Momentum

by SirensSingg

Life...What could possibly be the meaning of life, let alone a second chance. I sure as hell didn't know. (Rating: MA. Dark themes. OC as Naruto's older sister)

14. Chapter 14: Sacrifices Part Two

A/N: Hey, I'm back! Have some feels. (Lets talk at the bottom)

Trigger warning: A lot of Violence. Attempted child molestation. NonCon. Descriptive torture. Unhealthy coping. Mental health deterioration. Depicted Suicide. Suicidal ideation.

Unsure if I needed to put this but its depression season and I take mental health Very Seriously. Please reach out if you need help.

---

Chapter 14: Sacrifices Part Two

---

The Hyuga accident had happened regardless how Akira tried to meddle. It wasn't much, just a simple letter for the Clan Head, cautioning about the Kumo delegation's ulterior motives.

It seemed as if he had not taken heed of her warning but that had nothing to do with her. She was proud at how sneakily she had sent the letter as to not be caught. A testament of how far along she had come as a ninja.

Hinata was kidnapped and Neji's father had died as preordained in the Anime. It didn't affect her life, nor the universe, so she went on as usual.

"And what color is… this?" Akira asked the five-year-old Naruto sitting in her lap. A children's book open in her hands, shapes and blocky letters scattered over worn pages.

Beside her was a pile of folded clothes she had bought for him the day prior. The clothes he had prior were too small for his growing frame so she had given the director permission to give them to the younger children.

She did that with all of the things Naruto outgrew. Children, after all, were unsullied in their innocence. Most of them got along well enough with her brother so she gave without second thought.

Naruto's forehead scrunched in deep thought, whiskered cheeks puffing out cutely. "Green!"

"Very good~" she cooed, caging him in her arms and blowing a raspberry against his forehead. He let out bubbly giggles, leaning back against her chest while smacking at the book.

"Onee-chan, onee-chan, stooooop!"

"But you're just so smart and cute~" she gushed, abandoning learning time to pull him with her onto the wooden floor to roll around. She would have to refold the clothes but, meh.

Giggles transformed into all-out laughter as he tried his in vain to push her tickling fingers away.

Akira's heart warmed like a cat basking in the rays of the sun. Nothing beat the feeling of him safe and happy in her arms.

While he wasn't being out-right mistreated, the workers of the orphanage slacked on his studies. So, whenever her busy schedule allowed Akira made sure to teach him whatever her time allowed.

He'd be joining the academy soon, so at least she wouldn't have to worry too much about him falling behind.

Hiruzen kept her busy, sending team twelve off for 2 days, rest barely one only to go right back out. It was exhausting and taxing but the income from constantly being gone was a blessing in disguise.

Presently she had five days off.

"Keep it down in there!" a feminine voice interrupted, shattering the moment.

Akira stopped in her assault in order to scowl at the closed door. No one was allowed to be in the play room when she had her visitation. So the workers were forced to deal with the rest of the wining children.

To say they were salty would be an understatement. The constant glares that were sent her way whenever she stood in the doorframe of the orphanage were always heated with distaste and resignation.

If her quality time wasn't always interrupted by some idiot with a stick up their ass, Akira might have felt bad. Herding a bunch of rowdy kids complaining probably sucked.

Naruto looked up to her, blue eyes uneasy and questioning. She schooled her expression, smiling brightly against the aggravation swirling in her stomach. "I have a present for you." She said quietly.

"Fo' me?" he whispered back, face lighting up once more.

"Who else?" she placed him easily to the side and made her way over to her bag. His footsteps followed, scent growing stronger. He smelt of faint lavender with a trace of subtle jasmine—a fitting scent for her source of happiness and peace.

"Mine, mine, mine!" he chanted, jumping up and down excitedly.

Shame filled her briefly. There wasn't a lot she could give him that someone in the orphanage might take away that weren't clothes. The children were all forced to share.

Thankfully he was now at an age where if such things took place, he could tell her.

Akira turned around with a foxy smirk, wrapped gift hidden behind her back. "What do we say?"

Confusion, realization.

Naruto dropped his head slightly, puppy eyes on blast as he put his hands behind his back, swaying cutely. "Pweeease."

She was going to hit him; he was so fucking adorable.

Handing him the gift, the toddler tore into it like a child possessed. There was a small intake of breath. "Book!" he cheered, clutching the small hard-cover to his chest. "Dank you nee-chan, 'ttebayo!"

If someone had told her she'd be living in a universe where Naruto Uzumaki got excited over books, Akira would have laughed in their face.

"You're very welcome, Naru." The pre-teen ran a hand through blonde spiky hair, smiling fondly as he leaned into the contact. "Want me to read it to you?"

He transformed into a bobble head, nodding furiously as he grabbed her hand to pull her into their previous position. She took the book from him and ran her fingertips over the cover.

"This is the story of The Little Ninja That Could…"

---

A year later…

(12)
***

After an extensive week-long carrier mission team Twelve was back in Konoha. They were exhausted and completely Done with the how crazy the weather had been.

In one day, the heat could've cooked eggs on concrete then swiftly change to raining the next. For the last two days of their journey, it had been a relentless downpour only to fizzle out into humid overcast the closer they came to the village.

The four of them walked up to the gates, excited to get the debriefing over so they could shower. Damp-chic wasn't what Akira would call comfortable. She was chafing in all the wrong places and her feet were giant prunes.

Her teammates weren't much better. They resembled drowning cats, faces grumpy and wan.

"I smell like a rotten onion." Complained Kai. He turned to the guard manning the gate, "Can you smell me? Is it bad?"

The young adult blinked slowly, stamping their passes in quick succession. It was an answer in itself.

Akira fought the urge to take her annoying friend by the ear and drag him away. Instead, she elbowed him in the rib. He clutched the spot, sending her an outraged glare.

"All of us smell bad" She murmured testily. He hadn't stopped complaining about something for hours that that point. "My nose has felt like it's going to fall off my face since it stopped raining. We're like walking, talking toxic fumes."

His face flushed brilliantly in belated realization and abject horror, speechless at last. They made it through the gates with no issue. The guy sitting inside of office sprayed a tropical air freshener when they walked far enough away.

"Maybe you should wear a mask." Shin suggested, sympathy somehow breaking through his stench. He eyed her up and down, "and maybe shorter sleeves."

"No." Akira snapped testily.

Even if she had to stand the chronic overstimulation of her heightened senses, she refused to look like Kakashi, goddammit. Scent dampening masks were for bitches.

Just like that Kai's silence was broken. "Idunno why you're so gung-ho about always wearing that stuffy attire. We don't care about what's under there. Scars just prove you survived. Albeit how you came across a buncha vampires is beyond me."

"Probably pissed them off."

Ryu-sensei grunted in agreement. Akira kept her heated gaze transfixed forward.

