Aki was deeper into the woods than ever. Being a hermit looked like a
promising career to what happened last night.
Kakashi had asked for the truth, and not only did she tell him the truth, but also that she knew certain things, like the fact that she knew Zabuza was still alive even before Kakashi had checked him or figured it out. He asked why she hadn't say anything before. She couldn't answer; her reason would have been stupid to his ears.
In reality, so to speak, Aki realized that attacking the characters was her fourth strike, for if she had warned Kakashi of Zabuza in a death trance before Haku came by to pick him up and leave with him, it would have caused Vol. 3 & 4 of Naruto to be completely erased.
(What was I thinking?) She looked exhausted, seeing the bags under her eyes.
(Did I think, in the slightest moment, that this was going to be easy? Yeah, I did. For a time. What had made it seem soooo easy?)
Indeed, what HAD made this whole mess look unwind-able? What zeal had made Aki so blind? The greatest game of Risk ever known to humans...and she thought it was just, and only JUST a game!
She ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling in surrender to her thoughts. Once again, her favorite question dawned in her mind: Why?
Why was this happening? To her, no less?! "Why" always led her to reminisce. Now she went as far as to ask why she even existed in any realm. She pressed her forehead to her knees, her hands clamped to her head in frustrated thinking. She had lost everything to last night.
Whatever little trust she had invested in Kakashi was now spent. Neither lying nor the truth bought her out of deliverance. Now, Kakashi gravitated from her whenever she was near him. Not just that he thought she was a weirdo, for sure, but that he was fearful of what she possessed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night, he had asked her, after being shocked at what he saw when Aki was standing in the rain and of Zabuza, if she could predict the future. She kept her silence; a sure answer that she could. He asked many times what would happen in two days, but she stayed silent. He remembered what she had told him when he stopped asking.
(Some things are better left unspoken.)
What had she meant by that? Did she mean that they shouldn't be talking to each other anymore? Or was it something else? Whatever the case, he stayed FAR away from her, and she the same. But a small nagging feeling tugged at the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it as he did push- ups with one finger, but it wouldn't leave like a stubborn unwanted guest at a party. He fell down on his 199th push- up, and just stared at the wall on the side of his face. Who knows what his eyes were seeing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aki sat on the moist grass, thinking as she stretched into odd shapes. She always seemed to do that whenever she was alone and in thought. She had her feet on her head while thinking what to do in the present when she saw a pair of small feet standing in front of her. Unknotting herself, she looked down at Inari.
"Oh, hello." She gave a tired smile.
Inari said nothing.
"What are you sulking about?"
"Hmm?" Aki tried playing dumb.
"What happened between you and Kakashi last night?" Inari gave a face like he was blackmailing Aki.
"Whu- what?" How did the little brat know?!
"Don't play coy with me." Inari was growing irked at the second.
"None of your business."
"Ah- ha! So something DID happen here last night!"
(Damn!)
"Nothing that concerns you, that's all. Don't you have something to do? What are you doing here, anyway? How did you find me?"
"I came here to see how pathetic you were, and how terrible you're going to lose to Gato."
Why that little--!!!
"Look, you want to get out of this mess? Then stop being so pessimistic!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, how would your dad feel if he saw you as you are today, hmm?!"
"Don't you dare insult my father."
"I'm not insulting him; I'm insulting you!" Ooo! Ixnay, ixnay! Her habit of wrong timing could prove a few good smacks in tha face.
"What do you know of him?! What about YOUR parents?" Inari knew where to hurt people, whether it was pride or healing remorse.
Aki looked like he was going to kill him. Inari didn't budge to her glare.
"My parents--!" She stopped, and looked away from Inari as she thought.
Inari had a look of smug triumph.
"I had no parents to begin with." Was she doing the charade again?
He looked skeptical of her response.
"I had no one to look up to; not as a brother, not as a father." This WAS true for Aki., but her conscience intervened again.
"Your father died--" Inari cut in.
"My father died because he disobeyed Gato!"
"Your father died BECAUSE he disobeyed Gato! Don't you see?"
"NO!"
"He died for his choice! He could have lived under midget's reign, but he CHOSE not to!"
Inari gasped.
"You just insulted Gato! What if he were here, hmm?!"
"See!? You're STILL living in fear of him!" Aki started pointing fingers; not a good idea.
"Because I don't want to die! I'm fine as long as I follow his orders."
"No. You're not. I can see in your eyes! You're betraying your heart! If you follow Gato, your life will hold nothing but misery, but if you CHOOSE not to follow him, and win his struggle, your life, your TRUE life, will be redeemed. If you are willing to find that one emotion, ONE, you can conquer him. And that's courage. What would your father do?!" Aki felt as though none of this was hammered into his small, but complex mind.
