By the time Akira left the Uchiha compound, Kakashi still hadn't notified her of anything suspicious, which was odd in and of itself—Kakashi had a habit of sending reports at least every few hours even if there wasn't anything to report. With Itachi in the village, Kakashi's silence couldn't be taken lightly, and there was no guessing what he was here for.
Akira couldn't put her finger on it. If he had come for her and Sasuke, then they would be dead by now, and Akira could understand the logic of being here now since the village was in a weakened state following Orochimaru's attack. However, all Itachi was doing was sneaking around sweet shops he used to frequent when they were younger. Akira was angered by the thought. These actions, while benign themselves, were like a taunt—he was almost daring Akira and Sasuke to go out and look for him, and it didn't take much for Sasuke to take the bait.
Turning down Kakashi's street, Akira wondered what his apartment looked like. She'd never been inside before, but she'd seen Kakashi go in on their walks back from training. Akira didn't expect it to be a large space, considering it was a boarding house, but she wondered how clean he kept it and if he was one of those animals that kept his shoes on indoors. Akira entered the building and went straight for the mailboxes, going through them to find Kakashi's room number. At his door, several pairs of sandals were set aside and Akira chuckled lightly—not an animal. She took her sandals off and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, Akira pushed the door open.
"What the hell is going on?"
Kakashi was lying in bed, passed out, with Guy, Kurenai and Asuma sensei at his bedside. They all looked at her sharply, eyes mixed with both fear and worry.
"Do I have to guess?" Akira said impatiently. She looked to each of them expectantly, but they remained silent. "Clearly, he's hurt, and I know that my brother is here—doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."
It seemed as though everyone in the room paled significantly. No one said anything, probably sworn to secrecy.
"Look, if Itachi was here for me or Sasuke, he'd have us by now and there'd be nothing you could do to stop him. If I'm still here, then it has to be something else. So, tell me."
There was silence again. Akira sighed, annoyed, and pointed desperately at Kakashi. An unimaginable amount of anger was slowly bubbling in her stomach.
"Just look at him! Itachi is this village taunting us and playing torture-the-shinobi with Kakashi," Akira shouted, angrily. "What the fuck is going on!?"
"It's nothing really," Guy said nervously.
"Nothing!? Guy, you're not honestly that stupid."
"Hey!" Kurenai called, offended.
Akira marched forward and stared angrily into Kurenai's eyes.
"Itachi did this to Kakashi and I want to know why!"
"What the hell is going on?"
Sasuke had shouted from the doorway, looking at each ninja in the room with a distrustful and questioning look. Akira broke eye contact with Kurenai and looked over at him. Just then, another shinobi ran in, panicking. He shouted something about Naruto which made Akira sigh and groan in realisation. Angered, Sasuke cursed out his sister and ran out.
"It's the Nine-Tailed Fox. That's what Itachi is after."
"How did you know?" Kurenai asked. Her anger seemed to have dissipated. "Did Kakashi tell you?"
"No, I found out years ago," Akira said. "Kakashi and I have felt the Demon's power on a few occasions, too. No wonder Itachi wants to get his... murder hands on it."
Akira went past Asuma, Kurenai and Guy, towards the door leading to the balcony. She cast a glance at Kakashi. If it wasn't for the bruise on his temple, Akira would have been convinced he was asleep. She looked back at the three shinobi in the room.
"Take care of him."
Without another word, Akira slid the door open and closed it behind her as she left. She jumped from the balcony and onto several rooftops until she gracefully landed on the ground. Akira crouched down and concentrated a fair amount of chakra into her fingertips before placing them on the ground. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, searching through the darkness and sitting through all the chakra signatures in the immediate area. Since Akira was in the middle of the city, it put a lot of strain on her, but by using a little bit of the curse mark's power, she was able to determine that Naruto wasn't in the village at all.
Worried, Akira sped to the edge of the village, weaving through the streets, jumping through open windows and doors to reduce the time it took to get there. When she'd reached the edge of Konohagakure, Akira put her hand to the ground again and, after some time, a lot more strain and the curse mark on her neck, she sensed Naruto's chakra signature a fair distance away.
Under normal circumstances, Akira would have made the mark recede, but this was no time to quarrel with herself on the ethics of using Orochimaru's jutsu. Akira's mind was fixed on getting to Naruto as quickly as possible, so she ran like death was on her heels until she reached a small outpost town a little ways out from Konoha.
Upon entering the town, all of her senses were focused on locating Naruto. She couldn't smell the yakitori from the food carts, the perfumes being sprayed all over customers as they walked by, and didn't notice the beggars trying to get her attention for a bit of coin. Instead, she ignored all of it and put her hand to the ground again. A few heads turned, curious, some assumed she was crazy and took a wide berth, but a few recognised the Konohagakure insignia and let the shinobi do her job.
After a few moments, Akira was on the move again, but she came to a sudden halt when she spotted Master Jiraya sitting in a bar. In seconds, Akira had barged into the establishment and dragged the man away from the female company he was keeping. Jiraya complained but allowed himself to be pulled away. When they came to a halt, he noticed the mark gleaming on her neck.