The setting sun cast their surroundings in rich shades of marigold and scarlet throughout the village. Shadows stretched behind civilians like a dark extension of their bodies.

'Find your happy place. You love your team and their big mouths now. Can't kill them now when you've gotten this far.' She chanted to herself.

It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about changing her attire. Though they were still visible, the bite marks had faded to a lighter red. Hiding the reminder gave undue power to the bastards that had put them there, she knew.

But she was an Uzumaki. The right (or wrong) people would understand what it meant, even if her teammates didn't.

And S-Rank secret was really hard to keep when all the evidence practically screamed it. "I'll think about it." She pacified, hoping they would drop the conversation.

They walked into the Hokage tower and were sent to the seats in front of the door, far away from where everyone else worked. The secretary tried to discreetly spray rose-scented perfume behind her desk but nothing got past Akira's ears and nose.

She tried focusing on roses but the stench was putting up an unsurpassable fight.

Yeah. Her outfit was being burned.

The secretary hurried over to the door and opened it, "You may enter."

"Huh. That was fast." Kai commented.

Beating her teammate would happen after the bonfire. Maybe she'd toss him in it.

After a seamless report to the Hokage on what happened during their mission he tells her team to leave so they could talk alone.

"You want me to stay?" she asked, uncomfortable but trying to cover it with a joke. He didn't laugh. She shifted on her toes, shooting nervous glances back at Ryu-sensei. "Um, if it isn't anything classified would it be okay if they stayed?"

He thought a moment and nodded his head, face remorseful but eyes keen and watchful. "Oishi Yamanaka was found dead in his home."

The world came to an abrupt standstill.

A large hand fell on her shoulder as she swayed. Kai grabbed her hand tightly. She focused on sensations, doing her best to process what was being said. "…what?" asked the small voice of a child.

Hiruzen tapped his unused pipe against the ashtray sitting on his cluttered desk. "He was found five days ago in bed."—everything was being said so slowly— "The autopsy determined his cause of death as a heart attack."

Akira felt as if a large pipe was crammed deep in her chest cavity. It couldn't be true—Oishi had been at the gate to see her off on her mission.

Sure, he had been a little ragged lately but as far as she knew he'd been healthy. He had been planning to ask Tsubaki on a date and was going to tell her how it went when she got back.

It didn't make sense.

The hand on her shoulder squeezed. "Will that be all, Hokage-sama?" asked Ryu in an oddly hard voice.

Lord Third nodded and they walked out together.

They were talking about something but it sounded so far away. Akira was a ghost again, watching as things happened but felt none of it. She saw Shin's mouth moving but all was quiet.

Rain fell on her face but nothing else was getting wet but her.

Villagers going about their life stared and whispered, moving out of their way as Ryu lead the group though all of the eyes that gawked in her direction.

(Monsters didn't cry—even if you made them bleed. They would know.)

When they passed a white picket fence that wrapped around Ryu's house a blur of strawberry blonde burst from within and she was engulfed in the scent of sweet berries.

Scorching hands cupped her face, thumbs wiping liquid from stained cheeks.

"-lease. Kira come back, sweety." Violet met worried, teary green. Nori smiled in relief, thumb caressing her cheek. "There you are. Take your time."

Akira looked around, brain foggy and fighting to catch up as if in a trance. She was in Ryu's living room—floral wallpaper decorated with pink daisies and stylized vines graced the walls.

Kai had whispered to her that it was tacky the first time they had dinner at the Aikawa household. It earned him a smack on the back of his head.

Something shifted under her and she realized she was curled in her sensei's lap. They were on the floor, her ear pressed to a steady beating chest.

It hit her then that, no, Oishi wasn't coming back. He wasn't the one who would bring her back from within herself anymore.

Akira longed to be in his offices' worn couch, looking out the window at squirrels scurrying up trees. To be on the receiving end of warm, affectionate teal eyes that refused to darken with hatred.

When was the last time she'd told him she loved him? Did she say it when he saw her off?

Was he aware just how much he meant to her? How deeply indebted to him she was for being the only pedestal of hope left in her desolate life?

Akira's face crumpled along with her heart as her body shook with loud sobs. "That's it, let it out." Nori cooed.

And she did. In the shower and late into the night cuddled with Nori and her team.

However just because the emotions were out in the open didn't mean they were dealt with or gone. It took her weeks to convince everyone she was alright and an additional one for them to believe it.

She was becoming quite the lair, really.

So much so that sometimes even you fell for your own lies

But the truth came out in bits and pieces. It was a whisper in the back of your mind you kept close to your fractured heart.

With Oishi's untimely death, whatever goodness left in you dissipated.

---

Two years later…

(15/16)
***

There was a calmness that fell over the land when the sun set and the moon revealed itself. It shone in the bright sky like a beacon of tranquility, the stars winking around it like a secret.

Crickets chirped sweet melodies as a breeze carried the scent of the Naka River below.

Akira was fifteen on the verge of sixteen, sat next to Shisui. Their knees brushed against each other as they spoke in low tones as to not wake a sleeping Itachi. He was far enough away not to easily be woken, but her poor best friend needed his sleep.

Already, the lines under his eyes were deeper. Shouldering the burden of his Clan that his father forced upon him had aged him beyond his years.

Back from a long mission and already exhausted Itachi had passed out not long after they had broken out the sleeping bags.

The spontaneous decision to go camping came up when Akira had been complaining about missions and how it would be fun to do so if the threat of being murdered wasn't always hanging over her head.

Shisui had taken the passing comment to heart, and, well, there they were.

Lost in thought while looking up at the sky Shisui spoke up, "You really like the sky."

"Jealous I'm not paying attention to you?" she joked with a toothy smirk, eyes still trained on the sky.

He laughed. "Nah, I was just wondering if you were looking at specific constellations."

Huh. It never crossed her mind that this world had such things. Most of her studies had to do with killing, so it wasn't surprising she never came across the subject.

She shook her head in the negative and looked over at him.

The moon made his dark eyes sparkle.

He huddled closer with a grin and pointed up at the sky. "See those clustered stars over there? Lined up in a stack of three and three?"

It took a moment but eventually she hummed affirmatively. The place where his skin touched hers sparked to life.

"That's The Sage of Six Paths." He shifted to the left, "and right there in the shape of a big ass fan? That's The Founders Gunbai-Uchiwa that one of my ancestors wielded. We don't talk about him much but he was super strong."

Even the vague mention of Madara Uchiha left a sour taste in the blondes mouth as Shisui continued on unaware.

Her mind to Obito and what he was up to. Nothing good, if she had to guess.

But she'd promised herself one night—in the darkness of an unfamiliar forest as three men hunted her down again and again—to put the boy out of his own misery. Painfully.

"-and that one I named after my team when we had our first mission together." He paused his excited rant, that heartbreaking smile dimming slightly.

