Her breath fogged against the plastic of the oxygen mask that had been placed on her when Recovery took place. Her mind was swimming in drugs, eating away at her memories.
(What's… happening to me…?)
She felt it growing deep within the darkest reaches of her soul; a cage of self bound chakra infecting what lay inside. It throbbed with every heartbeat, making squeamish sounds like a heart sonogram. Slits of red slowly opened behind the toxicated bars, deep thrumming coming from within the void.
(NO! We had deal, Sikuliah!)
{Well, now I'm going back on it.} Black claws sliced through the bars as though they were paper.
(You're still inside of me! Remember the possibilities!)
{Screw it. I'll take my chances.} The demon dragon rose up on its hind legs, and brought his claws down on Aki.
"AH!" Aki's torso swung up, her breathing fast and harsh. Her EKG was off the walls, bleeping like crazy.
She had a hand to her chest, careless of what the monitors said about her heart.
(Was that a betrayal?) A worse possibility dawned in her mind.
(Or was that yet to be?) She combed out her loose hair to calm herself down.
She felt the drip tube against her forehead, and looked down at her wrist.
"Huh?" She looked around.
"Where…am I?" She didn't need an answer; white was everywhere.
"Konoha hospital? Why here?" She placed her forehead in her hands, her mind straining to remember.
"Aki?" She looked up, "Oh, uh, Kakashi?"
She hadn't noticed him sitting in the corner of the room when she woke up.
"Are you okay, Aki? You gave such a fright." He had a hand on Aki's head.
She swallowed and nodded.
"Just in pain. Where the hell am I?" Kakashi's seen eye drooped down in sadness.
"So, then. It's true."
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
"You seemed to have gotten a concussion and don't remember what happened to you."
"What are you talking about? Look, just, what happened to me?!" She was in no mood for delays.
"Well, while you were using that soaring- thingy-"
"Glider." Interjected Aki in a flat tone.
"Glider. Whatever. Well, I saw you flying, how ever weird that was-"
"Just get to the bloody point!" Aki's tension level rose with every wasted second.
"And you fell! I tried to get to you in time, but you already hit rock bottom! I was sure you had died."
Aki sat there, nonplus as she absorbed this information. She reamed her brain for answers, but the questions just kept on coming. Something didn't fit with Kakashi's explanation, but nothing turned up in her mind.
"It was sheer luck that you're still alive!"
Aki said nothing. Her mind was still hooked on what she had seen Sikuliah do. Would it really happen? Or were her nerves getting to her?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She had her reasons for not sleeping the next three nights in a row. She was too scared that what she saw was probably going to happen in her sleep, where she was most vulnerable. Her abdomen ached everyday, sometimes growing worse as every minute seemed to crawl by. She was flying…she remembered that much. Oh crap! Where was her glider?! Probably left to rot here she had fallen. Aw, fuck!
Her eyebrows were furrowed as she silently took in the pain. Man, what did she do to deserve this?! Her breathing was uneven and raspy as the pain ate away at her. She wanted so much to accept the welcoming darkness, but for fear of Sikuliah on the loose and rebellious inside of her, she forced herself to stay awake. After a while, she couldn't tell which torture was worse: Getting permanent insomnia or having Sikuliah possess her.
Sakura had been kind enough to visit Aki one day, holding a single Butterfly lily in her hands.
"Hello, Aki- sempai. How are you feeling?" Aki looked at Sakura with a pleasantly shocked face.
" "Aki- sempai"? Hmm, interesting. Well, I've had better days. No broken bones, though." She grinned.
Sakura placed the flower in an already filled vase, and took a seat close to her.
"What happened to you? Kakashi- sensei said something about you flying, and how that was weird and-"Aki put up a hand to silence her, laughing quietly to herself.
Sakura thought she was coughing.
"I'm sure that scarecrow has fiddled around with a few details, but the basic is correct. I had made a glider and was testing out for the first time, and then a kunai shot me down. I didn't know who it was but I fell about…oh, say, 200 ft, perhaps. Maybe more." Sakura looked appalled.
"How did you ever survive?!"
"Luck, really." Or was it something else..?
Aki rid herself of the possibility, and smiled at a stunned Sakura.
"Hey, I'm alive. No need to worry about me getting on fire or something of the sort." Aki coughed for real this time, gripping her stitches, but she didn't let her face show Sakura that she was in pain.
"So, * cough * how's everyone else?"
"Oh." Sakura's voice lowered in tone and went spiteful, "Naruto's being a jerk, as always, and Sasuke…" She paused, a rather dreamy look in her eyes.
Aki could already guess what Inner Sakura was saying.
"Tell me. What do you like about him?"
