The past isn't something you can throw away. It stays with us forever. It's the same for everyone. We must live on, carrying the burdens of our past with us. That's why it's important that you carry the burdens of what you do now and how you decided to live your life today. ~Train Heartnet (Black Cat)
When I woke up, my eyes were slightly blurry. All the long suppressed memories fresh on my mind. I realized after a few seconds, my eyes were just watering.
"Akiko-imouto!" Haku's voice said. I felt myself be wrapped in strong, yet delicate arms. He was hugging me so lightly, as if he were afraid that I would break if he hugged me any tighter.
"N-N..." I couldn't get the full word out.
"Onii..." I slightly whispered, yet it seemed he couldn't even hear it.
I saw behind him, was Sasuke who was glaring at me.
"Sasuke-ku-" I tried to get his name out.
"Akiko." Sasuke said.
"Why did you do it? It was stupid of you going up against him. Why would you try to protect me? I don't need protecting." Sasuke growled at me.
Suddenly, my look of sadness and innocence turned into a glare.
"You... You hypocrite. You were going to go up against him. He was t-trying to put you in this hell of genjutsu. I had to watch things I've long forgotten about over and over and over again. And I did it, because you're my comrade, and I'll protect my comrades, my family, no matter what." I practically snarled at him.
Haku was giving off a cold killer's intent.
"You bastard... If you don't get out of my sight NOW. I'll personally kill you..." Haku said.
Sasuke raised his nose, and left without a word.
"Onii-san..." I whispered.
"Akiko... I'm sorry that you had to see that." Haku said.
"It's okay... It's just what he said hurt... He's my friend, at least I like to think he is... But the first thing he does when I wake up is be mean to me. Call me stupid for protecting him. That genjutsu that Itachi had put me in was terrifying. I w-watched Okaa-san and Obaa-sama die. Again, and again, and again! Watch your retreating back as you ran away into the forest. Kill those villagers, our Otou-san, again. It was hell... T-True hell..." I was bawling by the end of my speech.
Haku now hugged me even tighter, I could feel a tear drop on my hospital gown.
"AKI-KUN! AKI-KUUUUUUN!" Naruto's voice yelled.
"Hi, Naruto-kun..." I said, giving him a weak smile.'
"Here, Naruto-kun, will you stay with her for a while? There is someone I must talk to." Haku said leaving.
"Sure, no problem!" Naruto said, immediately sitting down and talking about the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
Haku's POV
I began searching for the Uchiha boy. Though I was very angry at him, I knew he was just as worried about Akiko as I was. He didn't leave her side once at the hospital. He most likely felt guilty or just angry at the fact that he protected by the girl he obviously liked.
I found him, he was at the training ground, sitting down, staring at the stream.
"Sasuke-kun, I apologize for letting my anger out on you. Now, I am only here to talk." I said.
"Hn. I'm not apologizing to her if that's what your here for." Sasuke stated.
"I don't expect you to. Actually, I want you to understand my twin's actions by telling you all about our past, since I doubt she has told you about it." I said, as I sat down next to him.
"We were both born January 9th in a small farmer village in the Land of Snow. We never had a glamorous lifestyle. Both of our parents were unsuccessful farmers that barely had enough money to feed and clothe us all. We just lived a simple life. Akiko was fairly happy child. Our neighbor, Hikari-san, would act like a grandmother to her. She would let her borrow books, teach her about being a kunoichi, since Hikari-san was a ninja here in Konoha at one time. When we were kids, I practically dragged Akiko out to play. Though it was unsuccessful since she wanted to read her book. I went to a small pond that had not frozen over and began playing in the water. That's when I discovered that I could control water. I thought that it was really cool, so I called my little sister over and showed her. She tried, while she didn't do it very well, she was making it move slightly. We showed our mother who reacted with pure rage and fear. She ended up striking me, causing Akiko to be fearful of her. What we didn't know was that our father had seen our Kekkei Genkai and he told the village. And at the time, those with kekkei genkai were feared and hated because of the recent war, so the villagers came to kill us. Our mother was killed while we were asleep, but she screeched before she left this world. Akiko and I woke up and ended up escaping. She forced me to run ahead of her so that she could protect me, and hold the villagers off. I, like the coward I was, ran off leaving my only sibling." I said, now having tears run down my face.