"How cute~"

He blushed. "Shut up..."

"Why? Cute Shisui happens to be my favorite."

He covered his burning face. "Oh my god you're so—"

"Incredibly charming? I know."

"I was going to say cheesy. But sure."

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "but it's your favorite of mine, right? Right?"

Shisui leveled her with sincere black eyes. "Everything about you is my favorite."

That shut her up, staring at him with wide eyes and face growing uncomfortably warm.

Shisui looked away, a pleased lift to his mouth. "A-anyway! The star cluster over there that makes a diamond leads east…"

Ignoring her embarrassment Akira squint her eyes as she scanned the night sky. "Hmm. I think I see a Shisui constellation right over there!"

"Where?"

She point into the vast sky. "It's in the shape of a smile to the left of your teams. Ya'know, because you're a weirdo and smile a lot for an Uchiha."

"ha-ha." He bumped his shoulder against hers lightly but he kept staring nonetheless. "Well, if you look at it from the bottom it looks like its frowning. That'll be you, since you're frowning all the time."

"No point smiling when everyone is always glaring daggers through my skull everywhere I go."

"Touché."

She hesitated and put her hand over his. It was warm, much like the person attached to it. "I smile around you, though."

Now it was his turn to freeze. After a few seconds ticked by he squeezed her hand back, eyes softening. "Yeah."

"—and Itachi. And his family. And my team—" she babbled only stopping when he chuckled in amusement. She buried her face in her knees.

"Wow. So, I'm up there with Itachi? I feel honored." He taunted.

Akira mumbled into her knees. He leaned in playfully, "Sorry, couldn't quite hear that."

She turned her head shyly to meet his gaze. They were close. Enough to where she felt every breath he took. "I said its different with you than Tachi."

"…You're the most complicated girl I've ever meet,"

"Shisui?"

"—sometimes I wonder what goes on in that blonde little head of yours—" he was rambling. Again. It was something they shared in common. Filling silence with meaningless words. They were going to be stuck doing this all night like a couple of idiots if she didn't put a stop to it.

"Shisui,"

"Oh, sorry. Yeah?"

"Stop talking."

"That's just rude—"

Akira leaned forward, closing the gap and kissed him.

He was so stunned that he jumped back, wide-eyed and fingertips delicately touching his lips. "Y-you just…" he was bewildered.

Honestly so was she because 'What did I just do?'

Sure, they playfully flirted all of the time and other people always assumed they were dating but that didn't give her the right to assault his mouth with hers.

Butterflies fluttered a hurricane in her stomach. Had she read into it wrong? She prepared herself for the rejection as she went on a tangent. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking—well I mean I was thinking but I—ohmygod I should have asked before—"

Shisui reached behind her to grasp the back of her neck and pulled her forward, lips gently pressed to hers once again.

Akira squeezed her eyes shut, not quite knowing what the fuck was going on but not wanting to open them because his mouth was soft and he smelt so good. Like musky amber.

It was nothing like what she shared with Itachi when they were kids—which she totally shouldn't have been thinking about while kissing his cousin.

It felt… nice. More than nice—even if he tasted vaguely like dinner.

Body alight with endorphins Akira leaned in further to deepen the kiss, fingers scrunching into the fabric of his shirt to pull him closer.

The beat of his heart thudded hard and fast against her fist.

It was sweet if not a bit clumsy. She felt him beginning to smile like an idiot. Eventually she backed away when his shoulders began to shake with suppressed laughter.

Affronted, Akira narrowed her eyes and raised a single questioning brow.

"S-sorry," Shisui said between chuckles, "you taste like apples. Thought that was unironically fitting."

The blonde licked her lips—his hooded gaze followed the movement. "You have no room to talk, rabbit breath." She replied flatly.

"Rabbit breath?" he squeaked, voice breaking.

"It's okay," she booped his nose with hers, "I happen to like rabbit."

His expression went flat. "I know you didn't just hop around a confession via rabbits."

She bit her bottom lip in order to suppress a grin. "I would never…Bunny."

Shisui groaned as he dipped his head to rest against the juncture of her shoulder, "That is the most unmasculine nickname ever. I demand a new one."

"Bunsui—"

"—I retract my statement and instead impose that word to never leave your mouth again."

"Anything for my Bunny~" Akira giggled as he nuzzled into her neck, pecking at the skin.

The rest of the night was spent in a similar fashion. Up until the point Itachi had woken up to the scene of his best friend hovering over his cousin. She watched him with wide, panicked violet eyes.

"What the fuck." He cursed at them heatedly, face burning. "Could you do that when I'm not around trying to sleep?"

Itachi wasn't the least bit amused when Akira replied to his expletive grumbling with an earnest, "Language."

"Go the hell to sleep!"

The couple burst in a fit of giggles as Itachi turned in his sleeping bag and pulled the flap over his head.

It was that night you decided Shisui Uchiha was yours

---

"Who thought it would be a good idea to send chunin across the sea?" Kai groaned for the thousandth time. His face was pale as he stared out at the endless horizon.

Akira bumped his shoulder with her own, mischief shining in her eyes. "Nut-up, newbie. Quit being so damn dramatic."

She had only been chunin a year longer but it still gave her immense satisfaction to rub it in Kai and Shins face. She had seniority no matter what Ryu argued to placate the boys' ire.

Their first exam had been easy pickings as she tore through all that opposed her. Her teammates weren't as lucky.

The two of them had been taken out in the second test due to injury since it wasn't a team-centered exercise as the first one had been. Neither made chunin and she deeply enjoyed gloating about it.

Last month had finally been their time to shine after a year of intense bullyi- training.

Currently they were aboard a ship sailing across the ocean to help some small village with a bandit issue. It was a B-rank and she for once she was excited. It was their first mission that didn't include running back and forth between bases like dogs or guarding caravans.

Being a Chunin team rocked.

There was also the fact Akira was almost certain the ship they were on was manned by pirates.

When she had revealed her insinuation Kai had been freaked out. Shin just ignored her—he was under the impression that everything that came from her mouth was bullshit ever since the period fiasco.

Which wasn't necessarily wrong. It brought her great joy to prank her idiots.

"If they were truly pirates, they would have killed us by now. Pirates are known to be hostile against ninja, like the samurai." Snapped an affronted Shin as he did a final check on their supplies.

Akira leaned between her teammates conspiringly, "Not if they're good pirates."

"Tsk. No such thing."

Kai gave their surroundings a suspicious once-over. "Sure you aren't allowing the books you read to blind you to reality?"

That… was a valid possibility.

Books—both reading and writing them—was a convenient hobby that allowed her escape reality. Who cared that her life was a constant shit-show when there were so many books she could immerse herself in?

The Pirates Treasure was one of the best romance novels of that year, and it would be no small thing to say she wasn't obsessed. There was even a poster in her room Itachi had bought her.

