Thinking"

„Talking"

Impactful word"


"I have friends."

Most of her life had she gone without them but now, after succumbing to her desire for friendship, she came to truly grasp the importance of it. And also what she missed out during her early childhood, but strangely enough, she didn't feel regretful over it.

Every bad experience was good for something. In Akane's case, it was only through her self-imposed solitude that she came to realize the absence of populousness. Weren't it for that, Akane would still believe that bonds outside of family were not necessary to one's own existence. And from a biological perspective, she was right, however, the heart rarely followed logic. The heart chose what the heart wanted, and all were helpless towards its pull; as was Akane.

Her attachment to Haruko was a prime example of that; the love she came to hold for him preceded every thought her brain tried to rationalize.

But you still sacrificed him for Shirone.

She couldn't describe how much those words hurt her soul. Sometimes, she couldn't help but think of her mind as a double-edged sword. At times either her greatest ally... or worst enemy.

Would you do the same when it came to Shepard?

She wanted to deny this proposition, blaming it on the fact that they only knew each other for a few months, but that did little to dim what she felt. She would; in fact, she already did. Binthu, remember? She hadn't hesitated when it came to the red-head, even in the face of potential death. And she didn't just do that for anyone, only for those she truly cared about.

And that was the problem. She couldn't understand how quickly she came to care for the Commander despite everything that was going on around them. Between the missions. Between all the other crew members. It was almost as if they shared a connection all along, ridiculous as it sounded.

But in the end, it all came down to her own selfish attempt to keep her broken pieces together in a sense of mental self-preservation. After having lost literally everything, there wasn't much left to hold on to besides the Reapers. As much as she proliferated solitude as a form of matureness and independence, she was always dependent on another person for her life to have even a flicker of meaning.

Out of reasons unknown to her, something about living one's life for someone else strongly appealed to her. Perhaps she got a little bit inspired by those fictional books of hers. Ah, the hours she spent with her mind immersed in another world. School was undemanding, and she often found her mind seeking escape from boredom inside the plains of her imagination.

She hadn't gotten the moniker 'Hopeless Dreamer' for nothing. She had been a special case in her class back then. A loner whose field of vision narrowed on things that a child of her age shouldn't have on its mind but surprisingly, was left alone except for an occasional jab from her peers. Akane was content with their reaction, thinking nothing of their harmless teasing.

Much unlike herself, Shirone had belonged to the popular kids, almost always crowded by her friends. She never had any problems in that apartment, her easy-going nature and good-hearted attitude coupled with a healthy dose of humour made her a magnet for other's social life.

Although nothing could top her foul mouth during sports, entertainment was secured for sure. Not having been a player herself, reserved only for her books, she had often occupied the seats for spectators and simply watched her play with so much passion that it was a joy to see.

She heaved a long sigh, "I wonder if Shirone would be proud."

Quite some time had passed since she formed a friendship with the Commander. And fortunately, she wasn't doing as bad as she thought she would. Even her relationships with the other members of the crew spiked drastically, although that was mostly because of Shepard's persistent encouragement to engage in a few interactions. Like she had admitted before, there weren't many things she would deny the red-head of, seeing the image of her late twin in her.

Albeit Akane was still much or less the same closed-off person that had joined the Normandy all those months ago, there was no denying that she softened up on the crew. Trust took forever to build, and only seconds to shatter. Yet no amount of time could compare when strangers had to rely on each other on the battlefield.

The shinobi knew too well, how war could bond people together. People that joined the fight from separate backgrounds, out of different reasons, but fought to achieve the same goal. They all wanted to stop Saren, though she wondered if any of them expected to grow so much closer when they had initially joined the Normandy.

But this was not a war... not yet. But soon enough. Because the Reapers were preparing to come back through Saren's efforts. She sincerely doubted Saren fully knew what he was inviting into this galaxy and if he did, he must be truly misled by Sovereign's influence. But of course, as it was with the manipulative art of indoctrination, the victim rarely even acknowledged the fact that they were being controlled.

The Cipher, which was accidentally transferred from Shepard to her, had been the missing key to unlocking her prothean knowledge. Other than gaining the ability to understand their native language, she was close enough to control her 'reading' ability. At least to the point were accidents, like that one with Shepard, wouldn't become a common occasion.

It was all about the strength of mind and control. In some sense, it bore some resemblance to the application of genjutsu. Although she doubted that the same mental damage could be done through both methods. Moving on...

Saren had in mind to use the miniature mass relay, other known as the Conduit, to undo the last efforts of the Protheans. The surviving prothean scientists, as their last hope of trying to break the cycle of genocide the Reapers perpetuate, had used the Conduit to travel to the Citadel once the Reapers had departed. They had altered the signal the keepers received from Sovereign that would open the Citadel relay into dark space.

In the middle of contemplating, something crucial dawned on her. She had all the information there, in her brain, she even knew where the Conduit was located... however - Oh! Not the famous however! - she knew not of the nowadays equivalent of the planet, which left a bitter note on her successful acclimatization to her prothean nature.

Despite her foreknowledge of the enemy's plans, it served her nothing when she couldn't apply it to gain an advantage over Sovereign. Any advantage against the Reapers was one step closer to victory. The next best thing to do was to either roam the Milky Way until Saren made a move or stumble on a clue to his whereabouts.

That was really not much to go about on though.


Shepard POV

Although the hunt of Saren was their all-time objective. There wasn't much for them to do since he laid low after Noveria, hiding from their radar, undoubtedly planning his next move. So, in order for her crew to stay in perfect fighting shape, she had to play 'errands-girl' for the Alliance and such.

Not that she minded, hearing Hackett's gravel voice was already worth the effort, though it did nothing to prevent Joker's snarky comments from appearing once in a while.

