Akira awoke between soft sheets and to light trickling in through the curtains in front of the window. They were swaying gently, a light breeze coming through the open windows. Shedding herself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, Akira's eyes remained shut as she soaked in the warmth of her blankets. After a while, Akira's eyelids opened to reveal the sun's rays to her dark eyes, as well as the people surrounding her. Though the sight of her friends should have calmed her, Akira's heart pounded. It was as if a hypodermic needle full of adrenaline had been emptied into her body. She sat up abruptly. The room began to spin and she became lightheaded.

Thoughts began accelerating through Akira's mind. She wanted them to slow so that she could breathe and get her bearings, but everything that had happened during the past few months was rushing to the front of her mind. Had Shukaku gone for good? Where was Shikamaru? Was Sasuke safe? Would Kakashi forgive her? What would happen with Maru?

Akira felt sick and she gagged, threatening to vomit. She wanted to call for medical-nin, but the room was spinning so much she couldn't see anyone or anything anymore.

"Akira!"

A firm grip latched onto her shoulders and everything began to slow down. Things were beginning to focus and the room stopped spinning. As Akira calmed, her breath slowed, and she looked around the room. Though they were a little blurry, Akira could see Naruto and Sakura smiling down at her. On the bed beside her, she saw what looked like Sasuke's outline. Then there was Kai, looking down at her with worry in his eyes, but they brightened up the second Akira looked at him. There was Hinata beside him, holding a basket of confections Akira suspected she'd made herself. With another glance to the left, Kiba and Shikamaru came into view.

"You're all okay," Akira said airily, sitting up.
"Hey, watch it!" Kai, Kiba and Shikamaru said together.
"I'm so relieved you're okay, Shikamaru!" Akira exclaimed, ignoring everyone's protests to give Shikamaru a hug. "When I didn't see you with Sakura, Naruto and Pakkun—"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "Now let go."
"And you!" Akira continued, letting go of Shikamaru to tackle Kiba. "Last time I saw you, you were—I can't even remember."
"Calm down, Kira, we're all okay," Kiba laughed, patting Akira on the head. "Kai, too."
"Kai!"

The boy took a step back at the sound of her tone. She unstuck herself from Kiba and pointed angrily at her friend.

"Where were you!? You weren't at the arena!"
"Uh, well, see—"
"Kai Manzo."
"Mom asked me to babysit Katuso again! She smacked me with a spoon—a metal spoon!"
"That's rough, buddy," Shikamaru sighed.
"Well, damn, okay," Akira said flatly.

She gave him a hug too, and Kai sent everyone a fearful glance that made them laugh. After a moment, Akira pulled back and glanced around the room.

"Where's Gaara?"
"Gaara?" Shikamaru asked. He looked to Sakura and Naruto, annoyed. "Okay, seriously, what the hell happened out there?"
"You guys didn't tell them what happened?"
"We weren't sure that we should," Sakura said, a little quiet. "There were a lot of things that happened I wasn't sure you wanted us to share."

Akira took a deep breath and leaned back into bed, running a hand across her face. Sakura looked worried, with reason, and while Akira couldn't tell whether Naruto understood the gravity of her usage of the curse mark and the summoning of snakes, she could tell that he was concerned too.

Akira looked over to Kiba, Kai and Shikamaru and told them what happened, leaving out the details she felt they didn't need to have.

"—I didn't intend to take that fall for nothing," she finished. "So, where is he? I want to see him."
"He's gone, Akira," Naruto said quietly, looking disappointed.
"His brother and sister came to get him the second you all touched the ground," Sasuke added. "I let them go."

Akira's shoulders slumped and her eyes cast themselves downwards. She should have been angry—she'd gone through all that trouble and all that pain to make sure that Gaara was safe from Shukaku, and Temari and Kankuro had repaid her with nothing. Instead, they took Gaara away. However, she could only be disappointed. Akira wanted to see how he was doing, if he'd made it out all right, to see what he was like without the fear of Shukaku looming over him. Her only wish now was that his siblings took care of him.