It was basically smut with plot and both were written so beautifully she could almost ignore the fact a certain silver-haired asshole possibly enjoyed it, too. She wouldn't give up reading just because he-who-shall-not-be-named took solace in the same distraction.

"Say what you want about my perception of reality: here there be pirates. I'm sure of it." She whispered.

It was that moment the captain sauntered his way to them, a large tooth-gapped grin on his scruffy face. "Welcome aboard the Rusty Cannon. My name is Isamu and this is my daughter, Aiya."

Akira and her boys stood at attention and gave their own greetings and thanks. Formalities were always so exhausting.

Ryu-sensei stepped forward, tucking an unfinished sweater in his pocket—he had been so quiet that Akira had honestly forgotten the man was even there. For someone so large he had such a small presence.

The two burly men shook hands and went over the smaller details of the trip.

A girl around ten peeked behind the captain, black hair braided down her back and even darker eyes shyly glancing between team twelve.

She looked so much like an Uchiha that Akira did a double take. She hid once more behind her father when Kai sent a friendly smile her way.

Taking the chance, Akira nudged his arm insistently. "Looks like someone has a crush." She cooed.

"S-shut up. She's like five." He grumbled, bending down to pick up his bookbag and high-tail it toward where their room was. His sense of self-preservation was admirable.

Akira hugged herself and swayed, exhaling a longing sigh, "Star-crossed lovers—one a pirate princess, the other an up-and-coming ninja. Meant for each other but forced to be apart. So romantic~"

Shin snorted as a blushing Kai stomped away faster, almost running into a crewmember.

"Stop making fun of him. You know how sensitive he can be." Shin scolded half-heartedly.

The whiskered teen leaned close, sending him a sly grin and lowered her voice so only he could hear. "Should I tell the story of my star-crossed teammates instead?"

"Please stop."

Louder. "A member of the stuffy Hyuga clan forced to hide his feelings from his romantically dense best friend—both doomed to virginhood—"

"Akira." Shin begged, shame glossing over his ghostly eyes.

Guilt churned in her stomach as she looked away. "Sorry. Too far."

He shook his head as they passed through the entrance below deck their teammate had disappeared through. It was dark and musty, the stench of body odor almost unbearable.

A pair of crewmates walked by, giving them both a once-over. One was rather handsome. A chiseled jaw any model would envy and light hazel eyes ringed with deep green. She waved. They ignored her.

'Rude.'

"Besides. We don't make fun of whatever is going on with you and Shisui." Her friend continued when they were alone.

Hm. She must have actually hurt his feelings. The usual bite to his words was toothless.

Maybe he truly feared for his virginity? He only mocked her obvious relationship status when his feathers were ruffled. A way to make what she shared with Shisui seem small and meaningless even though they had been dating for months.

Akira hummed a song with a small grin. "Just yesterday you called us unprofessional and cringy."

"You kissed each other in the middle of a mission and then forced him to wear a flower crown, calling him a prince."

In their defense, they had wrongfully assumed everyone was asleep. It wasn't her fault he had such pouty, kissable lips. And she hadn't forced him to wear anything.

Her boyfriend loved receiving her hand-made gifts. His dark eyes would light up in joy, sending warm fuzzies in her stomach. The ensuing hug accompanied by a temptingly low utterance of thanks breathed against her temple always set her hormones into a dizzying dance.

Shisui knew exactly what his flirtations did to her, and he delighted in all of the different shades she could turn.

Akira looked to Shin seriously, cheeks darkening. "He looked beautiful in that crown and you know it. Like an ethereal fairy walking among men."

"He took down a group of bandits while wearing it." He stressed. He didn't even fight her on how good the Uchiha had looked.

And what a beautiful sight it had been. Said bandits had been so confused.

When Shisui turned around after tearing through them, long lashes fluttering and a boyish smile on his blood-speckled face—proving her two teammates wrong because men could still be deadly while wearing flowers.

Well. Her heart had just melted.

A dreamy sigh escaped her lips at the reminder. "How could I forget?"

It was Shins turn to give her a serious look. "Both of you are completely deranged when you're together."

Kai popped his head from within a room not far ahead. Amber eyes bounced between them, eyebrows slowly raising. "S'wrong with her?" he jerked his head in her direction.

Shin quickened his pace with a huff, shouldering past the brunette with a mumbled "Who do you think?"

Kai's nose crinkled. "Ugh, seriously? The crown made him look so girly."

Akira tooted at him as she swayed through the door, tapping the crease between his brows, "That isn't toxic masculinity I hear, is it? Nori would be very disappointed."

His mouth opened and closed, face going white. If there was one thing their sensei's husband knew how to do, it was discipline. Not in the usual ways of running laps or never-ending planks her sensei condemned them to, oh no. Nori was, at heart, a Yamanaka.

Physical exercise wasn't as fun.

Instead, he would lecture for hours. And to make sure they truly understood what he was saying, they were forced to take notes and write an essay on whatever subject needed to be drilled into their skulls.

Akira sat through and written many anger-management related studies. It was almost as mind-numbing as it was repetitive. (And completely useless, if she were honest.)

"No," Kai quickly backtracked, "I didn't mean it that way! H-he just looked more feminine with it on is what I was saying. And he's your boyfriend—emphasis on the boy. He looked like some sort of murder-fairy!"

Sending a sly glance to Shin, Akira dropped to the floor with a solid thump and opened her bag. "You forgot to mention how hot he looked."

Face falling into a deadpan he turned away. "I'm done with this conversation." Shin grunted in agreement as Kai began pulling out a bedrolls.

Akira sat down on crossed legs, pulling out a blanket to wrap around herself as she unpacked her calligraphy set. Now that she knew what she'd be working with, creating the required security seals would take no time.

They were staying in a decently sized but rarely used storage room. Wooden crates were scattered around, nailed closed and unlabeled. A small circular window allowed a warped view of the cloudy sky.

It didn't allow a lot of sunlight to filter through but it wasn't as if Akira really needed it. A simple push of chakra into her optic nerves gave her night vision. It was just as proficient as seeing in daytime—if not better.

(When she did so her eyes reflected in a predatory gleam—a blessing and a curse when trying to be stealthy.)

There was just enough floor space for the four of them, if only just so. The blonde was elated, looking forward to the snuggle pile that was bound to occur.

Though Ryu sensei usually laid between her and the boys after one very awkward morning during the age of Puberty Hell. (She wasn't as bothered as they were—It was human biology who cared? —but none dared speak of it.)

Her more rambunctious teammate was given set-up duty while the Hyuga kept watch, the vessels around his eyes bulging as he activated the byakugan.

There wasn't nearly as much to do, unlike when they set up camp.

After placing three mats side by side Kai let out a groan, "Why couldn't they give us a cot with the crew?"

Leave it to him to find something to fuss over.