Inari was already crying. Aki wanted to hold him close for his comfort in a motherly way, but she knew he would crush her sympathy. He wiped his face.
"My father..."
Aki waited.
"Would say that you're a very mean person, and never like you!" He ran off, leaving Aki fuming.
She took out a kunai, and threw it in Inari's direction. The blade sank into the trunk of a nearby tree.
"ARRRRAAAAHHHH!" She threw a large rock in his direction, its body thudding against the ground, "No matter what I do, I keep screwing up!!" She kicked another tree hard, realizing that she was wearing sandals.
She swore as she tried to get rid of the pain in her foot.
"I can predict everyone's future!...except....mine." She stopped hopping around, the thought dawning on her.
"Quite a talent you have there."
"Who's there?!" Aki spun around to face the voice.
"Gato would be most interested in your story."
(Gato?!)
She felt something long and hard hit her in the back of her head, and saw dark grass, then, nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tsunami, where's Aki?" It was awhile since he had spoken her name.
She quietly shook her head.
"Sakura, have you seen her?"
Same response.
"She went off into the woods." Kakashi turned around to face Inari.
"How do you know?"
"Because I talked to her." He was still wiping his face from his tears.
"When did you see her last?"
"Two hours before sundown."
"Inari, why are you crying?" Tsunami came over to him.
"I'm not!"
"You were."
"That girl was being mean to me!" He covered part of his face with his blanket that he dragged out of his room.
"Aki?!" Kakashi didn't think it was in her nature.
"I'm going to go look for her."
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?"
Kakashi looked at Tsunami as if she were joking.
"I'll be fine."
It was dark out, but the full moon was his torch through the forest.
"Aki?" he shouted, looking around in the darkened trees.
No response. He traveled into the heart of the woods, shouting for her again.
"AKI!" he shouted with cupped hands.
He had to pull down his mask to talk clearly. He looked around with worry, his head turning sharply. His eyes suddenly caught a glint hidden in the grass. Slowly bending onto his knees, he reached for the shiny object. It was her sterling silver scarab necklace. He held the string in one hand, and let the pendant rest in his other palm.
"Aki..." He looked into the darkness, the pendant gleaming in the moonlight.
Kakashi had asked for the truth, and not only did she tell him the truth, but also that she knew certain things, like the fact that she knew Zabuza was still alive even before Kakashi had checked him or figured it out. He asked why she hadn't say anything before. She couldn't answer; her reason would have been stupid to his ears.
In reality, so to speak, Aki realized that attacking the characters was her fourth strike, for if she had warned Kakashi of Zabuza in a death trance before Haku came by to pick him up and leave with him, it would have caused Vol. 3 & 4 of Naruto to be completely erased.
(What was I thinking?) She looked exhausted, seeing the bags under her eyes.
(Did I think, in the slightest moment, that this was going to be easy? Yeah, I did. For a time. What had made it seem soooo easy?)
Indeed, what HAD made this whole mess look unwind-able? What zeal had made Aki so blind? The greatest game of Risk ever known to humans...and she thought it was just, and only JUST a game!
She ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling in surrender to her thoughts. Once again, her favorite question dawned in her mind: Why?
Why was this happening? To her, no less?! "Why" always led her to reminisce. Now she went as far as to ask why she even existed in any realm. She pressed her forehead to her knees, her hands clamped to her head in frustrated thinking. She had lost everything to last night.
Whatever little trust she had invested in Kakashi was now spent. Neither lying nor the truth bought her out of deliverance. Now, Kakashi gravitated from her whenever she was near him. Not just that he thought she was a weirdo, for sure, but that he was fearful of what she possessed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night, he had asked her, after being shocked at what he saw when Aki was standing in the rain and of Zabuza, if she could predict the future. She kept her silence; a sure answer that she could. He asked many times what would happen in two days, but she stayed silent. He remembered what she had told him when he stopped asking.
(Some things are better left unspoken.)
What had she meant by that? Did she mean that they shouldn't be talking to each other anymore? Or was it something else? Whatever the case, he stayed FAR away from her, and she the same. But a small nagging feeling tugged at the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it as he did push- ups with one finger, but it wouldn't leave like a stubborn unwanted guest at a party. He fell down on his 199th push- up, and just stared at the wall on the side of his face. Who knows what his eyes were seeing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aki sat on the moist grass, thinking as she stretched into odd shapes. She always seemed to do that whenever she was alone and in thought. She had her feet on her head while thinking what to do in the present when she saw a pair of small feet standing in front of her. Unknotting herself, she looked down at Inari.