''Hey, what matters is that he's fine,'' Shikamaru said almost softly, as if he was trying to force himself to be nice for once. ''I'm sure we'll see him again.''
''Under better circumstances, I hope,'' Akira sighed. She took a quick deep breath and stood, causing her friends to panic a little. ''Well, it's time that I get outta here."
''But you literally just freaked out!'' Kiba protested.
''Oh, I'm fine! I was only worried and disoriented. Not injured,'' Akira said, waving her hands dismissively.

She gathered up her clothes and went into the adjacent bathroom, reemerging fully clothed.

"You got stabbed in the shoulder," Naruto said, deadpan.
"You lost oxygen for at least five minutes," Sakura added, unimpressed.
"You used up so much chakra you passed out," Sasuke noted, annoyed.
"Oh, those don't count."

Despite her friends' objections, Akira made to leave the room. A medical-nin was blocking her way and she smiled innocently at them.

"And where do you think you're going? We didn't give you the all clear, yet."
"Well, see, as you know, I'm a horrible patient," Akira said, slowly inching around the medical-nin. "And, uh, whether you give me the all-clear or not I'm gonna be leaving. Wouldn't want you to get in trouble as I just... sneak by you."

The medical ninja tried to grab Akira as she slipped past them, but she easily evaded the ninja's arms. When the medical-nin turned, they gave Akira an annoyed look, to which she just shrugged and walked away from. The medical-nin sighed and rose her hands in defeat and let Akira walk away with her friends, save Sasuke who stayed behind and ultimately left later that same day.

Soon after, Naruto split off from the group and Akira followed Kai, Kiba and Shikamaru downtown to get some food—the growling of her stomach had been especially loud. As they walked, Shikamaru filled her in on what had happened while she was out cold for two days.

"The Hokage died!?" Akira exclaimed. "On the roof, right? That big purple thing?"
"Yeah," Kai sighed sadly. "Everyone's saying that Orochimaru was behind everything."

Akira immediately averted her gaze, suddenly finding her shoes rather fascinating to look at. A small wave of nausea rose up in her throat, but she easily ignored it. Shikamaru continued and, eventually, Akira's gaze lifted.

Slowly, the village was being rebuilt following the attack. Several dozen people were walking around, carrying building supplies and bringing them to shops and homes that needed repairing. The sounds of birds, shopkeepers and the scents of foods from the stalls were now mingled with the sounds of swinging hammers and the smell of freshly cut lumber. The sight of it all brought a slight smile to Akira's face, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

Despite it not being her fault, Akira couldn't help but feel responsible. Orochimaru was like Jiraya—he was from Konohagakure and already knew all the inner workings of the village. But she had been the one to look the other way when she felt that something was wrong, and she purposefully went against everything she believed in to train with Orochimaru. Worst of all, she'd failed to see the cues that told her who Maru truly was. Akira sighed. She'd have to live with that for the rest of her life.

A small barking noise brought Akira from her thoughts. A dog was running towards her, a small scroll in its mouth. She recognised it immediately.

"You're getting messages from dogs, now?" Kiba asked, sounding a little jealous. He looked at Akamaru on top of his head. "Why don't you bring me my mail, huh?"

Akamaru grumbled disapprovingly.

"It's one of Kakashi-sensei's ninken, you idiot, not my mail," Akira chuckled.

She bent down to take the note from the dog and thanked it. The ninken barked happily and vanished into a puff of smoke. Akira unfurled the scroll and scanned its contents. A small sigh escaped her lips and she dropped the scroll. It burnt up before it reached the ground and Akira stared at the ashes for a split second before looking up to her friends.

"I've got to go."
"What a drag," Shikamaru complained. "Couldn't he have waited until we had lunch?"
"There ain't no rest for the wicked," Akira muttered under her breath.

She sent a mock salute to the three boys then turned on her heels and jumped up into a nearby tree. From there, she climbed up to the rooftops and used them as a quicker path to the location Kakashi wanted to meet her at. After a few minutes, Akira jumped back to the ground, landing in front of a small tea shop.