Message coming in, Commander. Big surprise - the Alliance needs you again.

Yeah, something along those lines.

They had been doing a great job cleaning after Saren, with all the geth, and rachni, and thorian creepers, running amok all over the galaxy. Seriously, what ExoGeni still hoped to achieve with them was beyond her point of caring anymore.

Don't let her get started on the increase of rachni across the systems. Their nests were packed with them! Wrex wasn't kidding when he said they breed fast. Though for all of Wrex's reprehensions about her decision to let the Rachni Queen live, she noticed how much he enjoyed fighting them and his complaints made a gradual disappearance. Her biggest achievement with the krogan was when he finally opened up to her about some topics.

Imagine how delighted she felt when she had told him that she found something of great significance to him. Now she had known that he wouldn't express his happiness openly, though she also hadn't expected him to be rendered speechless. He always offered some sort of comeback, no doubt one of the perks of being old.

He had stared at his grandfather's armour, despite initially referring to it as a piece of crap. His blood-red eyes had told her differently. But she had kept silent, wondering what was on his mind before he shook his plated head in amusement, his expression gaining renewed vigour to its harshness.

"I might just be starting to like you, Shepard. Though haven't I asked you to bring me along should you find that turian scum?"

Shepard had scratched her head sheepishly, "Sorry Wrex, must have slipped my mind."

Thinking back, she truly forgot to tell him, as unconvincing as it must have sounded.

But thankfully, Garrus was easier to handle. Though on their chase after Dr Saleon, she had experienced another side of him that contradicted his laid-back attitude. He had shared his concern about the salarian, on one of her many rounds she had grown interested in his work at C-Sec. He had her shocked by his ruthlesness and for a moment, she had thought their friendship might be at stake when she had proposed to turn Saleon in, rather than killing him on spot. Truly, from what she had witnessed and heard from the former C-Sec employee, he deserved it more than anyone.

But she would have gone against everything she stood for if she had killed him in cold blood. Jane had sensed the wrongness of it sooner than her body acted. Even when it was against her friend's current desires, he eventually conceded with a wistful sigh. Yet none than a few seconds later, the salarian had erupted into a sprint and she pulled the trigger.

"And so he dies anyway. What was the point of that?" she remembered him asking indignantly.

She didn't know either, she could have hardly seen that coming and that's when a few words of Anderson's wisdom sprung to her memory, "You can't predict how people will act, Garrus. But you can control how you will respond. In the end, that's what really matters."

Giving how upset she had made him, he had surprised her another time by saying, "Yeah. I don't think I've ever met anyone like you, Commander."

He later even, she had no idea where that came from, thanked her for everything she had done for him at this up until this point and that he was glad to be part of the team. Of course, the heartfelt moment had to be ruined by none other than Wrex, who never passed up an opportunity to jab the turian with a few blunt words.

"You're trying to make us cry, Vakarian?"

"Do I see something reflecting in your eyes, Wrex?" Ah, how she missed their little fights.

Speaking of humour, she couldn't abstain from mentioning how contented she felt about Ashley finally warming up to the idea of alien company.

Her obvious distrust was something Jane had put her mind into regulating, attempting to sway her perspective of them to something positive since not all of them were what Williams ought them to be. The redhead's efforts seemed to bear fruit as could see that Ashley wasn't as overly cautious around her non-human crew members, though she had been taking too much personal enjoyment from teasing the poor, adorable Liara.

Some might think she had formed an attraction towards the asari, though her sister might disagree on this one. She had laughed her ass off when she had accidentally walked unto call from her sister - Sarah. Somehow the words Alenko and cute had been mentioned there, and she could have sworn she saw a pink hue forming on the brunette's cheeks. The incident had sparked quite a few topics for them to discuss. Jane liked to get to know her crew and the way the Chief had spoken of her family definitely spiked a not-so-subtle longing inside her heart.

A longing certainly Kaidan and Liara had awkwardly misinterpreted, as Scuttlebutt had been saying, by confessing their attraction towards the Commander. She hadn't even outright noticed that their feelings reached that far down, but was, on the other hand, quite relieved that both of them had addressed the issue sooner than the rumours could mould it into a mess. Or worse, a melodramatic love-triangle. The stuff for Jilani, Joker would tell her.

Careful about their feelings, Jane had made sure to let them down gently although she couldn't deny that she felt flattered.

Apart from the embarrassment of this whole ordeal, Kaidan actually managed to loosen up for a time being. Which was an achievement in itself, considering his shell had been even harder to crack than Akane's. Though it was clear that out of the two, Kaidan showed his human side more often despite his adamant sticking to protocol.

...

...

When it came to the young teenager, she felt things were much more complicated which could explain her reluctance to speak about them. Akane made it profusely difficult to open up, not that Jane didn't appreciate the challenge it provided, but it made most of their talks... uneventful. Basically, it was mostly Shepard talking about herself and Akane attentively listening with minimal input.

Don't expect special treatment. You've been actively inquiring about her whenever you stopped by Tali.

But she didn't strike a friendship with the girl just for the sake of personal information. It couldn't be farther from the truth. There was another reason - there was something about Akane, something that reached out to Jane. Whenever she was around her, there was always this urge to become closer to her. To get to know what she liked, what she disliked, her thoughts, her dreams. There was simply so much she wanted to know about her, questions she desired to ask.

Never had she felt to seek such a deep understanding of another person. There never was a person she truly wished to understand. No parent. No sibling. Just the Tenth Street Reds and her. Definitely not the ideal environment for... for anything actually, but it had been home nonetheless. She was too respectful and indebted to ask Anderson for more. He had already done enough by giving her the opportunity for a fresh start at the Alliance, that was why she hadn't dared to demand more of him.

