Akira sighed. It was a cloudy morning. The Uchiha's apartment was bathed in a dim grey light that seemed to suck the life out of everything it touched. The flowers on the table, which were normally a vibrant blue, seemed grey in the light, and the bright red Uchiha Clan symbols spread out the apartment were just as dim. Even Sasuke, who, granted, wasn't usually a ray of sunshine, seemed far more morose than usual. Akira knew it all stemmed from their time in the Land of Waves and his near-death experience, and she thought it unjust that she'd been adjusting fine and he was still struggling. Akira would never tell him this, she always found Sasuke to be far more sensitive than her.

"Sasuke, one day you will have to do something other than stare out the window," Akira said, walking into the living room.
"No one asked you," Sasuke grumbled.
"Hey, forgive me for being concerned for my only family, you little twerp."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Come on, get your ass up and help me make breakfast."

Sasuke heaved a sigh, but he stood and went to the fridge. He pulled out a few items and tossed them to Akira, who threw the shellfish back at him. Sasuke nearly dragged his feet over to the other end of the kitchen to start the rice cooker while Akira prepared the vegetables and tofu. Her brother took out some leftover miso soup and reheated it on the stove while everything else was cooking. After a few more minutes, the siblings' breakfast was done and they sat down together to eat.

"You're not making tea?"
"Hm, no. Did you want some? I was planning on going to a tea house with Sakura for lunch."
"No. It's just weird you're not having any," Sasuke muttered. He looked up, frowning. "Did you say Sakura?"
"Yeah," Akira said, smiling despite herself. "She's annoying, but somehow she's growing on me."
"Don't make me laugh. You're probably only hanging out with her because she's our teammate. Or maybe because you feel bad for he—"
"Okay, that's it."

Akira put down her chopsticks and stood from her seat. She went around the table and next to Sasuke. When he looked towards her, she tugged on his collar.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Hey, get your hands off me!" Sasuke shouted.
"You listen to me, Sasuke! Sakura is a pain in the ass, sure, but she's a valued member of our team. She's incredibly smart and resourceful, and she gives a damn about her job. And believe it or not, she's actually been a better friend to me recently than you've been a decent person. So, if you're gonna complain about her, don't do it in front of me, got it?"

Sasuke glared at Akira and pulled her arms away from his collar.

"Fine."
"Look," Akira said after taking a deep breath. "I know our mission to the Land of Waves was hard—"
"It wasn't that bad."
"Sasuke, you nearly died! We all nearly died! Don't lie to yourself—don't lie to me!"
"Don't come crying to me about this mission being hard when I wasn't the one who screwed up."
"Sasuke Uchiha!" Akira cried. "Apologise right now!"

Akira's eyes became watery and Sasuke frowned as her bottom lip began to quiver.

"Sorry..." he said quietly.
"You better be," Akira said. Her voice was shaking a little. "You know what I went through after that mission. You know that I kept seeing blood everywhere, that I could smell it, feel the blades pierce skin every time I went to sleep. You know because I kept having nightmares, screaming in my sleep, and the only thing that could get me to stop was for you to come and comfort me. So don't you dare tell me that mission was easy.
"I've been relying on others for support lately. If you're going to bottle up everything like this, forego the help of your comrades and your sensei—the least you could do is treat us with a modicum of respect. Better yet... just talk to us, to me, Sasuke. I know you don't mean half the things you say. If you'd just... use your damn words."

He looked at his sister and sighed. He propped up his head by setting his arm on the table and he stared uninterestedly at his sister for a few moments before he began speaking.

"I'm just angry I couldn't do more," Sasuke grumbled. "Sakura's basically useless, but she did do a pretty good job of keeping the bridge builder safe. You and Kakashi—"
"That's Kakashi-sensei, to you."
"Yeah, whatever. You and Kakashi did most of the work fighting off Zabuza. Even Naruto was more useful than me."
"What are you going on about?" Akira said, letting out a breath of laughter. "Sasuke, you kept Haku busy and Naruto safe at the same time. What more did you want? Would you have preferred to get stabbed, or maybe you would have preferred to have killed Haku yourself? Trust me, if we could change positions on that front, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Can't you see, Sasuke? You were essential to the success of the mission!"
"No."
"Then you're blind and stupid."
"Hey—"
"Oh, shut up, I'm serious. Sasuke—you're the one who executed the plan to save Kakashi from the water sphere. You're the one who kept up with Haku's speed. You're the—"
"Yeah, all right, all right," Sasuke sighed. "I get it. I've been overreacting."
"Well, yeah, and you've been a jerk about it, too, but that doesn't invalidate your feelings, Sasuke," Akira said. "Just because your actions were wrong, it doesn't mean that the feelings behind them were wrong. You're allowed to feel hurt, to feel like you could have done more—it's only natural. Especially since you weren't in the heart of the fight where I know you like to be. Sasuke—" Akira gently grasped her brother's hand—"you are not useless. Don't ever think that."