"Oh, hello." She gave a tired smile.
Inari said nothing.
"What are you sulking about?"
"Hmm?" Aki tried playing dumb.
"What happened between you and Kakashi last night?" Inari gave a face like he was blackmailing Aki.
"Whu- what?" How did the little brat know?!
"Don't play coy with me." Inari was growing irked at the second.
"None of your business."
"Ah- ha! So something DID happen here last night!"
(Damn!)
"Nothing that concerns you, that's all. Don't you have something to do? What are you doing here, anyway? How did you find me?"
"I came here to see how pathetic you were, and how terrible you're going to lose to Gato."
Why that little--!!!
"Look, you want to get out of this mess? Then stop being so pessimistic!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, how would your dad feel if he saw you as you are today, hmm?!"
"Don't you dare insult my father."
"I'm not insulting him; I'm insulting you!" Ooo! Ixnay, ixnay! Her habit of wrong timing could prove a few good smacks in tha face.
"What do you know of him?! What about YOUR parents?" Inari knew where to hurt people, whether it was pride or healing remorse.
Aki looked like he was going to kill him. Inari didn't budge to her glare.
"My parents--!" She stopped, and looked away from Inari as she thought.
Inari had a look of smug triumph.
"I had no parents to begin with." Was she doing the charade again?
He looked skeptical of her response.
"I had no one to look up to; not as a brother, not as a father." This WAS true for Aki., but her conscience intervened again.
"Your father died--" Inari cut in.
"My father died because he disobeyed Gato!"
"Your father died BECAUSE he disobeyed Gato! Don't you see?"
"NO!"
"He died for his choice! He could have lived under midget's reign, but he CHOSE not to!"
Inari gasped.
"You just insulted Gato! What if he were here, hmm?!"
"See!? You're STILL living in fear of him!" Aki started pointing fingers; not a good idea.
"Because I don't want to die! I'm fine as long as I follow his orders."
"No. You're not. I can see in your eyes! You're betraying your heart! If you follow Gato, your life will hold nothing but misery, but if you CHOOSE not to follow him, and win his struggle, your life, your TRUE life, will be redeemed. If you are willing to find that one emotion, ONE, you can conquer him. And that's courage. What would your father do?!" Aki felt as though none of this was hammered into his small, but complex mind.
Inari was already crying. Aki wanted to hold him close for his comfort in a motherly way, but she knew he would crush her sympathy. He wiped his face.
"My father..."
Aki waited.
"Would say that you're a very mean person, and never like you!" He ran off, leaving Aki fuming.
She took out a kunai, and threw it in Inari's direction. The blade sank into the trunk of a nearby tree.
"ARRRRAAAAHHHH!" She threw a large rock in his direction, its body thudding against the ground, "No matter what I do, I keep screwing up!!" She kicked another tree hard, realizing that she was wearing sandals.
She swore as she tried to get rid of the pain in her foot.
"I can predict everyone's future!...except....mine." She stopped hopping around, the thought dawning on her.
"Quite a talent you have there."
"Who's there?!" Aki spun around to face the voice.
"Gato would be most interested in your story."
(Gato?!)
She felt something long and hard hit her in the back of her head, and saw dark grass, then, nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tsunami, where's Aki?" It was awhile since he had spoken her name.
She quietly shook her head.
"Sakura, have you seen her?"
Same response.
"She went off into the woods." Kakashi turned around to face Inari.
"How do you know?"
"Because I talked to her." He was still wiping his face from his tears.
"When did you see her last?"
"Two hours before sundown."
"Inari, why are you crying?" Tsunami came over to him.
"I'm not!"
"You were."
"That girl was being mean to me!" He covered part of his face with his blanket that he dragged out of his room.
"Aki?!" Kakashi didn't think it was in her nature.
"I'm going to go look for her."
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?"
Kakashi looked at Tsunami as if she were joking.
"I'll be fine."
It was dark out, but the full moon was his torch through the forest.
"Aki?" he shouted, looking around in the darkened trees.
No response. He traveled into the heart of the woods, shouting for her again.
"AKI!" he shouted with cupped hands.
He had to pull down his mask to talk clearly. He looked around with worry, his head turning sharply. His eyes suddenly caught a glint hidden in the grass. Slowly bending onto his knees, he reached for the shiny object. It was her sterling silver scarab necklace. He held the string in one hand, and let the pendant rest in his other palm.
"Aki..." He looked into the darkness, the pendant gleaming in the moonlight.