Chapter 1
"Kakashi! I'm home!" Akurei called, closing the door gently behind her. She hadn't expected to hear a response, but habit and hope that he had returned took over. He may have come back from his mission. It had already been two days. "Kakashi?" She called again, trotting all around, checking every room for signs of her older brother. His room was exactly as he had left it, though. In no time she had checked the entire small house. No sign he had come back and simply wasn't home.
She climbed up onto a chair and sat down at the small kitchen table, a few papers of homework in front of her. She could hardly see the papers on the table without craning her neck upwards. She had always been small for her age, and she was by far the shortest in her entire class by more than a few inches. Kakashi never teased her about being short. He may have been the only one.
She worked on her homework, basic math and reading. She would breeze through this and then move on to the extra work she had asked for, much more advanced knowledge about chakra pathways, tenketsu and the science behind basic cloning techniques. Even these she could do with ease. Her brother was a child prodigy, and while he never showed it, she knew Kakashi was pleased when she surpassed those around her as he always did. And as he expected from her, she would soon be promoted to the next academic level ahead of schedule.
She was only five, the same age that her brother had become a Genin. She worked hard to keep up with the pace he had set, but she thought her tiny size often hindered her physical progress. Kakashi never accepted that excuse, and was one of the only ones to push her to use her frail size to her advantage rather than treat it like a handicap. A smaller target is harder to hit, after all. He had warned her not to listen to other kids. They would be jealous that someone so young was smarter than they were. Other people shouldn't be regarded in a way that makes their opinions important, so Akurei shouldn't be able to get hurt by them. Shinobi are tools, and must always focus on the mission, something their father didn't do.
Akurei checked the clock every few minutes as she worked. Kakashi had just been promoted to Jounin and the leader of his group. He was only 13, yet again setting a precedence that Akurei would use as motivation. He had been gone for a few days on an important mission that would help the war effort. She was proud of him, and knew he would do his job well. But still she sat patiently, hoping this would be the moment he arrived home from his first mission as team leader. She hoped he would have enough energy to train with her this evening. He never went easy on her because of her size.
The sun began to set. The silence of the empty house was numbing, almost frightening. She would never admit it, but she hated being alone. Just knowing that Kakashi was nearby was comforting, even though he rarely spoke. The house would still be silent, but the feel completely different. Sensing his familiar chakra nearby, his presence was somehow warm-feeling. Now it was only cold and empty.
The sun had set long ago. The house now was black, a boundless pit of nothing. Her homework was on the table in front of her, forgotten in the darkness. She wasn't unaccustomed to being left alone, but she still hated it. Every time Kakashi had a long mission she seemed to be on-edge. She couldn't fully concentrate, she couldn't relax enough to sleep well, and when sleep did find her she would jolt awake at the slightest noise, anticipating her brother's return. She could always sense it from upstairs when he came home, no matter how quiet he was.
Kakashi told her that she was special, that not many people can feel chakra like she can. She could sense her brother's mood just by being near him. Her father's, too, before he died. She was too young to have anticipated what Sakumo's sudden chakra change had meant for him, but Kakashi didn't hold that against her. He had been weak, there was nothing to be done.
Akurei snapped awake, her short, stark-white hair a mess. She hadn't realized she had dozed off at the kitchen table. Someone was approaching the front door. Not Kakashi. She wiped drool off her face and tried to think of what time it was. Nighttime, obviously. No one should be coming near her house. She jumped out of the chair and started for the stairs as the approaching person banged loudly on the door.
"Hatake Akurei, open the door," The voice was deep, a man's. No. Something was wrong. She hurdled up the stairs, still groggy from sleep.
"We know you're there, please come to the door," Another man's voice called from downstairs as the loud banging on the door continued. In a panic, Akurei found herself in Kakashi's room. She hadn't expected him to be there, but a part of her wished he was. But this was also her escape route. His room faced the back of the house, and there was a small window that only she could possibly fit through. If the strangers got into the house, they would have to backtrack to reach her, giving her a head-start. She yanked open the window and wiggled through.