"Where's Naruto?" Akira said, out of breath.
"Hey, you're that Uchiha girl! Naruto's friend!" Jiraya said happily.
"Yes, and Naruto's friend will seriously injure one of the Legendary Sannin if he doesn't tell me where Naruto is."
"Well, I left him at our hotel room."
"Which hotel?" Akira insisted.
"Jeez, the Travelling Companion. Why?"
Akira broke into a sprint, ignoring the Sannin's protests behind her. Her feet glided over the dirt streets as she ran to the hotel Jiraya had named. At the front desk, she didn't even bother to ask the clerk for the room number and took the ledger herself, scanning the page for Naruto and Jiraya's names. They'd signed in under false names, but she recognised Naruto's scraggly handwriting immediately. In a split second, Akira bolted up the stairs and knocked furiously on the door. A second later, Naruto, unharmed, opened the door.
"Oh, good—you're safe!" Akira exclaimed, relief washing over her.
Akira stepped toward Naruto and trapped him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Naruto asked, wringing himself out of her grip.
"My brother's back," the girl said quickly. She kicked the door shut and locked it again. "He wants you. He wants the Nine-Tailed Fox."
"But—But, that's—"
"A problem, yeah. That's why we have to leave through the window and get Jiraya."
"Pervy Sage? What does he have to do with this?" Naruto asked in a huff. Akira strode across the room and opened the window. "He won't even teach me any jutsu. Maybe he doesn't know any."
"Naruto, this is serious," Akira said desperately. She walked back over to him. "Master Jiraya is one of the three Legendary Sannin. If he's here, Itachi won't want any sort of confrontation. He's extremely powerful."
"Oh, yeah? How do you know?"
"Because it's in textbooks and because I trained with one."
Naruto looked up at Akira, eyes wide with admiration and confusion.
"The secret teacher you won't tell anyone about?"
"Yeah—Yeah the secret teacher I won't tell anyone about," Akira said a little impatiently. "The point is that they're powerful and Itachi won't want to mess with them."
"Well, who is it?"
"Naruto now is not the time. Come on!"
"Well, I'm not going anywhere until you do."
Akira let out a groan and ran her hands over her face.
"I will throw you out that window!" she exclaimed.
Naruto crossed his arms and sat on the ground.
"What are you—five years old? Your life is in danger!" The boy was silent and turned away. Akira groaned and made a strangulation motion in Naruto's direction. "It was Orochimaru, okay? Happy? Can we go now, or do I have to throw you out the window?"
"B—But he's the one who destroyed the village."
"Yes, I'm aware."
"Is that why you were so hell-bent on keeping Sasuke and Gaara safe? Because you felt like you betrayed all of us?"
Akira crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. There was no way she was getting out of this.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Does anyone else know?"
"Sasuke does. He figured it out, of course. I'm sure Sakura's got her own ideas, too," Akira said with a sigh. "Kakashi knows. I haven't told him, but he's known for a while, I think."
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door and Naruto barely had time to glance at the door before Akira was standing in front of him, swords at the ready. The beating of her own heart became loud in her ears and her breathing became irregular. She glanced at the windows then back at the door. Retreat wasn't an option. It would be disastrous, a show of weakness, an opportunity for Itachi to surge through the door and attack them from behind.
Akira couldn't breathe. It was as if someone was choking her. Her heart was racing. Her mind was panicking. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and wait for someone to save her. But there was no one there, just Naruto, and he was the one who needed protecting.
"Akira—"
"I'm fine, Naruto."
She wasn't. But she had to be. Akira closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When they reopened there was an impassive look on her face, and though she was sure that Itachi would be able to see the fear in her eyes, she hoped that he didn't.
Slowly, the door opened and Akira was met with red eyes staring right back at her. A surge of anger rose within her and Akira's eyes turned blood red, six tomoe mirroring those in Itachi's eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her, sensing the anger, but calmly stepped into the room—clearly, he didn't feel that her anger was enough of a threat. He was right. Despite the rage that she felt, Akira couldn't help the racing thoughts coming to the front of her mind. Had Itachi always been this tall? His hair was the same. The purple nail polish was still there. However, the more she looked, the less she saw her brother. His eyes were cold and his smile was gone. There was no part of her old brother remaining.
"I don't think you're supposed to go into a room if no one answers the door, Itachi," Akira said, trying very hard to sound confident.
"Heh, hard to believe that a little runt like that carries the Nine-Tailed Fox," another voice said.
A taller man emerged from beside the door. Akira's eyes narrowed at him. She recognised him immediately from the wanted posters all around the Hokage's office. It was Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist.
"Wait, who's the angry looking one?"
"It's been a long time, Akira," Itachi said casually.
"Oh, that's the little sister!" Kisame said with a chuckle. "I almost forgot you had a little sister, Itachi."
"That's your brother?" Naruto said quietly. Akira gave him a quick nod. "He's scary."
"Naruto," Itachi said, looking over his sister to the boy behind her. "You're coming with us."
"You know I can't let that happen, Itachi," Akira said, gripping her swords tighter.
"Akira."