And just as with Anderson, Jane couldn't get past her bashfulness to ask the teen, fearing that by trespassing the boundaries of Akane's comfort zone, she would ruin what she had assiduously formed with her. Though the soldier in her felt ashamed of her cowardice and threw a string of continuative curses the longer she kept herself from doing it.

Later, she kept telling herself as an excuse, ignorant of all risks her profession entailed. There was always a later...

...until Virmire.


Location: Sentry Omega Cluster - Hoc System - Virmire

This felt like the final turning point.

How could she tell?

Well, the ridiculous amount of geth for one, was a clear indicator that something major was happening in this area. For two, the salarian reconnaissance team filled them in on the missing information that they'd discovered Saren's base of operations.

With the Normandy grounded at the salarian's camp put them in an unescapable position that left them no other choice than follow through with what the Captain Kirrahe came up with. Oh, but the bad news didn't end here. Due to unlucky circumstance, Wrex listened in to what Kirrahe mentioned about the cure for the genophage and things went south real quick. Thankfully, he chose to throw a tantrum at an opportune moment, but still...

She had never seen Wrex this close to losing his temper, not even his little outburst on Therum was comparable to this. But before her mind could berate him on his behaviour she took a moment to realise that he had every reason to feel concerned about this. From the intel she had gathered from various resources, the Krogan were a few decades from extinction with absolutely no hope to reproduce. No silver-lining to the harsh fate the Council had subjected the species for their mistakes made during the Krogan Rebellions.

Akane was familiar with the pressure that time posed on the extinction of a race. It acted as a timer; a reminder of how many there were still left. The rising desperation that clung to those who wanted to change the course of their species' fate, resulting in some questionable choices. The hopelessness that arose when there were no other alternatives left.

Anyone who knew Wrex would know just how much he cared for his people. How much their overall recession bothered him. She had heard enough from the krogan himself, utilising her enhanced hearing for stealthy eavesdropping. And anyone would notice that beneath the layer of anger from his verbal dispute with Captain Kirrahe, there was deep confliction.

Taking her chances, she chose to confront him before Shepard got to it because while the Commander surely shared her sentiments, Akane spoke from experience, having lived through the struggle. From one veteran to another.

She walked up to him, walking lightly on the daffodil sand until she stood facing the same direction he was facing.


Wrex POV

Wrex considered himself a lenient man, successfully learning how to tame his violent krogan nature in the face of silent prejudice thrown at him from every corner. Traversing throughout the Milky Way's vast expanse, he had seen things most would not. He had lived through daunting odds - some he was most proud of.

But to this day he never thought he would let himself be so consumed in rage that he would do anything foolish.

The salarian hit a nerve when he talked about a cure - a cure - for the genophage conceived by Saren. Although the reasonable part of him knew that nothing good could come of it, the tiny, hopeless part that he had long given up on resurfaced stronger than ever. Evoking in him a feeling of possibility and hope - Hope!

How long had he been spent thinking about a dream that he would never manage to realize? Decades? Centuries? Wrex couldn't track the years wasted living off the barrel of his gun, reducing him to the typical krogan stereotype that was in just for the thrill of fighting and credits. It was simply who they were. And Wrex couldn't change that. Nobody could. So Wrex turned his back on the rest of the Krogan and left.

But now, everything he had ever dreamt of was presented on a silver plate, only waiting for him to take it. The temptation was strong, yet he hesitated to seize it. Why? Over the past three centuries, he had served no master but himself; working as a bodyguard, mercenary, soldier of fortune, and bounty hunter. He never trusted anyone enough with his life to put himself willingly under someone's command - not once after Jarrod's betrayal.

Commander Shepard though, he had willingly joined. This choice hadn't been inspired by some fancy noble reasons other than for his benefit, acting on a hunch of promise for thick action his dull job assignments had been lacking as of late. Although he wouldn't act on orders, he only had obliged to Shepard's because he mostly agreed on her tactical decisions. And when not, he did as he felt and she respected that, often if not following his example when she noticed a strategical benefit she might have overlooked.

He never doubted her strength either, she had convinced him of it on numerous occasions, thus stemmed his respect for her as a fellow warrior. And with respect came slow acknowledgement of her leadership and a large part of him saw the Commander as an honourable, trustworthy person. She hadn't given him a reason to think otherwise...

Hell, she even did more for him than his family ever did. And her crew wasn't of bad calibre either, though he definitely would manage without the turian...

This contributed to his current hesitation, all of this. Wrex noticed too late that he had company and became slightly startled as he regarded the stock-still kid staring at the wawes.

Out of all the people he expected to approach him, one of the least he imagined was Akane Uchiha. She hadn't really caught his interest until after the peculiar stunt she had pulled on Balak. He grew continuously interested in the human child to the point he had forgotten just how dangerous she truly was. Taking on Godrak, an experienced Krogan Battlemaster, on a one-on-one duel and actually gaining the upper hand.

Had he not intervened, he was convinced she would have won. Though at that time, he hadn't entertained the idea of ending his career in a fucking mine. So he had to bother speeding things up if it meant getting his krogan quad out of there.

"Nice weather, isn't it?"

The gruff laugh that escaped his wide mouth seconds later was entirely involuntarily, not expecting such choice of words from the unemotional human. It was almost as if she wanted to make him feel better, her time with the turian definitely showed.

"You're fucking insane, kid."

"Pray tell, what gave you that impression?" she asked amused, that was as much emotion as the krogan had ever witnessed from her. What was she attempting at? Anger momentarily forgotten, he narrowed his eyes on her. He admitted to himself that he trusted Shepard... and only Shepard. There were no exclusions.