Shin paused. A canister of water was raised to his lips. "Sensei requested it."

"But it's so musty."

"Better than the stink of a bunch'a sweaty dudes. There's plenty room" Akira sniffed as she made the last stroke of her final seal. It was a touch-starved teenagers paradise.

Ryu sensei walked in, eyes roaming around the storage room. He gave a definitive nod, silver gaze swiveling to meet hers. "Status report."

Standing up the blonde pressed her seals to the nearest wall. The ink glowed momentarily before fading. "Base is secure and soundproof. All 54 souls onboard are accounted for. I've already memorized their chakra signatures."

The reason for her memorization came about after an unfortunate infiltration in a Konoha base just outside the village. No one had noticed until it was too late and they had to fight their way out until backup came to reclaim it.

Though the war was over with, there were still some who wished to see their downfall.

It was the first time their team had failed a mission.

The rest of their meeting was logistics. Rotation for lookouts, formations to use to lessen casualties if the ship was ambushed, etc. It was a six-day boat ride to their destination.

Their trip would take them past The Land of Whirlpools where the abandoned Uzu resided. The birthplace of the Uzumaki clan. Even the prospect of seeing it against the horizon filled her with wanderlust.

What hidden relics lay forgotten in the abandoned Uzu? Akira wondered, if she ever decided to make the trip, would she find seals lost in time? What would they feel like? How would they speak to her?

(Would she finally feel like she belonged? Konoha was her birthplace but surely wasn't her home—only where those she loved resided.)

They were going to the Island of Ine; a part of the Nada archipelago. Technically it resided in Lightning territory, but the Village Head requested for Konoha's help after being ignored aid one time too many.

Ine was a civilian fishing village, constantly fighting off pirates and bandits alike. Food was always in short demand when winter's grasp wasn't far behind.

Lately the later had set up a small camp a little too close for comfort.

Team Twelve was being sent out as a glorified cleaning crew, yet again. That was how many of their missions consisted of since she became chunin the year prior.

It was her lot in luck, really, that instead of being a team centered in infiltration they became an elimination squad. It was like, one of the worst possible placements with a steep mortality rate.

And Uni, after hearing of how good they were, requested team twelve specifically.

It wasn't unheard of considering the name they had carved out for themselves during that year. After arduous training and plenty of field practice they came a long way.

Akira was proud to be on her team.

"No jutsu that would cause a fire on the ship." Said an accusing Ryu.

The whiskered female of their team frowned. "Not even—"

"Not even a clone."

"It wouldn't cause a fire though." Easily. Her nature type was lightning, though she rarely used it unless creating clones.

He looked at her head-on. Wrinkles were beginning to form on his once youthful face. "With your luck it would."

A hand flew to her chest, "Not you, too, Ryu-sensei! You're supposed to be Team Akira."

"There won't be any teams if you accidently incinerate everything in sight in the heat of battle." He lift a meaningful eyebrow, "Again."

Her eyebrows knit and shoulders drooped, unable to counter his argument. "It was one time." She pouted.

Kai, who had begun cleaning his sword, jumped in. "And the caravan will never forget. Y'know: Cuz it doesn't exist anymore."

But the explosion had been marvelous.

Who needed store-bought explosive tags when the ones she created yielded the same results akin to a napalm. That was the second time they had failed a mission.

And possibly the vindication as to what their team specialized in. No one wanted a pyromaniac in a large group of ninja. Constantly dodging the flames were, apparently, tiring.

"But no one died." She tried to argue.

Shin gave her a bewildered look. "Except for the Ox attached to the carts."

"No humans."

"We had to carry a man for two days on a stretcher to the nearest healer!"

"And he lived."

Ryu-sensei spoke up once more, voice firm. "Boys, no fire jutsu. Akira, no jutsu period."

.

.

.

Later that night team-twelve sat with the crew for dinner. There was live music played in the background. The song lilted a carefree melody as hunks of bread were passed around with spiced jerky.

Akira hummed as the flavors of mild shishito peppers and honey caressed her tongue. The bread was still soft since it was the first night of their voyage and tasted strongly of salt. If only they had fresh produce on the ship. An apple would've been a great dessert.

She could get used to the intoxicating freedom churning in the air.

The dining area was alive with laughter as some danced along to the harmonicas beat. They motioned for the ninja to join along in the merriment to which Akira followed, but not without pulling an amused Kai with her.

They jumped, swayed and pranced together though neither knew the song. Joy filled her chest as Kai twirled her around in a circle and lifted her in the air.

That wasn't to say they were good. Every now and then they'd trip over each other's feet but they were having so much fun it didn't matter.

At the end of the song everyone cheered. Even Ryu gave a little golf clap. Shin just looked bored.

Enjoying the attention Akira curtsied, holding out an invisible skirt.

The dancing duo returned to their seats, Kai bumping Shin's shoulder. There was the faintest blush dusting the Hyuga's alabaster cheeks but her idiot teammate didn't notice.

Yep. Doomed to virginhood, indeed.

Accepting a cup handed to her by Ryu, Akira looked to the small group of crew members with keen eyes. "So," she began, looking over the edge of her cup, "You guys travel just to escort ninja to and fro?"

"Aye." Replied a man with a bushy silver-streaked beard. "Along with produce and goods."

She hummed lightly. "So you get the benefit of protection while also earning money."

"Indeed. Helps keep our pockets lined and food in our bellies."

"Why not just use the treasure?"

A younger man grunted. "That wouldn't be very efficient—"

Someone covered the guys mouth with a seething warning. "Because there is no treasure!" he insisted.

Akira looked to Shin, smug. "Mhmm. Interesting. Interesting indeed."

"We are but warry warriors of the sea. Nothing more."

"Sureee."

"The only treasure on this ship is the memories we make with fine people like you." Spoke up the captain.

Eugh. So cheesy.

Pulling out a stack of cards she always kept on her person she gazed around the many faces challengingly. "Do and of you play poker?"

Arrogant voices called out in the positive. Akira shuffled the deck deftly, showing off just a bit. She was going to wipe those looks clear off their faces.

And boy did she. The blonde clutched her bulging coin purse as she slept that night.

.

.

.

In true Naruto Fashion the next morning the ship was attacked by pirates. Nothing new.

At that point Akira couldn't even count on her hands and toes the number of times they had been ambushed. She calmly took her dual daggers from the sheathes on her back excitedly—they weren't attacked by just any pirates.

"You're telling me I could have been a fucking pirate ninja!?"

Shin took down a pirate-nin that swung onto the deck from a rope tied to the other ships mast with a combination attack of fists. "Could you just shut up for five minutes!?"

Akira dodged a saber and slipped behind one of the enemies and cut through his achilles heel. She twirled the weapons tauntingly, "I would've been a much better pirate-ninja." she concluded with a self-assured nod.

