Hello! I apologise for the wait between chapters and unfortunately, after the next chapter I'm going to post, that wait is going to be longer since tomorrow I am going to china to visit some family and I will be gone for about a month. Hence the two present gift! Please enjoy!
This hasn't been beta'd because I didn't want to not post before I left. Sorry for the mistakes!
To be honest, those four days were very stressful, not the most but high on that list. I had starved myself in worry for Kakashi with only eating nuts when my stomach gave out sharp pains that had me unable to move too much.
That man causes the most amount of worries in my life! But I do wonder from time to time what would have happened if I wasn't there? Would another enemy team have been sent to retrieve him? Would his team had found him in time? Was it something I did that gave him that mission into rain?
Such questions had little to no answers but were the cause of some sleepless nights.
The next few days on the road I had to be careful of what I ate. I could only eat thin broths from the herbs that I had.
Eiko and Fumiko later became good friends, especially on the road and when ever I was near the border of Rain, I would make a point to visit them. Although the jealously Fumiko had against me never vanished but was merely swept away under a rug so to speak.
Hisao's friend? Well, he was indeed Yamato. Though I had my suspicions, I hadn't learnt about it until later, much later. As for the drunk man Gemna, well, he was a hoot! He definitely played the part of a drunk all to well! I speculated for weeks on end why he would do such a thing as ridiculous as reveal his identity since those in ANBU were supposed to be anonymous.
Those days...
Excerpt from the Memoirs of Akiko Hatake nee Reko
Page 129
x
Akiko could feel the heaviness in her heart as she walked further away from the tea shop but she refused to think of the reason why. She wanted nothing to do with what was to come and meeting Kakashi was enough for her.
Her stomach grumbled loudly signaling that it was midday and time for a small lunch. Since she hadn't eaten properly during the days she had treated Kakashi, Akiko knew that she had to eat thin broths to sooth her stomach and get it acclimatized to solid foods, just to be safe.
Resting at the base of a nearby tree, Akiko rummaged though her small bag and retrieved her water skin. Releasing a forlorn and tired sigh, she stared at the road before her as she drank.
Perhaps in the next town over, she would stop for a drink. Akiko felt like she needed one.
x
Akiko followed the road for a month and her weariness passed as the excitement of reaching another town took it's place. She still wanted that drink but for more happy circumstances around.
The amount of ground she covered was much more and a lot faster due to the fact that almost the entirety of the Land of Fire was flat and is either covered in tress or to open grass land.
Akiko found that while she liked the travel time on the roads of Fire, she still preferred the scenery, sunrises and sunsets of the Earth border.
The views from the peaks of the mountain ridges, the colours of the sunsets and sunrises. All were beautiful and idyllic and at times, when the fire warmed her well enough, she would dream of that one perfect place with sunsets and a single tree on a hill top where she could sit and watch the sky until the stars came out and the moon came to say hello.
Fire Country is a warm place where the sun beats down on her back during the day and the wind chills during the night and since she had just missed winter, Akiko takes it as a small blessing.
But it was a place that she could grow to like.
Her own country was fair tempered with snowy winters. Lush and green during Summer and spring, a brilliant amber and orange during the Autumn. And winter was the one season she loved the most for that was when the plum blossoms bloomed, resilient and persevered through the harshest of weathers, through the cold and the winds.
Akiko's thoughts were so deep in nostalgia that she was unaware that the foliage had changed from a few spindly trees to thick forest.
It was when a cold drop of water had fallen on her nose that she snapped out of her memories and noticed her surrounding for the first time.
The tress were thicker and their leaves, though high in the canopy, were a dark green with a large surface area and similar to that of the rain-forests of her own first life.
Akiko found a small comfort walking through the silence, covered by the leaves and watching the sunlight filter through the leaves and see the particles of dust dance through the air, a sight she had seen mostly in photos and was glad to see this small piece of magic herself.
x
It took another two days of sleeping on damp ground and against uncomfortable tree trunks before Akiko began to see various signs of civilizations.