She leaped from rooftop to rooftop rushed and ungraceful, panicking, not even stopping to catch her breath for an instant. If the men following her were as old as they sounded, she would need this head start. No one came to their house, ever. Something was wrong.
She bolted into the dark streets lit only by shops and signs, dodging the sparse people scattered about. "Kakashi!" Akurei yelled, receiving stares from some but not holding still long enough to care. A momentary hush fell over a nearby bar as she ran screaming by, yelling her brother's name over and over. Her tumultuous presence on the quiet night street caused confusion in some, and pity in others. "Kakashi! Kakashi!" She almost ran into someone's legs as they exited a building, but she ignored the complaints that followed. Only one person mattered right now.
She continued sprinting down the street, the cool night air finally feeling raspy in her throat. She had turned some corners and now the streets were getting darker as the still-lit shops became scarcer. She continued to run blindly, maybe to the forest, she didn't know. Deep down she knew she should have been running to either the hospital, or the graveyard. "Kakashi-!" Her voice was suddenly cut off as she ran right into someone's legs and fell backwards. The man had appeared so quickly she didn't have time to turn. An older Jounin stared down at her.
"Hatake Akurei, please come with me." If he had been following her, it didn't show. She was so out of breath her chest hurt; he wasn't even breathing out of his mouth. She tried not to look at his face, for fear of seeing the look on it. But her eyes met his, and her heart sank.
No, this wasn't happening. She wouldn't hear what he had hunted her down to say. Akurei bolted up and turned to run the other way, but another Jounin was blocking her path. She froze, stuck in between the two of them. She could try to run around them, but they would catch her. Her mind raced, trying to think of another possible escape route. Could she go up? They were in a narrow alley, and her chakra control was already good enough for vertical running. If she could get to the rooftops again...
She knew it, she knew they would catch her, but still her mind raced. It was too late for a replacement Jutsu or shadow clone. Why hadn't she thought of that sooner? Before she could scold herself for not thinking better under such duress, the man behind her spoke.
"We are not here to harm you, Hatake," Akurei whirled around to face the man she had run into. His voice was calm, his face now a solemn mask. He must have realized that his empathetic expression had scared her into fearing the worst about her missing brother. She stared up at him with her cloudy gray eyes, focusing all of her willpower on appearing calm. "Your brother is in the hospital," The man said apologetically. Upon seeing the look on Akurei's face he quickly spoke again. "He is fine, don't worry... But he wishes to see you." The man seemed hesitant to reveal this information, or unsure of the content of his message. Something was definitely wrong.
Akurei stared up at him, trying to read his chakra patterns. It was easy with people she knew, like Kakashi. Their chakra was so similar it required little effort. But this man's was unknown to her, and she could gather no new information.
"We've wasted enough time. We'll take you to him now," The other Jounin said.
Akurei was silent the entire walk to the hospital, and her Jounin company didn't say a word to her. The closer they got to Kakashi, the faster Akurei's walk got until she was all-out sprinting. Her companions didn't say a word, just followed the pace she set. When they were right outside the hospital, the chakra of both Jounin changed so slightly only Akurei would notice. They were anxious.
The two stayed close to her as she ran down the halls of the hospital. She didn't need directions. She followed the feeling of despair.
As she rounded a corner, she found herself nearly running into Kakashi's sensei. Minato was leaning against a door, his head down and eyes closed. Akurei could feel his overwhelming sadness and anger like bugs crawling on her skin. He wasn't even making an attempt to keep his chakra under control, but no one else seemed to notice. His face didn't give away any emotion, but the air around him sure did. Could no one else feel it? If they did, they didn't want to discuss it. There were a few doctors near the door, and another Jounin. They were all silent.
Minato looked down at her. Kakashi was just beyond the door he was blocking. Why was he keeping her away? Kakashi wanted to see her. She thought about protesting, or trying to force him to move. If he saw how badly she wanted to get in, maybe he would let her by.
Instead she stalled. She tried to pick up any new information she could. She stayed perfectly still, feeling for any sudden changes in chakra from the medics and Jounin around her. The doctors were out here, and she felt only two people in the room beyond. No one had noticed yet. Good.