"Don't play coy with me, child." he practically spat.

"You've overheard what that salarian said." His voice dropped an octave lower, calm but twice as threatening, usually, it was enough to get what he wanted from people. His blood-red eyes searched her person, gauging a desired effect he knew he would not get from the human.

If she was feeling threatened, she gave no indication. "What do you expect to come of this?" she inquired neutrally. Her voice calm as the waves they were watching. She treated on dangerous grounds, approaching a furious krogan, but when did that stop her?

He bristled at her preposterousness. As if she could demand an answer from him. Deciding he was done playing her little games, he turned sharply to her, shotgun levelled. Her hand flew instinctively towards the handle of her sword, but she made no move to draw them out and he wondered why.

The krogan was pointing a shotgun at her, obviously attempting to harm her, but she didn't seem alarmed at all. The rest of the camp hadn't been paying much attention until he initiated things. Was she using them as a pressure medium for him to cease his actions? No. She knew that this alone wouldn't suffice to intimidate him.

Did she trust him that much not to pull the trigger? For once the second time he was at a loss of words. Then, he watched her turn her head towards his, her face sporting not a cold expression, but neutrality. Yet it was the white of her eyes that once again, calmed the fury inside his being and made the cogs in his head turn again. He felt slightly intimidated by the power he felt radiating from them.

"Our people are dying, kid. And nobody lifts as much as a finger, not that I expect them to."

"Sir, I will be frank with you-"

He scoffed, "That would be something new."

"-these krogan are not your people. They are slaves to Sovereign's will and for Saren to do as he pleases. Is that what you wish for your people?" Her voice softened as it had never before with him. Gone was the monotone voice with a cold undertone and it assured him enough that she was honest with her words.

"No. We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the Rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous..."

The loudness of Shepard's armoured boots was absorbed by the sand as she approached to defuse the prickly tension between her two party members. Despite Akane's compelling arguments that his rational part agreed with, he still didn't trust her, but he was certain his loyalty to Shepard wouldn't get betrayed. Shepard wasn't the type to pull such a low stunt, he could tell after working with such pricks.

"Are you two clear?"

If the Commander expected a quick answer, then she was mistaken as both of them quieted down considerably, left to their thoughts. He glanced back at the teen who, to his surprise, looked like she had nothing left to add, letting the privilege of answering fall into his hands.

"All right, kid. You've made your point. I don't like this, but I trust Shepard enough to follow her lead."

"I wouldn't do this weren't it for the right reasons." he heard Shepard quip swiftly, wanting to show her appreciation as quick as possible.

Deep down he knew that those weren't just empty words of reassurance, but damn his luck if his decision wasn't remedied by Saren's head by the end of this mission.

It was up to Shepard to prove that he made the right choice...


Captain Kirrahe's speech to his men was inspiring, if not a bit exaggerated, but Akane was an Anbu. Granted that they were the elite of shinobi, they had been given missions that were most perilous. With a high chance of death whatever the mission's objective was.

She could sympathize with STG's need for moral elevation since there was a high chance most of his men wouldn't see the end of this. What truly had her mind at unease was that the Commander dispatched Ashley to the Captain's command, beyond Akane's range of interference. She almost admitted feeling scared for the Chief's well-being just as much as she had with Shirone's first deployment.

But she willed her nerves to calm lest she would give away her position to the geth. Being most adept out of Shepard's crew, she opted to scout ahead to make their infiltration as swift as possible. Time was of essence! The quicker they would do their part, the less time the other teams had to spent on the front line.

The higher the chances were of Ashley surviving.

Systematically did team 'Shadow' approach their planned location. Strenuous in their efforts to get through the facility grounds as soon as possible whilst searching for ways to lessen the pressure on the other teams which were frequently reporting in. Akane rejoined the other's once they had arrived at the facility's entrance, skimming through the base's structure with her Byakugan.

One by one they fell, enemies of large variety. Mostly geth and krogan, but also indoctrinated salarians who were once part of the STG. After freeing Lieutenant Ganto Imness, most likely the only salarian who remained sane enough for coherent speech and non-aggressive behaviour, they discovered the true purpose of Saren's experiments. Thus being the study of indoctrination.

A fruitless attempt which only cemented the Sovereign's control, but once she looked underneath the underneath, there were a few facts burrowed under this piece of information that might prove useful for their mission. Saren was not yet fully under Sovereign's control as he had enough freedom of will to even question the Reaper's influence on him. She doubted Sovereign wished to lose a valuable tool as the ex-Spectre so it kept its indoctrination subtle.

Just like with Tani. Just like with father.

This also meant that Saren's skills prior to indoctrination were preserved and therefore would not make an easy enemy. On the other hand, his apparent hesitance towards his allegiance with Sovereign could be exploited as a potential weakness. Perhaps it also meant that there was still hope left for him; a chance of breaking free. The same chance that Akane had robbed the Abenjazū of.

Following the map Garrus managed to get his talons on from tinkering with their security panel, they followed the route towards the rendezvous point until it led them to a closed pathway blocking their path. The slight movement almost made them pull the trigger.

"Don't shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before its too late." cried the person covering behind the desk. An asari came out as soon as she spotted them, lowering their guns.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked pressingly.

"Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. You think the indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, Saren will-"

Not having time for the asari's panicky rambling Shepard cut her short, "Give me one reason to help you?"

The asari swiftly dashed off, "I-I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in."

"How can we trust what you say is true?" Akane's monotone but strong voice resonated within the room, rattling Thanoptis.

"Oh! Uh- I've made a copy of our research," she scrambled for the disk of data which she handed eagerly over to Shepard, "here! Take it!"