From across the ship Kai grunted as he clashed swords with a man twice his size. She whistled lowly in appreciation. What did they eat at sea to get that much definition? "But you're afraid of rats and they are always on ships."

Akira shivered at the mention of the disgusting rodents.

"Why are you afraid of something like rats?" questioned Shin.

"Oh, you don't know?" Kai chuckled darkly.

Another pirate fell, hands grabbing at his pouring guts. Akira pointed a dagger his way threateningly. "Don't you dare tell him!"

He didn't listen. "Jiraiya told me this story about how Akira broke into an ANBU base in search for a snack and got trapped in the food cellar. They had a rat infestation."

Shin snorted, fist crushing a man's nose flat. "Is that why you were so twitchy during our first mission?"

"THEY WATCHED ME FROM THE SHADOWS AND FUELED MY NIGHTMARES FOR WEEKS."

Kai cracked up as his sword sliced through the chest of a screaming man.

"Am I a joke to you?" Akira ranted, turning to him in mock-rage. All they did was poke fun at her at every turn.

Seriously, they were supposed to be professionals.

There was a high-pitched squeak. Briefly Akira thought it a rat (dammit they knew how easily paranoid she got!)

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

One of the pirate-nin had broken past their formation and stood threateningly over captain Isamu's daughter—Aiya, was it?

The child was nowhere to be seen during dinner so Akira had almost forgotten her existence.

Snippets of conversation easily reached enhanced ears over the surrounding commotion.

"—show you a good time, hehe." He reeked of perverted intentions.

Pissed, Akira bolted in the middle of a fight, re-sheathing her daggers in order to roughly pull him back. She quickly put herself between the two, back facing Aiya. (Black hair and eyes reminded her of a smaller someone she swore to protect.)

The unnamed man towered over her five-foot frame. Aiya was in shock, heart pounding like a hummingbird in Akira's hears.

Killing him would likely traumatize the poor child—Akira was on this ship to protect these people, not scar them for life.

"Back off." Akira growled menacingly.

The tattooed man didn't look deterred as dark chuckles shook his shoulders. "Hohoho, aren't you a pretty one?" he rubbed suggestively at his crotch. "I'll have two playthings now."

There was a loud ringing in her ears.

("Do you wanna play a game?")

Akira leaned forward, eyes wide and strained. "I gouged out the eyes of the last piece of shit who dared to treat me like a toy." Her head tilt to the side. An angelic smile stretched over her full lips. "Would you like to see?" she whispered darkly, throwing her worst genjutsu over him. (No lightning-jutsu needed!)

He dropped to his knees, mouth falling open. Hands reached to cover his face as he fell down. Screams followed soon after and her smile widened.

You took pleasure in their writhing, invisible pain. Standing above him, you savored the moment. You weren't a pitiful, defenseless child anymore.

A whimper came from behind. Akira and turned around to the girl. '…Oh yeah…' Aiya yipped, trying to make herself seem smaller. 'So much for not traumatizing her.'

The blonde offered a hand. "It's okay I won't hurt you." She said, "We met the other day, remember? Your father introduced us."

At the mention of her dad Aiya peered up from behind her knees. Her eyes dropped to the still screaming man, then back to her.

"Don't mind him." Akira motioned with a soft gaze, "It's okay. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you." She promised.

The girls' dark eyes widened with recognition. "T-that's a line from The Shadow P-Princess."

Taken aback (and a little embarrassed) Akira's face flushed. Still, it got the girl to take her hand so she went with it. "This is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"Oh no…" Bemoaned Kai.

"Why?"

Akira ignored them easily, handing Aiya off to a crewmember with promises of talking about books that night.

She was at work, after all. And there was still much to do.

Ryu-sensei appeared from wherever he had disappeared off to. "Could you drop the genjutsu, Akira? The screams are frightening people."

"Oh yeah." Man, where was her mind at today? She grabbed the man by the front of his tattered shirt and slit his throat. After he was good and dead she turned around to her sensei with a bloody thumbs-up. "All good over here!"

Her team face-palmed as one. "That's not what I meant and you know it." Ryu snapped.

"He was a rapist and child predator. If anything, his death was much too quick. I should have tied him to the front of the ship and cut him up—"

"That's enough of that." Shin inserted, slapping a hand over her mouth. She licked it. He pulled away from her with a look of betrayal. She stuck her tongue out, pulling down an eyelid.

"We were keeping him alive to interrogate." Ryu said irate. He looked around, "Go see if anyone else is still living and make sure they stay that way. Everyone else help clean up this mess."

Her lips pursed. Damn. She could've tortured him more, then. She'd forgotten herself.

A hand clapped against her shoulder brought her attention to the Captain. "Thank you for protecting my daughter, little lady." He was looking at her differently. Everyone was. She was used to it.

A foxy grin. "Saving pirate princesses is all in a day's work, sir."

.

.

.

When they said their goodbyes, Captain Isamu placed something over her head. A simple medallion hanging from a short leather cord; a cannon was hand-etched into its surface. On the other side was skull and crossbones.

"You always have a place among the Rusty Cannon." He said with a wink. He pulled his own from behind his shirt, worn and tarnished.

She fucking knew it.

Akira adjusted the necklace around her neck and tucked it under her shirt. The metal was cool against the skin of her sternum.

It was a strange way to become a pirate-nin, if only in name. "I'm honored." She politely bowed.

"May fair winds carry you home." Said Isamu, dark eyes sparkling under the sun.

---

Uni wasn't far away so they arrived without issue. The docks were almost empty and in complete disarray. The few fishermen tending to their boats cast dubious looks their way. Their faces were sunken and pale.

"This place is a dump." Kai murmured in her ear, amber eyes taking in the half-starved villagers sitting around.

It truly was.

The wind carried the scents of feces, trash and seawater. There was a sense of trepidation hanging in the stale air. A stray cat knocked over an empty garbage can. Mats coated its black fur, skin stretched over bones.

A man looking to be in his late fifties walked toward them. He was dressed to the nines, expensive fabrics adorning his round belly. There were jewels on almost every one of his thick fingers. Two armed guards stood at his side.

"Welcome, team Twelve, to Uni." His voice reminded her of a frog, "My name is Osamu, the Chief of this village."

'Some village.' She mentally scowled. It was obvious what was going on here, but Akira held her tongue. It wasn't her place to fix everything wrong with this world.

She wasn't her brother. The ability to overlook corruption was a must-have in order to be a ninja. Helping these people would do nothing for their village but cause issues with Lightning.

The team bowed as Ryu took the lead. "Thank you for your hospitality. My name is Ryu Aikawa, the Jounin in charge of this team."

Osamu smiled; eyes zeroed-in on Akira. She met his gaze head-on until he turned away with a cough. "Please, come this way. We have a tea ceremony prepared especially for you. We can go over the finer details of your mission there."