Itachi took a step closer to Akira, but he stopped when she pointed a sword at his throat.
"I don't want to fight you."
"Surprisingly, neither do I, brother, so stand down."
Itachi took a step forward again, extending his arm towards Akira. Naruto told her to be careful, but Akira knew what he was doing. She took her katana and gently swung it sideways, pushing Itachi's hand out of the way.
"You lost the right to do that the second you murdered my clan—the second you laid a hand on Kakashi," Akira said sharply. He could see the malice behind her eyes now. "I'm done putting my trust in people like you."
The man didn't listen and he took another step forward. However, Akira rose her katana up to his throat. It was almost touching Itachi's skin.
"I can't let you get any closer," she said coldly. "Until you pay for what you've done, you're my enemy."
"Why don't we go for a walk?"
Itachi stepped aside and Akira stared at him, narrowing her eyes. Naruto was scared. He was so scared that he didn't even think about disobeying Itachi and went out into the hallway. Akira followed. She didn't have much choice. Like the escape plan, staying in the hotel room where she could cause unnecessary casualties wasn't a good idea. Besides, if Naruto was going, she had to follow.
"Hey, Itachi, it'll be a pain in the neck if these kids make a run for it," Kisame said. "Maybe I ought to chop off a leg just in case."
Akira's katana was suddenly at Kisame's throat and he chuckled darkly.
"Testy, testy."
"You lay even a finger on him and I'll turn you inside out, Kisame Hoshigaki."
"Kid, I doubt you've ever even killed some—"
With a twitch of her wrist, Akira made a small cut on Kisame's neck. He went to lunge at her, but Akira planted her other katana in his foot. Kisame let out a muffled cry of pain and Akira stared directly into his eyes. There was plain murderous intent in her eyes and the low, dangerous tone in her voice worried him a little.
"I have killed someone. I've caused irreparable damage to someone's arms. And while I've also experienced the wonders of torture, I wouldn't mind testing it on someone who deserves it. Care to volunteer?" Kisame glared but remained silent. "Shame. It would have been fun."
"Yeah, this one's definitely your sister," Kisame grumbled. There was no answer. "Itachi?"
"Sasuke."
Akira didn't dare turn her head away from Kisame. Besides, she could sense his presence just like Itachi could. He was standing close behind and he was incredibly angry.
"Itachi Uchiha."
"Well, would you look at that? A third Sharingan. They both look like you—it's like I'm seeing triple," Kisame said, smiling evilly. He'd turned his attention to Itachi and Sasuke. "Though it's a funny thing. See, here there are two other Uchiha. I thought they'd all been killed like slaughtered pigs by you, Itachi."
A pained groan came from Kisame again as Akira twisted the katana in his foot.
"Do I need to remind you where my sword is?" she warned.
"Itachi Uchiha, prepare to die," Sasuke growled. It made Itachi look back at him impassively. "It's like you said, brother. I've fostered my hatred for you all this time. I've lived my life for one single purpose."
Sasuke's hand began glowing bright blue and the familiar chirping of the Chidori filled the hallway.
"I'm going to see you die! It ends here! Today!"
Despite the Sharingan gleaming in her eyes, Akira wasn't equipped with the knowledge of how to stop a rampaging Sasuke and a Chidori. Instead, all she could do was keep Naruto safe. With an annoyed growl, Akira pulled her katana from Kisame's foot and pinned Naruto against the wall. Fear glimmered in Naruto's eyes as Sasuke rushed by, but it wasn't directed at him. Naruto could feel the anger bubbling up inside Akira, a precursor to the overwhelming chakra that he'd encountered in the Forest of Death during the Chūnin Exams.
"Akira..."
"I've got this under control," Naruto."
Akira pushed off the wall and turned to look at her brothers. As she turned, Itachi slammed his hand over Sasuke's wrist, sending him crashing to the ground. Then, he grabbed Sasuke by the collar and pinned him to the wall, sliding him upwards so their faces were at the same height. Akira could see the blood dripping from Sasuke's nose and, as Kisame went to make a move to help his partner, she tossed a kunai into his foot, rooting him to his spot. He hissed in pain and glared at Akira, who had a sword pointed at his throat again.
"I told you, Shark-Face," she warned, "Insides to outsides."
Akira rushed towards Itachi and her sudden appearance by his side made him worried just enough to let go of Sasuke. Itachi's eyes followed Akira as she grabbed Sasuke and pulled him back. When she skidded to a halt, it looked like steam was rising out of her skin. The anger was bubbling to the surface and flame-like markings spread across her skin as the anger turned into power.
"Naruto, take Sasuke," Akira said quietly.
Naruto reached out and took the injured Sasuke away from her. Akira glanced at them before taking a few steps forward and standing her ground against Itachi and Kisame. The steam was pouring out of her skin, now, crackling almost like fire. Akira may have told Naruto that she had this under control, but he didn't believe her. The anger she felt seemed to be rising far too rapidly for this to be a controlled usage of the curse mark.
"I told you, Itachi," Akira called. Her voice sounded confident, but Itachi detected no trace of anger in it. "You want either of them? Over my dead body."