"I'm going to blow this place to hell and gone. If you want to make it out alive, you'd better start running." said the Commander sternly as she rushed towards the open passageway. It wasn't long until they found themselves inside the ex-Spectre's lab, which was largely empty, save for the one thing nobody could have predicted would be there. An intact prothean beacon. Were in Kami did he get that one?

"Are you sure Commander that it is advisable to interact with the beacon? I heard last time it knocked you cold." inquired Garrus apprehensively, earning him another scornful remark from Wrex, who compared to half an hour or so, sounded like he fully regained his calm. Probably from seeing truth in Akane's words earlier that day about Saren's so-called 'cure'.

"Watch my back." she simply ordered as she was swept up in the air by the beacon's field.

"Man, that looks even creepier up close. Ashley sure wasn't stretching it." Garrus concluded staringly, his sub-vocals slightly changing their tone.

"On that, we are of one mind," Akane observed Shepard's condition with the Byakugan until it stopped, "Ma'am, is everything all right?" she asked with the barest hints of worry lacing her voice.

"Positive. Just a bit rattled that's all." They made their way out of the lab when the Commander abruptly came to a stop. There was a red interface glowing slightly on the platform above them that hadn't been there before and Shepard chose to investigate it.

They jumped at the red hologram that popped out of nowhere. "I get the feeling something bad is about to happen."

Yeah, there was a dreadful feeling hanging over the whole facility. As if fate waited for the right moment to drop something inevitable in their way. The 'inevitable' appeared in form of a red hologram, showcasing nothing else than the mastermind behind Saren's goal.

"You are not Saren." resonated the strident voice of Sovereign's.

"Well, aren't you perceptive." she thought she would never hear something this contextually stupid from a Reaper.

Speculation broke out between the other party members as they assessed the Reaper in front of them. They, of course, had never gotten to see an actual Reaper, hence the confusion. Akane narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the Reaper, searching for possible reasons why it would want to converse with them in any way. She knew the Reapers did not do talking, believing themselves to be above the act of contacting those they deem lower.

"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."

"I don't think this is a VI, Commander. It's pulling one hell of an attitude with us," stated Garrus in all seriousness. Akane smirked under her collar, rightfully amused. Leave it to Garrus to disperse any tension in the room.

"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!" it continued, ignorant of whatever Garrus said.

"What a surprise!"

"Sovereign isn't just some reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual Reaper!" she almost rolled her eyes when Shepard got it. Patience, they will get there.

"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."

"The Protheans vanished 50 000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!"

"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."

"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to fight you!" Shepard barked back.

"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."

This even piqued Wrex's interest, "Cycle? What cycle?"

"The pattern has repeated itself more time than you can fathom. Organic civilization rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind."

"Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?"

Akane was surprised of Sovereign's talkative mood, his kind hadn't bothered contacting her people in any way other than for the purpose of indoctrination. "Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire."

Wait, what? But then, why would they harvest her people if they hadn't met the conditions of the harvest in the first place?

Suddenly she felt a tentative touch on the corners of her mind followed by a fierce push that forced her to bite the inner walls of her cheeks in order to stifle her cry of anguish that wanted to escape her. No-

"We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution."

She felt herself falling, even when she fought back, it didn't accomplish much as darkness continued to ensnare her senses. I don't want to-

"You exist because we allow it."

Any outside noises dimmed to the point where she only heard the increasing sound of Sovereign's voice inside her head. Please-

"And you will end because we demand it."

Help me!

"Assuming direct control."


Location: Unknown

Time: Unknown

At first, there was nothing. She saw nothing. She smelled nothing. She felt nothing.

But then, there were sensations and emotions flowing through her empty being as easily as if she took a breath. And then, her eyes opened and the sight she was met with was the sight of her dreams. Onyx eyes met their parallel as she gazed longingly at the face of her lover, who greeted her with a comforting upturn of his lips.

"Another nightmare, love?"

The tears cascaded down her cheeks without stopping as she tried to force words through the lump in her throat. She opened her mouth but nothing came out as she choked on her own emotions. Akane was rendered useless in her efforts to conjure some kind of response as Haruko's hand drew soothing patterns across her scalp. For a moment or two, she forgot what she even dreamed about when the memory of Sovereign's attempt to invade her mind came up.

She dislodged herself quickly from his lap as if his touch was physically burning her. Disoriented and confused, she tried to get a grip on reality but she failed as soon as her eyes met Haruko's again.

"You shouldn't be here. This is not real; a trick by Sovereign to weaken my resolve." she tried to reason even though her voice lacked conviction.

She expected immediate rebuttal from the 'vision' of her lover. Telling her, desperately trying to convince her that this wasn't the case yet nothing came. He silently watched her with the cold expression that often used to mirrored her own, perhaps thinking of his next move now that she had seen through him.

Then he did something she had never expected him to do, he chuckled. A genuine sound that Sovereign would be incapable of mimicking. "As sharp as ever, my love."

Akane was convinced that this wasn't of the Reaper's doing. The machine was incapable of feeling anything remotely close to emotion so it had no way to replicate what it didn't understand. Feeling more at ease, she took it upon herself to identify her surroundings.

"Where are we?"

"In your subconscious."

"But how are you here? You died... by my hand."

"I did," he said with no contempt. And any other words she could have possibly formulated died on her tongue.

"Because Sovereign forced my hand," upon seeing her obvious confusion he continued, "Allow me to explain."

He stood up from his place at the ledge of the skyscraper and closed the distance between them, tenderly covering her smaller hands with his own, further reassuring her that such tenderness wasn't of Sovereign's doing.