Sasuke's eyes were now slightly widened.
"While I was running, she was being beaten down by those villagers. With bats and bo-staffs. Her kekkei genkai protected her. She unconsciously used the move, Certain-Kill Ice Spears and she killed them all, except for one. Our father. She killed him, out of anger and sadness. She sent an ice spear right through his heart. She broke down in tears realizing what she had done. That's when Hikari-san arrived. Hikari-san gave her supplies, and tearfully told her to run to Konoha because the rest of the villagers were on their way. She held the off. And neither Akiko or me know if she is alive or not. We just assume that she's dead, but there's a possibility that she's alive. Though I highly doubt it. Akiko ran, but stopped in a city for a while before moving on. She finally made it to Konoha, but the psychological damage was done. And she was emotionally broken. Imagine having blood on your hands at such a young age. And she was not the type of person that could easily get past that. She was a pure, innocent child. She felt as if she had nothing left. And once she made friends, she began to see them as family and she would do whatever she could to protect them so they wouldn't end up like Kaa-san, or Hikari-san. She's lost a lot, so when she has something to protect, she'll do it even if it costs her life. And this whole story, she was stuck in. That genjutsu, Tsukiyomi, showed her all those memories. The killing, the death, the blood. Most likely, Itachi would have shown you similar memories. Your own horrible memories. You didn't have to go through that hell of a genjutsu. But she did. She was already sensitive and fragile psychologically but now, she could even go into pure insanity from that genjutsu. She risked her life for you, and you call her things like idiot. Frankly, it should you. But it wasn't." Haku said.
Haku got up, and as he walked away, he turned around.
"You better be grateful to her... And now, you owe me, and you owe her. If she is ever close to dying, or is battling someone she cannot win, you had better intervene. And you better save her even if it costs you your own life. If you don't, when I die myself, I'll drag you down into an even lower level of hell." Haku growled before body flickering away.
Akiko's POV
It had been a few days, Haku was on a mission, and it seemed Naruto and Sasuke rarely wanted to leave my side. Sasuke would just silently sit in the room, barely even look at me. Naruto would go on and on and on. But something between them wasn't right. There was some kind of tension.
"Um, Naruto-kun? Sasuke-kun? What happened while I was unconscious?" I asked.
"Um... Aki-kun! Where's Ryota?!" Naruto said quickly.
"Why are you dodging the question, Naruto-kun?" I asked.
"We fought, not a big deal!" Naruto said.
"It was different, wasn't it?" I asked.
"Um..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"It's none of your business, Akiko." Sasuke said.
"Hm... Okay..." I whispered.
"Visiting hour is over, guys!" Sakura's voice rang.
"Thanks Sakura-chan!" Naruto sang with a blush.
"Just get out, Naruto..." Sakura growled.
Naruto walked out, then Sasuke followed.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun! I didn't notice you were here! You can so stay! I'll even stay in there to keep you company so that we can all have a nice group conversation. And maybe when Akiko-chan goes to sleep we can-"
"SAKURA! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO MAKE THEM GET OUT!" I heard a yell from down the hall.
Sakura immediately tensed up.
"YES, SEMPAI! Sorry, Sasuke-kun, you have to leave. But tomorrow you can come extra early and we can hang out, and-" Sakura was again cut off by Sasuke leaving, not even listening to the rest of what she had to say.
"Aw..." Sakura whispered.
"It's okay, Sakura-san. Maybe next time!" I said with a smile.
She gave me a weak smile and closed the door.
I looked up at the white walls.
"Hm... This is really enough to make a girl go stir crazy... Oh, what I would give to have Ryota in here. But no pets allowed sadly. Even after I told them he's not a pet, he's my teammate, they just looked at me weird... It's not cool... Oh my sweet kami, I am going stir crazy. I'm talking to myself... I just want a simple walk. That's all I ask." I said to myself.
I began to get up out of the hospital bed. My legs were very weak, and I had a small bit of trouble. But once I got my balance, it was simple.
Thankfully, I didn't have anything hooked up to me, or it would have been a bit more difficult to leave the hospital.
I climbed out the window and began to walk on the main road, hoping that no one from the hospital would look for me at such an obvious place.