The blonde couldn't shake the unease sinking into her bones as the group followed in silence. Everyone looked as if they were holding their breath.

Was it in relief?

Civilians tended to be wary of shinobi. The Warring Clans Era gave them a bad rep, and to a (literal) back-water village like this one, a certain amount of hostility was to be expected.

They entered a building near the docks. It was large and couldn't be distinguished from the others in the area by the outside alone. Inside it was extravagant compared to what they'd walked through.

There was a flurry of activity within: maids cleaned what looked like priceless valuables. Paintings depicting ships against horizons were held in ornate golden frames.

Guards scurried around in what had to be a shift change.

Statues sat on marble pedestals. One being an elegant water dragon with white flowing whiskers. A fish was caught in its claws as its mouth was pulled back in a fierce growl. Sapphires twinkled in their places, set in its eyes.

They shone delicately against its menacing expression.

As they went to enter the room a guard on duty stuck out his arm, "No weapons beyond this point." All four of them gave him matching looks of shock. "It's a tea ceremony. You'll get them back once it is finished." He explained, sweat beading on his forehead.

Kai took a step forward, ready to make is objections known to anyone in a two-mile radius but was stopped short by their sensei. He looked to Ryu in disbelief.

It was considered rude as hell to ask for a shinobi's tools when on a mission. A faux pas, if you will. But their sensei's look said it all: "It's a civilian village—they don't know better"

It took a while to unarm themselves.

By the end Akira felt almost naked—but even stripped of weapons, shinobi were deadly. No one had to know the hairpins holding her hair in a loose bun were razor-sharp.

The room they entered was very traditional. Tatami floors with a low opulent table taking up most space at its center. The tea set was made of bone china and beautifully decorated with golden koi fish and waves.

"Please, take a seat. You must be tired after the long journey."

The cushions were thin but delicately embroidered. Ryu gave an appreciative glance as they took their seats seiza-style.

Akira sent a mental thanks to Mikoto Uchiha for the painstaking instructions on how to behave during a tea ceremony. Her posture was perfection; spine straight and feet tucked carefully.

Being from the stuffy Hyuga Clan, Shin, too, looked naturally graceful.

The same couldn't be said about Kai. He was glancing around, hands rubbing together awkwardly. She made a mental note to teach him when they returned home.

Not that this was the proper way a tea ceremony went. Usually, they would be on the bare tatami floor. It was a weird mash-up of formality.

Yet it was strange for him to feel out of place. He was the most social of their group, always willing to get to know all of the new people around them. Akira was similar in a lesser way.

She didn't wish to become close to strangers, but for missions she had to put on a customer service persona. There was a lot of information one could acquire if the right questions were asked.

While she wasn't as vocal, she always made sure to listen. Only speaking when needed or to gain data that could be later useful.

Shin didn't give a shit. He enjoyed his silence too much to make idle chit-chat.

Osamu took his place at the head of the table as a woman dressed in a lavish kimono walked in and began preparing the matcha. They watched silently. Her movements were graceful and slow, if not for the slight tremble of her hands.

She reeked of fear.

Once the cups were placed before them the woman bowed at the hip and quickly made her exit.

"Enjoy." Said Osamu, hand gesturing.

Following his instructions, they brought the tea to their lips. Akira inhaled the sweet grassy aroma only to pause.

"Wait." She blurted.

The air stilled.

Indeed, there were many things Mikoto had taught her over the years. Tea ceremonies, manners around higher-ranking nobles and gardening to name a few. The last was something Akira had picked up as the older woman worked around her specialty: poisons.

"Something has smelt fishy since the moment we arrived here in Uni, and it definitely wasn't from the empty docks." She put the cup down softly to meet the gaze of a frowning Osamu. "It seems someone didn't do their homework on their targets. Should've gone with dandelion tea. Nightshades overwhelming bitterness isn't hidden well with matcha."

Everything happened at once.

The table flipped, sending poisoned matcha soaring in the air. A stream of guards rushed the room. Blood flew as they clashed. Shin activated his byakugan, fists flying in a flurry of movements.

Akira smashed the teapot against someone's head.

Bone china, as the name implied, was crafted with bone ash and baked at lower temperatures for a longer time. Thus, creating a much stronger, durable porcelain. She grabbed a shard and slit an enemy's throat, staining the bright, translucent white with red.

It was a shame. It had been expertly crafted.

A pained cry came from the left. Shin held a hand over his eyes. A substance dusted his face as someone moved to knock him out. She sent one of her headpins soaring.

It sank into the assailant's shoulder—a miss.

She was aiming for his throat.

Distracted, Akira was dogpiled. Heavy bodies fell on top her smaller frame to pin her down.

With their best hand-to-hand combatants down the rest followed easily.

Akira grimaced as a knee dug into her spine. Hair fell in her eyes, fluttering against her eyelashes. Osamu walked back into the room, hands in his sleeves.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ryu asked in a low, dangerous voice.

The village leader cast a glance around the destroyed room, lips puckered in distaste. "I'm sorry, truly. It's nothing personal. Just business."

Kai looked murderous. "The hell does that mean?"

'Dammit. Not another villain speech.' Akira whined to herself dismally. She didn't care for his reasoning. The things she went through to collect info.

"Our village has gone through a lot this past season. Pillagers, you see." Osamu said, picking up a broken tea cup. "And like an answer to our desperate pleas, a wealthy individual came. He tasked me with hiring team twelve for a large sum of money."

"You'd sell your honor—your soul—for riches?" Akira questioned. On the outside she was cool as a cucumber. Internally she wanted to scream.

They were after her.

Osamu's vacant expression caused chills to crawl up her spine. "I've sold it for less." He turned, "Fetch what our benefactor lent us, will you?"

She heard the rattling before seeing them. A heavy set of chains were dropped in front of her. On the larger of the three cuffs were familiar signs.

'Son of a fucking bitch.'

"By your reaction I assume you recognize these?" Of course, she did—that was her seal. As impossible as that could have been. Only two people in this universe knew of them. "Looks like we did our homework after all." He gloated.

It was messy work, in her opinion. Unfortunately for her, not terrible enough to fully negate its effects. Though the metal they used wasn't sufficiently conductive to fully suppress her chakra, it didn't matter in the grand scheme.

With the nine-tails already blocked behind a wall, they'd drain her enough to barely be functional.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.'

Akira thrashed around, fighting as they clamped the cuffs on her wrists and neck (a collar for a monster).

Her team fought frantically, too, knowing her hidden trump card was likely the only thing that would be able to save them.

When the locks shifted into place, her chakra was forcefully pulled from her coils. After a pained wheeze escaped her, her head dropped; cheek stinging as it fell on a piece of broken glass.

She could see what was going on but anything more was taxing

A man entered with and air of superiority, hands held at his back with a proud posture. It was obvious her he was a shinobi in the way he walked. Sure and powerful but silent.