"I detested the idea of leaving you behind without at least atoning for my failure, so I took precautions. Before I passed away, I cast my Kotoamatsukami on you as a safety measure. However, I programmed it so that it would only respond once a Reaper would try to take over your mind, hence why it hadn't worked when you came in contact with the beacon."

At the end of his elaboration, he looked a bit apprehensive, perhaps unsure of how she would respond to his planning without her consent. She, having done the same to him before his death, opted to disperse his worries in an instant by capturing him in a bone-crushing hug. How can he think of himself guilty when he had all done it for her protection?

"Do not ask forgiveness for something I did also, my heart," she said warmly, enunciating the words of endearment so he would get how much he still meant to her.

"I guess I was always a sore loser."

"Only with others, but not with me." Akane smiled.

He returned her joyous gesture, "No. Never with you, my love."

They joined in their happy moment of reunion with a single lip kiss initiated by none other than Akane, even though they had missed each other in equal measure.

"I love you, you know that right?" she asked slowly, giving him that timid glance.

He remembered those words she had gifted him so freely a day before death parted them, "More than words can express."

...

They enjoyed a brief breather, basking in the warmth that their admissions of love created until it was time to say goodbye.

"Your friends are waiting for you. There is a mission to complete, much to my chagrin."

The landscapes blurred into colours as their connection collapsed. "Haruko, wait!"

"I love you in death as I had done in life." were his last words as he too dimmed into a miscellany of colours.


"Akane! Akane, wake up!" There was someone's voice along with some light slapping on her cheek.

On the person's second try and increased tapping, the Uchiha opened her eyelids and unconsciously took a quick breath as if she was starved of oxygen. She felt Shepard pat on her back as she regained breath and calmed down. She felt something dry on under her eyes and touched it. Blood.

"You okay there, kid?" she nodded to Wrex' question.

"How long was I out?" she asked, concerned that her episode created a time lag.

Shepard and Garrus helped her hop back on her feet. "Just for a couple of seconds."

"Perfect, let's make haste."

Without further ado, they closed the last distance between their objective.


"Team Shadow at the detonation point. What's your status, Captain?" Shepard asked through the comms, waiting for the Normandy to deliver the bomb. Kaidan and some of the staff were already carrying the contraption on the field by the time she told the Captain to disengage so it would lift up their chances of outrunning the blast.

Once the bomb was at place, the Lieutenant bellowed, "Bomb is in position. We're all set he-"

"Commander, can you read me?" The distressed voice of Ashley rushed in, prompting Akane to take a look at their situation with the Byakugan. It took her some time to locate them, but when she had, it didn't look good on their side.

"The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous point, Williams!" Shepard answered with unhinged urgency that betrayed how unsettled she was.

Akane's blood froze as she listened to Williams' next words, "Negative, Commander. The geth have us pinned to the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties. We will never make the rendezvous point in time."

That sent Shepard into panic, "Get them out of there Joker, now!"

Before Joker could even form a response, Ashley interjected, "Negative. It's too hot! Can't risk it. We'll hold them as long as we-"

She never finished the line as the comm fell silent.

Akane watched Shepard's cogs turn a mile per minute when she thought about a way to help Ashley. The Uchiha grew restless as she watched Ashley's team from the distance, unknowing to the others. Something had to be done about it before it was too late.

"It's okay, Commander. I need a couple of minutes to arm the bomb. Go and get her out of there."

They needn't be told twice as they ran towards Ashley's position at full tilt. However, as much cunning as they had shown with their strategy, the enemy was about to repay in equal. They did not get two feet out when Akane picked up its dreadful presence. Sovereign was here! Along with reinforcements.

The geth ship flew over them as they halted in their steps, "Heads up, L-T. We just spotted a troop ship headed to your location."

"It's already here. There is geth already pouring out all over the bomb site."

The situation turned around its axis in as much as an instance, but what did she expect to happen? It was a suicide mission after all. Such missions never went according to plan, no matter how brilliant. The odds were from the very beginning, against them. Everyone was determined to see this through no matter what. She was certain that a good portion of salarians already lost their lives. And Kaidan and Ashley were seemingly prepared to do the same.

That didn't mean Akane was ready to accept that.

This was a moment she wanted to avoid at all cost, that was why she was desperately trying to quell any attempts at friendship. But against her better judgement, she grew attached and let them into her weathered heart. She didn't know if she could put herself back together after another loss.

Hell, she had barely kept it all together after Shirone's death.

Although part of her wanted to continue pretending to have a strong front. Looking deeper into herself she realized... another death of someone close would devastate her beyond hope of repair.

"I am activating the bomb."

For a brief of a second Shepard's and Akane's orbs met, reflecting the same pain Akane once felt. Nobody should decide who would live and who would die. She would not let the tragedy of the past repeat itself. Not while she still drew breath.

Time was running out, and neither of the two would hold out much longer until Shepard chose who to assist. She had to go behind Shepard's back, although the red-head made it difficult for her to do otherwise. The Uchiha knew that Shepard would forbid her to venture alone into the fray to help either of them, fearing the risk of another potential loss.

But she had to do it. Even if Shepard would hate her for it.

The white of her eyes disappeared from sight and her orbs had taken a slightly glowing red colour, though this time, instead of morphing into the basic Sharingan, the black tomoe spun and formed an entirely new pattern.

"Forgive me, everyone," Akane said clearly, for everyone to hear as they, in return, turned to look at her, just in time to activate her jutsu.

"Kanzen Saimin!"

The effect was immediate as the three of them fell for the genjutsu. Guilt slashed at her for using it on her allies (and especially Shepard), but she saw no better alternative than going against her command.