There were some signs along the road like the occasional smoke stacks from nearby fires, to man made signs of 'WARNING, BANDITS ON THIS ROAD' but those were usually half rotted, covered in moss and lying broken on the ground. The main thing that had given it away was the massive stone wall that she could see in the distance that got larger the close she got.
On the Third day, Akiko crossed paths with a caravan travelling in the opposite direction. The caravan was made up two horse drawn carriages and what looked like twenty people.
Akiko heard the happy screams and laughter of children and the numerous stamps of feet and the faint sounds of the clopping of the horse's shoes. Not long after, the large group came into view.
The wagons were the first of what she could see with two people on the front of one of the wagons with the driver laughing together and the other who was closet to her, just sitting there smiling. Then it was the children who ran abroad, taking up more space than needed. Five of them, all running care free and full of life. Though they were scrawny and a little dirty, the three girls and two boys were very cute.
Akiko shifted her path until the group had almost the entire road to themselves. The driver closest to her had seen what she did and smiled with a nod of thanks.
Akiko looked out from under the brim of her hat and gave an easy going smile in response and looked at the group before looking at the driver again. In return, he merely laughed and waved.
"Where are you headed?" Akiko called as she came closer to the driver.
"We're going to Suna!" He yelled back while brushing his fringe length hair back.
"Safe travels then!" Akiko moderated her voice as the passed each other.
"Thanks! You too!" He called in reply
Akiko grinned at the back of the man as she turned for another look.
'Suna, eh? I would like to visit that place. Preferably after the red head calms down some more.' She thought to herself as she observes the rest of the caravan.
There were women and men walking along the wagons, some with happy, hopeful smiles others with regretful and wistful looks. What made her frown were the two pregnant women, who looked to be about in the second trimester, sitting on the wagons giggling with each other.
She wasn't sure if they should be traveling in their condition but from the worried looks the two men dressed in farmers clothing with a small sack hanging from their backs, shoot each other as they trail after the women, they appeared to be set on this journey and were not to be swayed otherwise.
Silently, Akiko hopes that there is a physician or at least a midwife traveling with them should the babies come early.
The children run past her and catch her by surprise as they shout their excitement of leaving.
Akiko stares at them with a fond smile and a longing, one she had experienced before. It seemed that in both her lives, one of her greatest desires would be to have children of her own. Laughing just as carefree as the ones in front of her now.
Shaking her head, Akiko carries on walking down the path nodding politely at those who smiled their greetings.
This alone was a good enough reason to have a drink.
x
Akiko passed the welcoming sign of 'Welcome to Tanzaku Gai' with little fanfare, only giving it a passing glance, absently noting the cracks along the board and the sun worn colouring before promptly forgetting it again.
The gates of the city were opened like a wide gaping mouth, old stones worn by wear and tear, and in some places, bricks were missing chucks while others seemed to be covered in a sheen of green which Akiko assumed was moss.
She passed the two guards of the gates with her head bowed to hide her face and walked in. As soon she was clear of the gates, Akiko noticed that the atmosphere changed. It seemed lighter than before and not just that but also more...contained, such a small change that she hadn't noticed it until now.
With a small frown, she wandered through the streets intent on finding that drink.
x
Seeing other living people on the streets as Akiko searched for a bar sent a wave of relief through her. She had missed seeing people in general, just seeing them as alive and moving around her like water, was nice. It was the warm feeling of not being the only one, of not being alone.
After leaving that tea shop, getting to know Fumiko and Ekio, caring for Kakashi and then just to leave? That had left her desolate for a time but seeing all this people released a weight in her chest that she had carried from that shop.
It was just like the time when she left Iwate, just like leaving them.
Akiko knew that humans were social creatures but to have that odd feeling of loneliness and loss suddenly vanish at the mere sight of people made it all the more real to her. With a wry smile, Akiko continued scanning the signs hanging from the tops of shops for something that even remotely indicated a bar.
As she continued to search, Akiko could just hear music playing softly. Her own curiosity demanded that she find the origin of that song, which was something she did happily.
Her ears led her through winding streets, small an-cloves and past some small gardens before she came to stop at the front of what she had intended to find. A bar.