I then saw Sasuke with a backpack walking towards the gate.
"Sasuke-kun?" I asked.
He seemed slightly surprised to see me.
"Akiko, shouldn't you be in the hospital?" he asked.
"Well... It was very boring in there... And I just wanted to take a walk." I said.
"Go back to the hospital." he commanded.
"What are you doing, Sasuke? Are you leaving the village?" I asked.
"There is no way for you to stop me, since you barely have the strength to stand, so I can tell you. Yes, I am. I'm not destined to go down the same path as you and Naruto." he said.
"So, you're just going to leave. Leave so that you can train with snake man who tried to kill Naruto and me?" I growled.
"Yes." he said emotionless.
"Are you stupid? Why would you do that? You can still get strong here in Konoha. Naruto, me, everyone will be heartbroken. Your my friend, my comrade, and I'm begging you to stay. Please don't leave us. We all love you, in one way or another." I said, now letting a single tear drop go down my face.
"Your naïve, Akiko. Something that is fake and all lies, like love won't make me stronger. That little thing you believe in about protecting those that are precious to you, is fake. Its a lie. The only thing that make you strong is hatred. Hatred gives you strength. It kills those petty emotions like love and happiness, and makes you be able to do things you never would have dreamed of doing before." Sasuke said.
Now, Sasuke was close to my face. Seeming to lean in closer, and closer.
"Love is nothing but a weakness." he said, before hitting one of my vital points, knocking me out.
'I should have been on my guard...' I thought, as I hit the ground.
Sasuke's POV
I had plenty of reasons to leave.
Strength and my hatred was a reason.
Akiko, was a weakness of mine. That is another reason.
There was something about her, that was interesting. It wasn't love. Though, some would probably call it that.
Just the thought of her facing Itachi, out of all people, for my sake was sickening. To think that this girl would risk her life for me. It was disgusting. Seeing her in the hospital because of me and Naruto, was revolting. Doing that not because of hatred. But because of something else.
I hated the fact that she would get hurt because of me. And what I wanted to do was keep her alive and preserve her for one day reviving the clan. Not because of something like personality or looks. Frankly, she was a plain girl. Black hair, brown eyes. Nothing stood out about her. But her power was amazing. Capable of using two different chakra natures as a rookie. While I was only able to use fire jutsu and different weapons.
That was all I liked about her. Her power, her kekkei genkai.
Though it was not even close to the power of the Sharingan, it was still quite the spectacle. Then, I began noticing the little things that she would do was attractive. The way she would shyly try to break up fights, and if she was in a fight, she'd give it her all, and not hold back.
And I wanted to protect her, not have her protect me.
I was a danger to her.
So I had to leave.
Maybe if I got my revenge, I would go back to her.
But, maybe not.
I just realized, I'm almost at the end of the original Naruto series... I only have one volume from Shippuden. Yikes. Looks like Baka-chan has some shopping to do.
Okay, so at the end of Haku's POV, I had to take a break. That whole last paragraph just grabbed my heart, and gave me goosebumps. I guess retyping that backstory just got me going. Then that threat was like, "OHMERGAWD, HAKU I WUZ WUUU!"
So, yeah, I had a good time with this chapter. It was fun to write.
Now since Shippuden is coming up, I say new Akiko. Like, her personality will undergo some changes. Oh believe it, at the end of Part 1, you may hate a certain man even more now. You'll see in the next few chapters, or at least the end.
ANYWAY! As much as I love the current FanArt Cover I have of Akiko that I got back when ATSM was its terrible beginning stages (like the first 20 odd chapters XD) but once Shippuden hits, then she probably won't look the same. So, how about I hold a contest.
For new Cover, for Shippuden! Just draw your picture of Akiko (Must have Akiko in it, Ryota is optional) and send me a link to it. Preferably on DeviantArt, since I have an account on there.
By the way, I drew this picture of Akiko in Road to Ninja, and I kinda crack up anytime I see it. Links to all FanArt is on my Profile! ^-^Anyway, Anime Song of the Day... The World of Midnight from Black Lagoon! I love Black Lagoon! And I mean it when I say it. I seriously love it. Its is awesome!
Kay, now that that's all done.
Thanks for reading! Don't be Ghost Readers, and BAIIIIIIIII~