"For what?" she heard Shepard talk to her illusion. But the real Akane was already out of sight, sprinting in her lightning chakra cloak to Ashley's position. Landing neatly in the midst of the small group, she tried to make her presence known subtly as to not stressed them out. Even the slightest distraction could mean immediate death.

"Akane?! What the fuck are you doing here?" Ashley shouted, her adrenaline spiking through.

"I will hold them off, you fall back with the rest!"

"I would be damned to leave you behind!" The Chief stubbornly insisted and despite the timing, her heart was touched by her words, but this wasn't about her. It was about saving Ashley, someone she grew to care about; her friend. But there was more than her selfish attempt at saving her heart from grief. There was always more.

Her heart was by no means whole. Not after everything she had been through. It was shattered into a million pieces, each of it a single unit that threw its own two cents at every decision.

A part of her would genuinely miss Ashley if she died.

A part of her wanted to disappear from existence for good, unable to bear the burden of living in a world where neither Haruko nor Shirone were alive.

A part of her saw in this an opportunity for retribution.

I hope you can forgive me.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

Akane watched her whole demeanour cool down in a sort of trance, then when her brain perceived Akane's order the brunette barked out for the rest of the salarians to fall back.

It was better this way.


Shepard POV

Stay alive. I'll be coming to get you too, Ashley.

She regretted saying such hopeless words so carelessly as the escalating influx of geth almost overwhelmed them. Saren joining in hadn't tipped their chances either, though she was almost rivalling Wrex in her thirst for his head. And what a reason she got for putting a bullet through his head.

Ashley would have wanted that.

She stopped her negative train of thought instantly, berating herself on her lack of faith in the Chief.

"Nuke arm- argh!" Kaidan howled as his kinetic shields gave up, forcing to take a shot to shoulder.

Jane abandoned her cover, not before enclosing her body in a biotic barrier whilst she tried to relocate the shot down Sentinel out of the line of fire. But Saren expertly threw such a strong Throw at her that it knocked her back a few metres, in spite of the barrier. Before she knew it the turian had her by her throat, his sharp talons biting into tender skin.

She felt air leave lungs at the pressure he clutched at her neck tighter, black dots appearing in her vision. She kicked him in the gut but that only made him waver slightly though enough for her to put a decent hook into his chin, sending Saren on his cybernetic ass, which forced him to drop her back to the ground. She stumbled, trying to regain footing with the loss of oxygen and she vaguely noticed the alarm sound of the bomb ticking off.

Saren also made a run for it as soon as he got back on his 'flying platform'. Shit! They needed to evacuate, sprinting to throw Kaidan over her shoulder and back to the Normandy.

"Move! Move! Move!"


The geth force she had dealt in Ashley's stead was immense and she mentally had to compliment the Chief's achievement in holding them off as long as she did. They pushed her Raiton: Chakura Mōdo to its limits but she managed to hold out just in time the bomb was moments away from detonation.

Akane, certain that not a single geth had made it past her line of defence, relaxed behind cover, knowing she had achieved what she desired. Though she was unsure what to make of her stampeding feelings in the face of impending doom. She wasn't afraid of death, having had her fair amount of brushes with it, yet for none of them she had to wait. Perhaps that was the main factor for the myriad of emotions flashing through her mind.

But there was no use thinking about them now... she had sealed her fate.

What was important was that everyone she cared about made it out alive, at least a large part of her hoped, she felt like she could die a happy woman. Closing her eyes, she imagined her deepest desire within the confines of her mind. There were her parents, Shirone and Haruko, smiling merrily at each other. No pain. No suffering. Just them together at one place where she wanted to be.

I am coming home.

...

Don't follow after me so quickly, okay?!

Shirone's words forced her out of her wishful thinking, every notion of going down peacefully was cast aside as she summoned her Susanoo. She ran at her fastest pace she managed, trying to put as much of a distance she could from ground zero. The manifestation of her chakra enclosing her as deep in its shell as it could whilst she reinforced it with additional layers of armour to withstand the fatal amount of heat the explosion would radiate.

Promise me!

It was at this point through sheer survival instinct that she acted. White engulfed her vision as she felt the unstoppable shockwave blast her through the air, sending her body flying like a rag doll. The impact of the collisions she suffered in the next few seconds were cushioned by her Susanoo as the heat crept up her body, searing skin almost to the bone. She didn't know she was screaming while her cries went unperceived by her ears as they went numb in the face of overwhelming voltage from the explosion.

"I can't-"

"-die."

"I-"

"-promised."

She made one last valiant attempt to hold her Susanoo together whilst her concentration was slipping out of her grasp until it seconds later dissolved into nothingness. There was no denying that death would claim her within a second.

I am sorry, Shirone.


Shepard POV

Her body felt the weight of the mission when the adrenalin finally wore off.

Her mind felt the weight of the mission when she realized who she had sacrificed.

Her green eyes began tearing up at the thought of Ashley but she had to stay strong. Not for her reputation as a Spectre, as the Hero of the Blitz, as the Captain of the Normandy, but for her friend; who she had to leave behind. With her head held high, the Sentinel in her needed to draw strength from the sight of people that were left. The green of her eyes, dulled by exhaustion, wanted to survey the storage room but a distinct voice beat her to it.

"WE NEED TO GO BACK SKIPPER! AKANE IS STILL DOWN THERE!" The voice raved.

The person shouting got the attention of everyone on the deck, and most of them gasped as the image of Akane Uchiha broke like glass and revealed the very same person Shepard mourned only seconds ago.

"Ashley?! Wha-"

"NO TIME! JOKER! JOKER! TURN AROUND THIS FUCKING INSTANCE!"

Wait. Wait. Wait. What the fuck was happening? Why was Ashley here? Since when? How come she hadn't noticed? Where had Akane gone off to?