The only thing that worried her was Kakashi. From beyond the door she could feel his chakra as if he were right next to her. She had never felt it like this before. It was frantic, exhausted, uncontrolled and desperate. At its very core was nothing but sorrow. It felt a lot like her fathers had before he died. But it was unpredictable, and strong.
She wanted badly to ask Minato what had happened to put her brother in such a terrible state. Had he failed the mission? His chakra was too powerful, not an indication that his injuries forced him to fall back before he completed his task. No, that wasn't it. Something had shaken him, and badly. But the atmosphere of the older ninja around her prevented her from speaking up to ask. They were grim, and she had never seen the calm Minato so upset. Asking about what happened felt wrong.
"Akurei..." Minato finally spoke. He paused, searching for words. When he spoke his voice was slow and regretful. "Kakashi will be fine. But for now, maybe it is best that you do not see him..." He was torn. He knew Kakashi wanted to see his sister almost as much as she wanted to see him. But he was also afraid of what that might do to both of them. Kakashi had made a request in his anguish, one that Minato did not understand.
Suddenly Minato stood upright, eyes narrowed at the child before him. The sound of Kakashi's chakra igniting into Chidori filled his ears. The Akurei before him vanished in a puff of smoke. Raised voices came from behind the door. Minato burst into the room to see the two Hatake facing each other in the middle of the hospital room. Dark blue lightning chakra screamed around the room, encircling them both. Their chakra was resonating, and even Minato was having trouble figuring out where Kakashi's ended and Akurei's began. How she was managing to keep up with her brother was baffling enough to give Minato pause.
Minato could not piece together why the two of them were fighting. As he stared in disbelief, Minato noticed that Kakashi's chakra was out of control. He was in a rage, and his gigantic ball of chidori that encompassed both of them reflected that. Akurei's chakra couldn't compare to her brothers, but she seemed to be directing it. The veins of electricity did not touch her. Once the chidori got near, her own chakra fused with it and gently directed it back above their heads. Kakashi's intent was not to hurt her. They were having a battle of will.
"...just like dad. I thought you said..." Minato couldn't hear their conversation over the sound of screaming birds. Akurei's voice was deep and harsh, but somehow still soft. "...just like him!" They weren't yelling at each other, but rather forcefully speaking. Minato had a feeling this was the loudest they had ever been with each other.
Kakashi seemed to be getting a lecture about duty from his younger sister. The words he could make out were familiar. She was throwing his own philosophies at him. He had told her what happened, it seemed, and she didn't understand why Kakashi was so upset at losing a teammate.
"...would you do if I died?" Kakashi growled at her, his right eye wide and furious.
"That's different. You're family." She spat back, appalled that he would use such a counter-argument. Minato watched them each struggling to grasp the situation, frightened that he had absolutely no idea how to handle it. Should he break them up? Kakashi had been through something traumatic, and it changed him. He wanted his sister to see that. She did not, or she didn't want to. Instead Akurei clung to the teachings he had given her since their father died. What else did she have?
Minato recognized quickly why Akurei was so angry, and how their talking escalated into this. She didn't want to lose him. She wanted him to go back to the way he was, but his words must have indicated that he was different now, and she was feverishly denying this change. Neither one had ever been openly emotional, but Minato knew they cared deeply for one another. It was almost humorous that this was the product of their emotional exchange.
"I was wrong, Rei." Kakashi's chidori began to expand, whips of lighting cracking against the walls, turning the light fixtures and furniture in the room into dust and rubble. Akurei was visibly struggling to maintain control of her brother's power.
"Minato-san! This is getting dangerous! Stop them!" One of the doctors called from behind him. He put his hand up to silence him, deciding to let the siblings finish. Kakashi had never let out so much emotion before. Minato wasn't even sure he possessed emotion. But this was necessary for Kakashi to come to terms with, to accept his feelings. He wasn't just trying to convince his sister, he was convincing himself.
"No." Akurei was shaking her head. Her brother was exhausted. He was just lashing out. He didn't mean it. "You... always told me... feelings made a ninja weak... That's why dad..." Akurei was showing signs of weakening. Minato had to dodge a rogue bolt. She had been controlling the chidori so perfectly, but Kakashi was overpowering her. If Minato let this go on much longer, Kakashi would destroy more than just this room. And if Akurei suddenly let go, she would be hit hard. Still he couldn't make himself intervene.