Though the characters and the general world seemed to hold a Japanese feel, these characters were Chinese and that was something she could understand.
"醉生，梦死" which roughly translated into "Live Drunk, Die Dreaming." Something that had her giving the place a quizzical look before she entered.
x
The room was dark with little light, alive with small murmurs of quiet conversation and the faint playings of some sort of base instrument that sounded like a saxophone. There was no smoke, which is something Akiko is very grateful for.
Akiko casts a glance around the place before moving to a corner where the little light can just reach. The people that are here are somber and respectful of the silence and given that it is only midday, they must have something to remember and morn. That Akiko can understand.
Akiko has her own losses that she morns, Sayuri is one and surprisingly another is Mamoru. At the time she thought that Iwate was the cause of her ache, that she could settle down with Mamoru and Sayuri and live out that happy life that she had wanted. Of course she had noticed the looks that Mamoru had given her and eventually got her on a date.
Those first two years were filled with laughter and happiness and one almost proposal. Akiko was so ready to settle down and *stay*, she was so sure that she had found her ache. Then she lost Sayuri and let Mamoru slip from being her boyfriend and almost fiance back to being the awkward 'just friends'. In the end, she was never sure who ended the relationship, whether it was either of them or it something that just faded over time. Akiko stares at the faint darkness, her head muddled by emotions from the past when she catches sight of a moving figure.
Akiko can just see the moving figure of the waitress she flags for a drink and there is something that troubles her with how she looks. The woman looks pregnant, at least almost full term pregnant and when said waitress brings Akiko her drink, her suspicions are confirmed.
Akiko sips are the Sake as she watches the woman collect orders and deliver drinks. Those here seem to know her and give the woman hefty tips from the amount of notes passed.
'Probably just trying to make ends meet, especially with a baby on the way.' Akiko thought. There wasn't really a question as to why a pregnant woman would be working when she is almost ready to give birth.
In this world, just like in her own, money is essential for life. Without it, a person could starve if they didn't know how to live off the land or die from a lack of medical care simply because they cannot pay the bill to see a doctor or buy some medicine. This woman most likely needs the money to see a Doctor or a midwife or simply just to survive.
There are any number of things that could push an expectant mother to such ends, some that Akiko understands herself. A mother would do anything to ensure that her child would have the best life she could possibly give them. That was what she did for her children and what Akiko's mother did for her, both her mothers.
Akiko doesn't doubt that the woman may have borrowed money for help but with the pride that she walked with, she finds that idea sketchy at best. And so Akiko watches the woman work as she drinks her sake and wonders how to offer the lady her services without trying to insult her.
x
Akiko is there for a total of three hours before the pregnant woman leaves and she admits to herself that she really should find some accommodation for the next few weeks.
She drinks her last small cup in one go, relishing the burn of the spirit along her throat before getting up and paying for the bill.
She leaves the building with some giddy euphoria and the tingling sensation in her limbs and knows, in that intellectual part of her brain that she just a bit drunk.
Her task not forgotten, Akiko sets out in a straight line to find some accommodation and if some people find her acting strange to their taste, well then that's not really her problem.
x
While Akiko could walk in a straight line, the people of the streets found themselves subject to unexpected close up staring before nodding solemnly and apologizing.
"I'm sorry, so very sorry." in a voice of deep regret before wandering off and doing it to the next person she met.
(Unknown to her, all of those...victims had hurried to the nearest doctor and begged for a diagnosis or a cure.)
(Many of the doctors were baffled by these occurrences.)
As Akiko continued to wander the streets scaring the poor civilians, she was unaware of one that one set of eyes following her movements and she couldn't see the leering grin on the faces of a few men that had followed her out of the bar.
x
Akiko continued to wander the streets with the vague idea of finding a place to sleep accompanied by the softest feeling of urgency. She continued to walk in a daze before there was a hard yank on her arm and Akiko was sheltered in darkness.
Still in her tipsy and drunk state of mind, Akiko didn't have the pretense to scream. She remained quiet and stared eyes wide at the two pale slim hands clutching at her arm.