She was adamant in her belief that Akane had been with them the whole time. For God's sake, she saw her! With her own two eyes! Could she have imagined it? And now she disappeared from sight! As if it was nothing other than a cruel trick of her mind.

Nothing made sense.

She was broken out of her shock-induced stupor when the Chief went on a rampage, caused by her inaction and Joker's silence. To where? The cockpit. The Commander, of course, fearing what the woman might do to put things into action, followed her through the decks, taking three to four steps at a time.

"DON'T MAKE ME BREAK YOUR BONES, JOKER!" Ashley's threatening voice resonated throughout the first deck, her composure cracking under the pressure, despite not being still on the battlefield. The other crew members made no attempt to interfere, fearful of ending up in the Chief's warpath.

"How can I when I have you strangling the shit out of me?!" he wriggled within her grasp, annoyed, though fear was tangible in his eyes.

"WILLIAMS!" Jane had never raised her voice like that. It seemed like she had reached her breaking point as well, but it at least brought the brunette to stop.

"Ashley..." The red-head went more softly, trying to steady her voice.

"I- I am sorry, Skipper." The Chief put the pilot gently back into his seat, where he immediately began typing with an indignant huff, "I- I can't believe Akane didn't make it. How could we just leave her down there?"

Jane knew how much Ashley came to care for the black-haired teen over the course of their mission, often pointing out how familiar to her sisters she was, though never actually confessing her feelings to the Uchiha at all. She even contemplated asking the girl if she wanted to meet her family, saying that Abby would be delighted to meet her since she shared her fascination in swords.

Shepard, who was sharing her opinion about Akane fully supported her plans, even having a few ones of her own after the mission. It might seem like a big decision, but Shepard seriously considered taking Akane under her wing, similar to what Anderson had once done for her. Though she withheld this from Akane, waiting for the right opportunity to tell her.

An opportunity that would never arise.

The red-head sighed deeply, trying to avoid the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes. She knew that Jane meant something to the teen, having endangered her own life on numerous occasions that preceded any contract obligations. As if she valued Shepard's life more than her own.

Who, in their right mind, would do that for a stranger?

No one, because as much as Akane tried to hide it from the rest world, she was not 'all right'. Especially after her breakdown. On many instances, it seemed to her as if Akane was in a hurry to die.

What had happened for a young girl to be so desperate for death?

"The scans are picking up a massive energy signature!" she heard Pressly shouting from his console.

"Could it be her?" Shepard wondered hopefully.

"It certainly isn't the bomb."

"Can you get us in?"

He set his cap straight. "In no time."


Shepard POV

"This is as close I can get, but I can't pinpoint her location." she heard Pressly talk through the comm.

They were dropped off approximately four klicks away from ground-zero, relying solely on the navigator's coordinates since the thick mix of vapour and fallout particles, made it impossible to look further than a few meters. It was like searching a fucking needle in a haystack!

But she insisted on continuing this fruitless endeavour even though Wrex and Garrus felt convinced that she couldn't have survived the explosion. She couldn't face up to the thought of her death. She simply couldn't give up on her. Not after everything she had done for Jane, for the Normandy.

"Shepard, I think we found her!" Garrus picked up a shape with his sharp eyes. She drove as per the turian's instructions and became increasingly paler each metre they got closer. When the shape became more distinctive, there was no force in this world that could hope to stop her from running towards it.

It was as if all strength had left her when she took in the sight of someone she considered special. The tears came unabided, hidden behind her helmet, but still there, when she saw the charred body of Akane Uchiha.

"Spirits! She still has a pulse!" Garrus exclaimed miraculously, disbelieving what his omni-tool was showing him.

Move, soldier!

"Normandy! Need a pick-up, asap!"

On a flicker of hope, Jane immediately seized the small body bridal style and ran as fast as never before in her life. Every second wasted was one step closer to heaven's doors for Akane. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let such a miracle pass away.

Please hold on, Akane! Please hold on for me!


Words dictionary:

Kanzen Saimin 完全催眠 / Complete Hypnosis - Is the ability of Akane Uchiha's left Mangekyō Sharingan, which puts a target in a genjutsu, where the user controls the five senses to the point where it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel, and smell to the user's desire. When Akane turns off the hypnosis by force of will or chakra exhaustion, the image shown shatters. While the illusions Akane creates are quite powerful, those with considerable power and skill themselves may be able to note slight differences in the illusions compared to the real thing, even if they are not able to determine what exactly is different.

Reien 冷炎 / Cold Flame - Is the counterpart jutsu to Amaterasu. From her right Mangekyō Sharingan, Akane can ignite a bright white flame at whatever she looks at. This white flame, however, does not produce heat. Instead of burning with heat, the white flames burn with cold as if they were ice. This cold burn is equivalent to that of the effect of frostbite. The amount of damage done with this flame depends on how long and how much of it consumes the body.


Author's note:

#1. I usually wouldn't bother you after such a long chapter (which you simply deserved for your infinite patience) but I just couldn't pass up not to give credit to the inventor of Reien. There would be a link to the blog but somehow the doc manager doesn't want to cooperate with me, though the link is posted on the AO3 and Wattpad version of the story so be sure to check it out!

#2. Anyway, what do you think of Akane's Mangekyō? Is it too strong? Too weak? I don't know if you noticed but Kanzen Saimin is the original ability of Aizen Sousuke in Bleach (please be gentle with me Bleach fans). I know I bore you with lame ideas but I really thought that it would sit well with Akane.

#3. Don't bother telling me Akane is still alive through plot armour because that is absolutely not the case! There is logical reasoning behind her survival, outside of the concept of plot armour.