Kakashi was nearby, talking to Asuma and Kurenai-sensei about something. As she approached them, a strange feeling washed over her and she couldn't help but look back into the shop. It had been a while since Akira had felt this way, and while there was nothing in her surroundings to suggest anything was wrong, she knew better than to ignore this feeling. It was similar to the way her body seized up around Orochimaru, but not quite.

"Akira."

She pulled herself away from the strange sensation crawling over her skin and looked over when Kakashi called her name a second time. The moment her eyes fell on Kakashi, an overwhelming sense of grief washed over her and her gaze immediately found the ground again.

"Look at me."
"No," Akira said simply, her voice rather quiet.
"Akira, look at me."
"Kakashi-sensei—"
"Sensei?" Kakashi said, almost chuckling. "Guess I've been demoted."
"No, I have." Akira finally glanced up at Kakashi and he could see the ocean of emotions swirling in her eyes. She looked away almost as quickly as she'd looked up. "Why am I here? I doubt you asked to meet me in public to discuss this."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. He was about to speak when the strange feeling crept over her skin again, as if it was brushing up against her. Akira turned to look over her shoulder but, once again, saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, she had the distinct feeling that her searching eyes were intruding on someone else's activities.

"Kakashi, it's not like you to show up early."

Akira turned away from the feeling again and looked back to Kakashi. Sasuke had joined them and it was him who'd spoken.

"Well, sometimes I do," Kakashi said in his usual aloof tone of voice. "I'm treating you guys to lunch, but let's go someplace else. I don't have much of a sweet tooth."

And that's when the strange sensation suddenly felt familiar. Akira looked up at the restaurant's sign and her eyebrows furrowed in worry. Sasuke looked at her and scoffed, but Kakashi, on the other hand, took the sudden stiffness of her body as an indication he was right. There were goosebumps on her skin and her hands were flexed into a tight fist that seemed to be cutting off circulation to her fingers.

"I've got... a really bad feeling," Akira whispered. She turned to Kakashi and Sasuke, swallowing gravely. "Really bad."
"Come on, you're just paranoid," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

However, Akira wasn't paranoid. Despite the entire Orochimaru and Maru debacle, Kakashi knew that Akira's intuitions were usually on point. More than that, he couldn't see a hint of paranoia or uncertainty in her eyes. The ocean of emotions that had been there mere minutes ago had been completely drowned by fear.

Akira looked directly at Kakashi and studied his face.

"I just confirmed it, didn't I?" she asked. "I'm here because you needed to see how I'd react."
"Yeah," Kakashi breathed.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked impatiently. "Confirm what?"

Akira's fearful eyes looked to her brother and it didn't take long for him to understand.

Even though she'd gone through severe trauma concerning Orochimaru recently, Sasuke knew better than to think he was what she was afraid of. There'd only ever been one thing that could truly induce fear in her seemingly unshakable sister and that was their brother, Itachi Uchiha.

According to her, Itachi Uchiha was the strongest shinobi she'd ever met. Not only had he been responsible for her entire clan's massacre, but he was also to blame for Sasuke's persistent rage and Akira's desire to become the best kunoichi possible. Everything that Itachi Uchiha had done or had been was the sole reason that the Uchiha twins had become who they were.

However, there was one thing that Itachi hadn't managed to make her into and that was exactly what Sasuke had become—angry. No matter how much he had insisted that they grow up wrathful and hell-bent on taking him down, Akira had never been able to amass enough rage to accomplish it. Itachi had tried to sully every single memory she had of him, but, slowly and painfully, Akira had managed to decontaminate them. They were few, but there were still pleasant memories of Itachi locked away in Akira's heart. Looking over at the rage that was consuming Sasuke's facial features, Akira couldn't help but feel bad for having them.

It forced her to counter the anger by being unnaturally calm—one of the only things that Orochimaru had instilled in her that she respected. If everyone around her was going to be blinded by emotion, then she would have to be the one to bring the level-headedness to the mix. Kakashi could have been the one to do it, but she wouldn't have it, and he watched as the fear in her eyes vanish into an icy coldness that almost scared him.