Akiko traces the arm with her eyes and it leads to a woman who stares beyond Akiko with fear in her eyes.
Akiko can feel her brows furrow at the sight of the woman's fear, who looks vaguely familiar.
'Why is she so scared? Is something sc-' Akiko's thoughts are cut off by the sound of jeers and something made of glass smashing on the ground.
"Where's that bitch!" A rough voice called out, gravelly with the sound of a man spending too long in bars and not long enough outside of the smoke.
"I wanted some pussy!" Calls another, this one doesn't sound as rough but just as disgusting.
Now Akiko understands why the woman fears. The woman is fearing for the both of them but with her own mind so fogged, Akiko couldn't find a right path to confront them. All she could think of was tying them to helium balloons and watching them fly off into the distance.
That and clowns. She never really liked clowns, especially with all the make up on their face and those really big red lips. And when they smiled it never ceased to creep her out, seeing that small bit of white in that see of red.
There is a tug on her arm as the woman takes her further into the shadows and down street as three men pass by the small alleyway. Akiko doesn't resist, she follows the woman with no reservation as they wind around corners and under windows and bridges.
Their pace slows down as they approach a small indent in the wall. Above, there are lights that shine through the windows and the paper thing walls.
Akiko sees this but can't quite take it in and process it like she normally would, so she stares at the gray walls and the thin wooden support that runs across them with an odd sort of detachment.
Her continued stare is interrupted by another insistent tugging from the woman in front of her.
There is the light of a doorway that Akiko can see in the peripherals of her vision but all her attention is focused on the slim, pretty and pale hand that is tugging her. More specifically, her fingers.
The woman has pretty fingers that are shaped and curled smoothly, unlike her own slightly square-ish fingers. Her's weren't that square but they didn't have that gently shape that Akiko's mother did and, even though it was something small, she really did envy anyone who had those fingers.
The hand is removed, and a dark hue of green takes it's place. Next there are two point of warmth on her shoulders and Akiko is gently guided to sit in what feels to be a bed.
A sudden yawn erupts out of her once she feels the smooth covers.
She lays down without protest and promptly falls asleep.
x
Morning comes along with the type of head ache that Akiko knows comes for after a night of drinking, having felt it before. And even though she vows never to do it again, she still does but at least she was with friends.
There is a smooth puffy thing under her face, with a pleased sigh, Akiko snuggles in further when the thought of where she was suddenly struck her.
Akiko's body stiffened but she didn't open her eyes as she attempted to remember the night before.
She remembers coming out of the bar and wandering the streets, Akiko winces because that was not the smartest thing to do, and then being taken into an alleyway to...escape three men. After that, all she gets is a blank.
Now that she has some of the events of the night straight in her head, Akiko listens for noise in where ever she is.
The low murmuring of voices drift through the walls and although Akiko can't tell what they are saying, she does know that whoever is speaking is a woman. While Akiko doesn't know who helped her, but she does have faith in the solidarity of women. She only hopes it will be enough.
Akiko forces her eyes open in spite of the pain from the head ache and light. She needs to get her bag, she knows she has something for the headache. She sits up slightly and squints at the room, looking for her brown bag and when she doesn't see it, a jolt of panic buzzes though her.
'Where is my bag?!' She can feel the panic tighten her stomach, that pit of lead that only comes with the fear of having lost something important.
That bag didn't just contain her money and medical herbs, but it also contained what small momentous she had taken from rain and that one photo with everyone she loved together. Akiko couldn't lose it! She needed that bag!
Clenching her eyes shut, Akiko forces her panic to recede, clasping her hands a focus and taking one shuddering breath to completely get her panic under control.
'Now I need to find out where I am and hopefully get back to that bar and pray that my bag was kept and not stolen.' Akiko thinks to herself, the hope that her bag is still in the bar is faint, she knows that what most likely happened is that some waiter or customer found her bag and decided they'd keep it for themselves. Maybe even the bar keep.
She gingerly sits up, ignoring the way her hair just flops down, and takes some first wobbly steps to regain her balance. The head ache is still very much there but Akiko does have some success in pushing it back. She doesn't quite stumble across the room but it is very close.