The look on Sasuke's face softened and he gently squeezed his sister's hand.

"What the hell did I do to deserve you?"
"No idea, kid," Akira said as she ruffled Sasuke's hair. "No idea."
"Hey, stop that," Sasuke complained, pulling himself away from his sister. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm used to your belligerent behaviour can't bother me for long."
"No, I mean... You killed that kid."
"The last nightmare was a while ago, Sasuke," Akira said with a sigh. "And I've got friends—and family—to get me through whatever else may come. And so do you, little brother."
"Yeah, all right," Sasuke sighed. "And don't call me that. You're only ten minutes older than me."
"True, but I was referring to your height."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm going to go get some training done before I meet Sakura. Do you want to join?"
"No, I've got a mission report to finish. You go."

Akira nodded and began clearing up the table.

"I've got it, Akira. Go."

Sasuke took the bowls out of Akira's hand and gently elbowed her away. She smiled gratefully at him and went to her room to change into her usual training outfit. When she emerged, she went straight for the balcony doors.

"Use the front door once in a while, would you?" Sasuke called to her as Akira was shutting the door.
"Make me."

Akira heard Sasuke sigh as she closed the door. She went to the edge of the balcony and jumped down onto lower rooftops, then onto the ground. She jogged to training ground three and immediately went to stand by the water. Akira kicked off her sandals and waded into the water until she felt its coolness on her stomach. After a few moments, Akira took a deep breath and put her palms on the water. From it, she rose two small orbs of water which she held in her hands. She tried, with great difficulty, to continue her training and shape them into kunai. Akira stretched the chakra within the water, trying to shape it, but every time it got to a certain length, the water dissipated and fell back into the lake.

"Come on, you stupid water... cooperate."
"Water is an inanimate thing, my dear."

Akira swerved around as fast as she could. She did not recognise the voice and she flung an orb of water in its direction. The person in question moved equally as fast, and the orb of water tunnelled into the tree behind him rather than into his chest. There was a dangerous look in Akira's eyes. They were focused on the stranger, and she kept glaring at him as she left the water, ribbons of water swirling around her wrists and ankles.

He didn't look like he belonged out in the sun. He was far too pale, with no evidence of sun ever having touched his skin, and the colours of his uniform did not match those of Konohagakure. He stood with a confidence that seemed to border on arrogance, and Akira didn't like the look in his eyes. It was curious, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of malevolence behind that curiosity, as well.

"Identify yourself," Akira stated.
"You may call me... Maru."

Akira frowned and took a step forward. The curiosity in the man's eyes only seemed to intensify, as if he was intrigued by her lack of fear of him.

"I take it that is not your real name?" The man smirked. It made him look all the more malevolent. "State your purpose. If you're sneaking around like this, I am certain you don't have the authorization to be here."
"I'm observing. Your abilities are... intriguing."
"That's it? You've come into the village, without authorization, just to observe me?"
"Of course."
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe," Akira said, unimpressed. "Unfortunately, if you don't have authorization, I must ask you to leave. If you resist, I'll have to forcibly remove you."

Akira sighed and her jaw clenched. She took another few steps forward, poising herself to attack.

"There's no need to force me to leave, my dear," the man said. He began slowly walking toward Akira and though she was nervous, she made no move to back away. "I will not stay any longer if you do not wish me to."

The man was close now. His pale brown eyes were nearly piercing right through Akira, making her feel as though he was staring into her soul. His hand rose to brush Akira's hair behind her ear and though she wanted to pull away, she couldn't find the will to do it.

"I want you to leave the village completely."
"Very well," the man said quietly.
"I will have to escort you out of the village."
"You don't trust me?" the stranger said playfully.
"No."

The man smirked and he went ahead of Akira on their way out of the village. When they reached the outer walls, he turned back to Akira.

"This isn't the last you'll be hearing of me, my dear."
"If your only reason for being here is to observe me like some creep, then I sincerely hope that it is the last I hear of you."
"Oh, that's not all... You'll see."

Akira's eyebrows furrowed and she watched the stranger jump up through the trees and climb over the walls. After he'd gone, Akira turned back, face set in a frown. She had a feeling that, unfortunately, the strange man was right.