"Obito said dad was a hero..." There was a tightening in Kakashi's chest he hadn't felt since their father's suicide. But this time it was worse. This time he was questioning himself, his way of life, instead of it being solidified. "Obito gave his life for me!"
"Because you had a better chance of succeeding-!"
"No, Rei!" Kakashi was finally yelling. His chakra was lashing in all directions. The doctors had long since left to get help to move nearby patients, and the other Jounin watched, ready to dodge hospital debris at a moment's notice. Kakashi spoke once more, but the chidori drowned out his words. It was thunderous, and in the blink of an eye Minato regretted not intervening when he had the chance. The lightning moved as fast as his flash technique, and he hadn't thought to put a tag on Kakashi or his sister. Akurei's eyes widened in fear as she lost control of Kakashi's chakra completely. The argument was over.
Akurei awoke in a different hospital room. Kakashi was not there. She bolted upright, looking for him, and tried reaching out for his chakra with her own. Instantly her body was overcome with pain. He hadn't injured any organs, as a concentrated chidori would do. He had flooded her system with his own chakra until she blacked out. Forcing her own chakra back out was proving to be agonizing.
They had played this game before, it was a good exercise in chakra control, and easy to do since their chakra was so similar it naturally resonated. But Kakashi had never inflicted such widespread pain before. He had wanted her to be unconscious. Maybe so he could leave without further confrontation.
Akurei slowly realized her fears were true; Kakashi was no longer in the hospital. As she forced her own chakra back into a functioning state, she reached out. Her range at sensing her brother's chakra was excellent. He was nowhere nearby.
Why would he want to leave? He was in no emotional state to be walking around anywhere. The doctors should have given him medicine to calm him down, but they didn't. They let his rage grow until she got there. But why?
The door to her small room opened slowly, and one of the doctors from before entered. He approached her bed slowly, watching her with apprehensive eyes. "I was told to keep you here until Minato returns. Kakashi plans to complete his mission, despite the loss of his teammates." The doctor tensed, expecting the child to bolt up or start yelling. She did neither. "Minato is with him. They'll be fine," He added, unsure of how to comfort her, or if she even needed it. Her face was completely blank, with only a flicker of annoyance.
Akurei noticed that his chakra was a bit erratic, a common trait of nervousness. He was hiding something. She continued to stare him down silently, observing.
"Is it safe to assume that you will comply with my orders? If... if you try to leave, you will be forcibly detained." The doctor waited for a response. Akurei gave no indication of cooperating or disobeying. Instead she continued to observe, and watched as his tension grew.
Perhaps he had never been stared down by an extremely tiny five-year-old girl. He had seen her and Kakashi's mental battle, he had seen her controlling tremendous power, even if he hadn't known exactly who it belonged to. It was the first time someone had looked upon her with genuine dread. She was unknown to him, her abilities were mysterious and dangerous to him. Her young age only made her more confusing. It suddenly clicked that an adult was afraid of her. It was a refreshing change from ridicule and belittlement.
This man must have been the only doctor ordered to watch her. He wouldn't have been this wary if he had backup. The other doctors must be busy dealing with the damage she and her brother had caused. She had blacked out before she could get a good look at the room, but she definitely had heard walls crumbling, windows breaking, things falling from above. She had to force herself not to smile and reveal her thoughts. She could overpower this medic.
He inched to the side, nearing some machines that beeped and hummed. He reached out and pushed a button quickly, backing up after the switch had been triggered. It was then that Akurei realized a flaw in her plans.
The machines were hooked up to her. There was an IV in the back of her forearm that she hadn't even noticed. How could she not have noticed? She was in a hospital, that should have been the first thing she looked for. She had read the information incorrectly. The doctor was scared, and she let that information cloud her judgment. He had accidentally tricked her, simply by being a timid man.
Just as she anticipated, she was lying on her back within a few seconds. Her strength was quickly sapped from her body. She blacked out with her hand around the IV tube, too weak to pull it out.