There isn't a door but a paper thing screen that slides open without warning and on the other side is the woman from last night, who she now recognizes as the waitress from the same bar.
The woman has a startled look in her eyes when she sees Akiko walking around. The surprise fades as the woman waddles forward and gently grips Akiko's arm with one had and guides her back to the bed.
"Thank you for helping me last night." Akiko's voice is scratchy, she can feel the difficultly speaking as the sound scrape against her throat.
She can see the pregnant woman wince in sympathy before opening her mouth to speak while handing her a small cup of water.
"We're both women and we need to stick together." The jibe comes short as the woman turns her perpetually sad and slightly droopy eyes to her.
"That we do." Akiko gives her a tight smile but they both understand what is not spoken, in a world such as this, it can't be avoided that women would be thought of as weak. Akiko suspects that some, even though listed as shinobi, would feel the sting of sexism.
"I'm Akiko." Akiko introduced herself, it felt wrong not to since for all intents and purposes, this woman had saved her.
"Maki" Her response is subdued but not timid, as if exhausted but from what, Akiko has a faint idea.
"How far are you along?" Akiko asked since the silence shared had begun to turn awkward.
"8 months, I'm almost due." The woman stated with a fond smile but the gleam in her eyes was dimmed.
"Then why are you still working?" Akiko asks, curiosity and worry genuine in her tone. Akiko had known other mothers in her previous life that would work while pregnant but none this close to labor, even with the demand of putting food of the table, working this close was practically waiting for disaster.
"I need the money to see a doctor." There was a bitter smile on her lips as she continued to rub circles on her belly.
'A doctor? Could something be wrong with the baby?' Akiko thought with increased worry.
"Is it the baby?" Akiko asked because if she can help, she would. It wouldn't just be to return the favour but also it was the fact that this was a new life coming into the world and it wouldn't do for a baby to be born only to have the mother die.
There was no answer on Maki's end but the silence was telling enough.
"I'm a doctor, well a medic. Please tell me what is wrong and I'll see if I can help." Akiko says, she doesn't promise that she can perform miracles because without a proper theater there is little she can do and then there is the fact that she can not manipulate chakra.
Akiko can see the stiffening in the woman's back and can read the desperation in her body. Maki doesn't turn suddenly but the hope and shock war with her own acceptance of her reality.
"Can you?" Comes the painfully quiet plea.
"Tell me what's wrong." Akiko remains firm because she needs to know if she can help, if she can change something.
Maki hesitates before taking Akiko's hand and placing it on the top her stomach and then Akiko knows, even with the head ache of a hangover, she knows what the problem is.
The baby is positioned the wrong way, it's feet will leave the womb first. Not only that but there is the certainty that Maki will die from blood loss when the baby is born.
"I can fix this bu-" Akiko doesn't even finish her sentence before she has Maki crying happily in her arms.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thankyou!Thankyou..." Maki's words blur together as the sheer amount of relief in her tone causes Akiko's own eyes to tear up in response. She hugs the woman back, gently patting her on the shoulder as the grateful sobs subside.
"I just need to get my bag" Akiko finishes gently. Maki pulls back with a watery smile, nodding.
"Right, right. After I brought you here, I went back to the bar to see if you had left anything behind. Gorou had seen you leave the place and noticed the bag and kept it for when you returned. I got it from him." Maki gives Akiko a small smile but there is a nervous energy about her. Akiko knows that the energy is from hope.
"I'll go get it!" With a slightly brighter smile, Maki vanishes though the screen door leaving Akiko staring after her thoughtfully
So thoughts?
I'm using the fact that half of the Japanese characters are Chinese to explain the name of the bar. I also apologize for the language used. I hate men like that but in reality, stuff like that happened and those kinds of people exist.
And in case it is not obvious, Akiko is not a virgin, there was an active relationship with Mamoru. Stuff like that can happen when you live in the same place as someone and look after a kid together.
There is also another reason as to why Maki helped Akiko...
So please R and R!