"I suspect that he's looking for you, but I don't know why. You know that he'll find you if you wander, so don't—"

Sasuke suddenly vanished.

"—wander off." Kakashi sighed. "Great."
"I still have your orders," Akira stated. "I can go get him."

Kakashi looked up at the sky and he sighed.

"He's much stronger than you."
"I'm aware, but if he wanted to hurt me I'd be dead already," Akira said honestly. She looked around at the crowd again, eyes focused on nothing in particular. "Besides, I just faced off with a demon—I think I can handle myself well enough."
"Just make sure he doesn't get to Sasuke—I don't trust him."

Akira scoffed.

"And yet you trust me."
"Akira—"
"Not here, not now," Akira said, cutting Kakashi off. "Just let me know if something happens."

Without any further words, Akira jumped up to the rooftops again and ran off. She stopped at one of the highest points in town and looked around, thinking about all the places that Sasuke would have gone to reminisce about their brother. With a sigh, Akira headed east and went down the same path she used to get to the dojo. However, instead of veering off towards the lake, she kept going until she reached the dilapidated Uchiha compound.

Despite the sun shining high in the sky, the compound was dark, and even though the bodies had been cleared out years ago, the stench of death was everywhere. Her nose crinkled displeasingly as she looked over the old bakery and armoury, trying to ignore the memory of all the bodies that used to lay here. However, she could see them as clear as day and when she made it to the main house, it took a great deal of bravery for Akira to step inside.

The traditional-style home was dark and everything inside was caked with dust. Akira had the sudden urge to clean everything, but a creaking noise to her left pulled her from those thoughts. She forced herself to ignore the pictures that lined the walls, the family crests, and the old dishes lying in the sink, and Akira found Sasuke standing on the threshold of their parents' old bedroom.

"I wasn't able to do anything..."
"Sasuke—"
"Oh, don't 'Sasuke' me, Akira!" the boy shouted, turning to face his sister. "Naruto just keeps getting stronger and stronger, you just keep getting stronger and stronger because you've been training with Orochimaru—yeah, wasn't that hard to figure out when you're using the curse mark without repercussions, summoning snakes, and worried about disappointing Kakashi. And you know what? I envy you. I envy you because now, compared to you—"
"Don't you dare compare yourself to me," Akira said sternly. "Don't look to me for an example on how to behave. I went against every fibre of my being and everything I value for this power, Sasuke, and it's not something I would ever do again. I was curious and dangerously selfish. I put my life and the lives of others on the line by training with him, and if I'd known—"
"Oh, please! I'm sure you knew exactly what you were do—"

Akira's fist collided with Sasuke's jaw in the blink of an eye. He fell back into the room, mere inches from the chalk outlines of their parents. As Sasuke rubbed his jaw, Akira swore loudly, flexing her hand.

"I would never willingly endanger this village," she said lowly. "You hear me? Never."

Sasuke glared at Akira and stormed off. The second Akira couldn't feel his presence anymore, she slumped down to the ground and stared at the chalk outlines of her parents for a moment, then stood.

"Itachi's back," she said simply. "I don't know what he's here for, but it's clearly not to hurt me or Sasuke. We'd have been dead by now if that was the case."

Akira hung her head back and chuckled. She shook her head and swung it back down to look at the outlines and stains of blood on the ground. With an angry and harsh sigh, Akira ran her hands over her face.

"This is pointless. You don't care—you're dead. Even if you were alive, you wouldn't give a shit," Akira whispered to herself. "I don't even know why I keep insisting I'm going to take your place in the Military Police and make you proud," she said mockingly. "One, we're doing fine without it. Two, you're deader than a doornail. Three, you'd just tell me I'm not up to the task."

A delirious laugh left Akira's mouth.

"Well, I've never been in the habit of listening to you, so... Screw all of this. Screw all of you—you two, Itachi, Orochimaru... I'm just going to do what I want and I'm going to do it my way, and I hope that you hate it so much you writhe in your grave."

Akira turned and walked away from the old room.

"I know what I want. I know what I am."