks creepy! Besides all he thinks about is himself and becoming stronger" she said angrily.
"Okay okay I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt like that" Shana apologized.
Meanwhile Naruto was loosing his patients with the injured chunin. "Tell me where your fourth team member is!" Naruto yelled.
The man was barely conscious but had a smile on his face. "Fuck you!" he said.
"Ah that's it!" Naruto yelled in anger and grabbed the chunin's face in one hand ready to slam it into the ground but seemed to stop. His whole body went rigid and stiff. 'What the hell is this! It's like when I was trapped in Itachi sensei's Tsukuyomi' Naruto thought. Then his body acted on instinct "Human Path!" he said and lifted his hand from the ninja's face.
There was a huge burst of information and Naruto had a hard time processing it all, there were memories from what they had for dinner last night, to how to perform certain jutsu. Then finally the memory he was looking for appeared, that of a jounin telling his squad to capture a young woman and he would be watching their progress from... "The tree line" Naruto opened his eyes and looked directly towards where he now knew the last ninja hid.
The others couldn't believe what they had just saw, Naruto had ripped the soul out of a living breathing human. "Wh- What was that?" Kirsuke asked in horror.
Akimi shook her head slowly. "I don't know, I've never seen that before in my life" she admitted.
Naruto took off in a blur and after a couple of seconds reappeared right after another man with long straight light brown hair flew out of the trees. Naruto landed behind him slamming his fist into the ground where the jounin was moments ago a crater formed. The jounin let out an audible sigh as he dusted himself off and glared over at the young blond. "Not bad kid, I must say I'm impressed, tell me what was that technique you used just now on my student? I have never before seen someone who is able to forcefully remove someones soul. I bet A-sama would love to meet you" the jounin said.
"I don't know, I guess you would call it the 'Human Path: Soul Removal jutsu' but that was the first time I have used it" Naruto said.
The jounin raised an eyebrow. "You never used that jutsu before? Then why use it on my student? Why was he so special?" the jounin asked.
"I had a need and my eyes gave me the answer. There was really nothing special about him other than the fact he refused to give me the answers I needed" Naruto said calmly.
"I see, that's all I needed to know, you are an interesting kid, and your comrade over there will earn me great praise in Kumo. Returning the girl with swift release, I will get that promotion to elite jounin for sure. And if I deliver you to the Raikage I bet I will get a counsel seat"the jounin said.
Naruto grit his teeth as clenched his fists. "How did you know about Akimi?" Naruto snarled.
"Oh simple really, I always carry a bingo book around with me, and after her show of speed it became obvious. But it's you that intrigues me more, those eyes of yours do not look normal to me, and they are not the Sharingan, nor are they the Byakugan. So tell me, what is it?" the jounin said calmly.
Naruto smiled, it was not the kind of smile you would expect from an eleven year old boy, there was no mischief or fun about this smile, no for lack of a better word this smile was terrifying. "My eyes are the Rinnegan" he said.
"Impossible, that's nothing but a myth" the jounin said.
"Well then, you are just going to have to find out the hard way... Raiton: Five point Paralysis jutsu!" Naruto said with only a single hand seal catching the jounin off guard as the lightning shot out of the ground shocking him in five spots leaving him unable to move as Naruto approached. "Sorry but I can't let you live if you know about Akimi and are onto my Rinnegan... Human Path Soul Removal!" Naruto said and ripped the jounin's soul from his body just like the chunin before him.
Akimi stood watching in awe at how effectively Naruto had taken him down. 'I truly am no match for him, He is just too strong that was a jounin and he defeated him in an instant... Wait he got serious when the jounin gloated about finding out who I am. Naruto did that for me? Man what an idiot' she thought, but for the first time when she was thinking about Naruto there was no maliciousness, he didn't even seem to frighten the young girl as much anymore despite how terrifying his new ability was.
Naruto had a solemn look on his face when he returned back to the group. "We have to go, it's dangerous to stay here" he said darkly.
"Huh why didn't you just defeat the Kumo ninja sent after us?" Kirsuke asked.
"That jounin sent a message to Kumo before I located his hiding position. They know that there are two ninja with you and not only that they also know that Akimi is here, she is a top priority capture target for Kumo. They will be sending more ninja as back up and powerful ones at that, we need to get moving, the longer we waste the more time Kumo will have to come for us. I don't want to leave you guys alone with Kumo after you but I will not let them touch my friend I will protect her no matter what, even if that means leaving you behind" Naruto admitted.
"Then let's get moving then... come on Kirsuke he has a point we are still safer with them than without. And even if they are the main targets now they will no doubt track us down for information on them" Shana said.
The Man agreed and the four took off Naruto agreed to carry the bags allowing the four to move at a slightly faster speed although it was still that of civilians.
(END FLASHBACK)
Akimi stared out over the village of Kiri with a warm smile on her face. "That was when I began to warm up to you, I remember back to all the arguments that we had, you always were smiling no matter what I said, at the time it made me angry, but now that I think about it you always accepted me for who I was, even when you said I was weak, it served to make me push myself harder. You were helping me and I was a fool that didn't recognize it" Akimi sighed.
Naruto smiled and sat down his legs over the edge of the tall tower. "I didn't mind, I knew you must have had it tough, besides I wanted to be your friend. I had never had one before after all. I was...".
"You were lonely, you may have had Itachi and Jiraiya-sama, but you had no friends, I felt the same way but it took what Shana said that day when she asked me about my friends to realize that I was lonely too. Then when you declared that it was more important to you that I was safe rather than the mission completed successfully I was happy. You no longer seemed to be a show off jerk who I couldn't defeat. I saw you as a friend. But it wasn't until later that I that I realized that I liked you as more than a friend" Akimi admitted as she sat down beside Naruto and leaned her head against his shoulder.
End Chapter!
Well I took a bashing for that last chapter lol. I knew it would happen, still I found this pairing worked better for my story. I am truly sorry for all those people who wanted it to be Naruto/Fuu but I didn't really like the way I was developing her character. She was the sweet girl and it sorta reminded me too much of Hinata. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, I want Naruto to end up with Hinata in the cannon) Still possible for her to be added later but the whole sweet and innocent thing didn't seem like it would work as the first pairing and someone more aggressive and like Kushina would work better.
Anyway hope you liked the chapter even if it is a flashback, the next will be a flashback as well but should get back to the main story after that, hope you're not all disappointed in the flashbacks Just thought it might give some of the depth to why Akimi likes Naruto so much.