"Uhwhu, hmm?! What?" She started to get a red tinge in her pale cheeks.
"What do you see in him that makes you like him?"
"Wh- whatever made you th- think that?" Sakura should have practiced controlling her blushing for now she was crimson red in the face.
"Well, I can't help noticing the way you look at him, and don't pretend I haven't heard you talk about him with Ino."
"How do you know Ino?!" Sakura was starting to get suspicious.
"Oh, I met people in Konoha. What, did you think I was living as a hermit?!" joked Aki, saving herself once again from screwing up the manga series.
"You both are life- long rivals, I can tell. As soon as you guys liked the same boy, you both became bitter enemies, but something tells me…"She trailed off.
"What? What?!" Aki shook her head.
"I was just thinking, that's all. Leads me into trouble, it does." Aki grinned.
After some time had passed, Sakura said her goodbyes and left. Aki lay back against her soft pillows, and wondered why these were much more comfortable than the hospital beds back home.
(Maybe because their reality isn't a bittersweet one. Harsh true, but open.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kakashi came by to visit Aki some time in the late afternoon. He walked in to find her asleep.
Aki had finally succumbed to her body's desire, and had slept for an uninterrupted streak of twelve hours.
He scratched behind his head, a small bundle of Faeire lilies in his other hand. He already saw the flower in the vase, and decided to add his share to it. He decided to wait for her to wake up, and took a seat near the back end of the circular room, pulling out the latest edition of Come Come Paradise.
The hours went, and there was still no sign of her coming to. Kakashi finished with his new edition, slipped it into his back pants pocket and waited, twiddling his thumbs. He continued to stare at an unconscious Aki, and sudden thoughts took hold of his mind, thanks to Come Come Paradise. Seeing that no one was around, Kakashi stood up quietly, and walked over to where Aki lay. He continued to stare at her with half- open eyes, wonderments galore. He stated to bend down to Aki.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dampened light started to come through Aki's sleep filled eyes. She thought she was just hallucinating at first, but then she saw the gleam of a leaf headband covering a left eye.
"Uh, Kakashi? What are you doing?" Kakashi stopped mid bend, obviously caught.
He shot backwards, pretending to get rid of a bug that was on her face.
"I thought I just saw something on you, that's all." A giant sweatdrop formed behind his head.
"Uh- huh." Kakashi knew she wasn't buying it.
"Uh, well. I wanted to say hi and check on you, but you seem to be doing fine, soIhavetogetbacktomyduties,so,bye!" He poofed in a ring of smoke.
Aki shook her head. He was being sly with her; and anyways, what duties did he fulfill in his spare time?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aki was released a week and a half later, and as soon as she got out from the white double doors, she started to run for the Tester Cliff. She ran out of breath before she even got close.
"Goddammit! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Aoihoshi appeared.
"Hey, Aki! Boy, what happened to you?"
"Never…mind that. I…need to get…up there fast..."
"Say no more." Aoihoshi swept Aki up onto his back, and within minutes, Aki was standing in front of her collision.
The hole in which the kunai had pierced was torn open more than it should have, but the frame was untouched. The tail was broken though.
"Where the hell's that fucking bastard?! I'll kill him!" Aoihoshi looked confused.
"What happened?"
"I was gliding here, and some stupid Anbu shot me down. Probably thought I was an enemy or something. Fucking A-!" She kicked a rock only to remember she was wearing sandals.
As she swore in Wasagian, Aoihoshi overlooked the scene.
"You could fix that glide- thingy, you know. It only has a tear, and you can mend the wood."
"How?!" Aki was already on the verge of tears.
"Well, you know chakra and how it works. Maybe you can manipulate the dead wood's life cycle, and heal the broken spot. It worked on my fin." He flapped it so Aki could see it.
"That was just herbs I had gotten my hands on. I don't think dead wood can mend on that."
"No, you didn't just use those on me; I could feel your chakra go into my wound and actually mend to scales. If you hadn't, my wound wouldn't have healed for at least half a year, if not more."
Aki stood there, gazing at what she thought were the ruins of her hard work and ambitions, but Aoihoshi had a point; she knew how to manipulate chakra.
Manipulate chakra…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aki was walking down the street next day, minding her own business when she heard a familiar boyish voice.
"Th ugly girl's forehead; is she for real, Bro?" It was Konohamaru, the Hokage's heir.
Aki knew what would happen to those words. Sakura suddenly charged down the street like a tiger in pursuit.
"GYAAAAAA!" Naruto, Konohamaru and his gang ran for their lives.
Aki walked out onto the street to watch them go off, but the next moment, she was running up to a fallen Konohamaru.
"Oh, don't tell me I'm looking at the Tattooed Wonder and his girlfriend." It was the two nin from the Hidden Sand; Temari and Kankuro.
Even though she was considerably higher than the two, she still feared their power.
"Is that a dare?" Kankuro went for his mummy doll that was strapped to his back.
"I don't know. What's your business with the boy here? Is it illegal to run in this place? I didn't know you were in charge."
Kankuro opened his eyes, glaring at Aki.
"Put the boy down, Kankuro."
Kankuro was taken aback.
"How do you know my name?!"
Aki grinned darkly, noticing fear in his voice.
"Oh, trust me. I know more than you think. Put him down."
Kankuro pulled himself together.
"Is that an order?"
"Unless you want your head pummeled in."
"Look, we'll get yelled at, so let's just drop the brat and get out of her." Temari looked frazzled, looking around for someone.
"Temari speaks wisely. Unhand the boy and leave." The blond haired girl looked shocked; Aki smiled at this, "Oh yes. You too."
"Well, let's have some fun before the boss gets here." Konohamaru was choking on his pulled up collar.
Aki was starting to pull something from her inside vest pocket before Naruto charged.
"Naruto, NO!" Too late.
Even before Naruto could reach Kankuro, he had knocked him back without touching him.
"Hey, you pig! You leave him alone or I'll make you pay. Fatass!"
"Naruto. Ixnay." Said Aki through her teeth.
Sakura had already grabbed Naruto in a headlock, telling him to shut up.
"Sakura. Let go of him." Aki's voice was calm. Too calm.
"I hate midgets, especially younger ones who are rude. Makes me want to kill them."
"Well then, I hate to burst your dream bubble, but from where I'm standing, you're a very rude midget. Does that mean you're going to commit suicide? I'll watch."
(Where the hell's Sasuke?! He should be in the trees by now.)
What happened next went in a flash. Kankuro's fist was flying towards Konohamaru, Naruto charged to stop him, and then Konohamaru fell to the ground as Kankuro gripped his wrist in pain.
"Finally, where the hell were you?!" Aki looked up to the tree where the rock had been throw.
Sasuke ignored Aki, and sat on the lowest boughs of the tree, tossing a large pebble in his hand.
"What are you bastards doing on our village?"
Aki looked over to where Temari was staring at Sasuke.
"Chica, don't even think about it." Temari looked shocked again. How did she know she thought Sasuke was handsome?!
Konohamaru, collecting his wits, ran behind Aki and back with Naruto.
"Wise to run, Kankuro. Or do you want another permanent tattoo on your forehead from him?" Aki pointed to a crouching Sasuke.
"Gah, another guy that pisses me off!"
"Get lost!" Sasuke was in no mood for morons who didn't know the boundaries.
"Punk, get down here. I hate show- offs most of all."
"The hypocrite speaks." Aki's arms were akimbo as she watched him pull off Karasu, the strange mummy thing on his back.
"Kankuro, stop it." Commanded a voice from behind Sasuke.
(Holy shit! The psycho murderer kid is here!) Now it was Aki's turn to be scared.
Hanging upside-down from a branch nearby…
Was Gaara.
"You're an embarrassment to our village." He said coldly, his arms crossed.
"Ga- Gaara." Kankuro swallowed hard.
"No excuses. Losing yourself in a fight; how pathetic."
"But-"
"Shut up. I'll kill you." With those serpent eyes, his statement was taken seriously.
"Okay. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Kankuro's voice was quaking.
"Yeah, me too. I'm sorry. Really sorry." Temari was no exception.
"Sorry to you guys." Gaara vanished in a whirlwind of leaves.
After a few minutes of explanation passed, Sasuke came to the ground.
"Hey, what's your name."
"You mean me?" said Temari hopefully, blushing.
"No, asshole. Nice try." Aki shook her head, not believing this girl was at an attempt for Sasuke's affection.
Gaara stayed silent for a moment, then…
"Gaara of the Desert. I'm also interested in you, your name?"
" It's Uchiha Sasuke."
They did a stare- off before Naruto intervened.
"HEY!!! WHAT ABOUT ME?! HUH?!" Naruto pointed at himself.
"Not interested. Let's go." The three sand nin vanished.
(Heh. This is getting interesting.) Sasuke grinned.
Within the shadow of the trees, the three Sound nin stood gazing at the four.
"So, what do you think?" The one sitting on the branch with one visible eye grinned to himself.
"Well, nothing serious. The dark- haired one from the Leaf and the Sand nin with gourd; we better keep our eyes on them." He was about to leave when he caught his eye on Aki.
"Something tells me that he'll want to know about the girl. Keep our eyes on her too."
They vanished in a ring of smoke.
The Chuunin Exam…
Was about to begin…