The village head turned to him. "Take them away and give me the agreed payment, Shimura."

Shimura?

Blood boiled at the name. However, that wasn't Danzo. The man was younger, possibly in his thirties with slicked back deep purple hair and piercing hazy blue-gray eyes.

"Don't mind if I do." He strode over and grabbed Akira by the back of her hair, pushing her cheek further into broken glass. She glared up at his gloating smile. "Look at you." He breathed.

Kai screamed, "Get your shitty hands off her!" he almost broke free.

"Shut him up!" 'Shimura ordered sharply. Someone in a blank mask marched over and stabbed him in the gut.

Akira whimpered, watching fruitlessly as Kai crumpled to the ground. Her attention was suddenly brought back to the man as he pulled her neck back taunt. The muscles in her neck strained.

"Beautiful." He sighed, expression alight with glee.

"Fuck…you." She grunted with great effort. Was she a magnet for damned perverts!?

He frowned. "Yes. He mentioned you were quite spirited." He leaned in, inhaled deeply at her temple just like she did to Naruto when she wished to calm herself down. "We'll have to remedy that."

There was an impact at the base of her skull. Her vision blurred as the scent of blood grew heavy.

Darkness, her old friend, greeted her with open arms. (This was getting repetitive.)

---

Kakashi
***

The words didn't quite register to Kakashi as the Hokage took a deep intake from his pipe. A gray eye blinked rapidly, stomach churning. "Are you sure?" croaked the silverette, just to make sure.

A nod of affirmation was the only answer he needed.

The air left his lungs as reality pushed down on his shoulders. He was going to be sick.

Leaves fluttered where he once stood in the Hokage's office.

Somehow, he made it home. Stumbled into his kitchen and turning on the faucet to stick his head under its stream.

It did very little to calm the torrent of emotions raging through his body.

He let out a long, shaky breath.

"Team twelve was attacked by pirates on the cargo ship they took on their way to Uni Village."

His body trembled. In a fit of hysteria Kakashi knocked everything from his counters, roaring in agony. Plates shattered across the floor.

"There were no survivors."

Water trailed down his face, soaking the fabric of his mask as his chest heaved. It tasted faintly of salt.

Memories long past came to his mind of a baby with tufts of light blonde cradled against his sensei's chest.

Kakashi poked at a chubby whiskered cheek and watched in fascination as he was awarded with a gummy smile.

"This is my daughter, Akira Uzumaki-Namikaze." Minato- sensei said, voice soft and amazed. He looked at the baby in as if she had placed the stars in the sky with her tiny hands.

"She's…wrinkly." Kakashi commented, uninterested. He didn't get the fuss. The tiny thing barely looked human, let alone adorable.

Clear blue eyes met his as he chuckled. "Well, she is a baby." His expression slowly fell, as though Minato had only just realized the thing drooling all over his shirt was, in fact, an infant. "Oh, gods I have a child." he looked horrified.

The silverette blinked slowly in reply. For someone hailed as a genius, his sensei could be rather idiotic at times.

Kushina walked into the room, drying her hands on an orange towel. She paused, taking in the scene before rushing over to take hold of the babe. "I was gone for five minutes, what happened?"

Immediately the new father leaned forward to hold his head, mumbling to himself so fast it was one long slur. The last time Kakashi had seen him like that, Minato was worried about not being married to the woman pregnant with his child.

"No clue."

Minato looked up to his wife, tears gathered on his lashes. "'Shina what are we gonna to do? She's so small. What if she gets hurt?"

The redhead laughed heartily. "We protect her, of course!" she slapped Kakashi on his back and sent him a warning glance as his smaller frame was pushed forward. "Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

How he got roped into their family drama he didn't know, but the longer he took to respond the more Kushina's hair began swaying in agitation. Violet eyes bore into his skull as he coughed out an unsure, "Yeah. Sure."

Expression clearing the Redheaded Habanero pulled him into a one-armed hug, "See! Even if we aren't there, we can always depend on Kakashi to look after our little Wildfire~" she sing-sung.

He had failed them.

That night Kakashi put on his mask. One made of porcelain that made him into no one and gave him nothing to lose.

The wounded hound went out to hunt.

---

Akira
***

Akira gasped in a deep breath as freezing water dropped over her head. Her head spun and pounded. Attempting to move gave worthless results. She was bound to a chair. Wet blonde hair stuck to her face as shapes began to form in her vision.

She was in a mostly empty small room. The only thing besides her was another chair placed before her.

"Hello there~" came a masculine voice. Her sight focused where that taunting tone came from. The man from before whom Osamu called 'Shimura' came into view. He pulled the extra chair around to straddled it backwards barely a foot in front of her.

His placed his chin on crossed arms over the chairs back. "Did I get the dose wrong?" he wondered aloud, eyebrows pinching.

It was then she realized she was in nothing but her chest bindings. Fear seized her but she tried taking deep, calming breaths in order to stave off an oncoming mental breakdown.

Akira wanted to kill him.

To see his guts splattered across the dingy walls. Watch as the life drained from his mocking eyes before she crushed his skull underfoot and bathe in his brain matter.

"Ouu~" he gushed, "What a scary look!"

Her words came out hoarse and gravely. How long had she been out? "If you take off these chains, I'll show you something truly terrifying."

Yes. She'd use the nine-tails chakra once more and rip his throat out with her bare teeth. It would be as easy as tearing into a steak but immensely more gratifying.

He smiled knowingly. "Nope." He answered, popping the p. "Can't have your furry prisoner giving away our hideout."

So, they weren't in the village. "Where's my team?"

"Alive…for now." The man trailed off. "But! That depends on how useful you can be."

If he didn't want Kurama, what was he after? She swallowed past the lump lodged in her throat. Was it her blood? Her body?

"What vulgar thoughts are running around in that pretty little head of yours?" he asked, sitting up to place a hand to his chest. "You're going to hurt my feelings~"

She was going to more than hurt his feelings if he kept speaking like some perverted twat.

He gained her attention once more with a snap of his fingers. "Ah! Where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself yet." A hand was held out but he realized she couldn't move so he took it back bashfully. "My name is Sadao Shimura. I hope we get along well~"

There was that name again—it always went back to him. "Shimura? As in Danzo Shimura?" she asked.

"My grandfather." He nodded. So, she hadn't misheard.

The apple didn't fall far from the shitty tree, it seemed.

At least she had a new name to add to her 'brutally murder' list.

It fit beautifully right under the name Obito Uchiha. She'd even be gracious enough and add Danzo. Because after this stunt, his ass was grass.

Akira took a deep, calming breath. 'Later,' she promised herself, 'I'll toy with that thought after I get us out of here.'

"So. What do you want?" everyone wanted something from her. Be it power or for a punching bag. They were all the same.

He pointed to his skull. "I want your brain."

Violet eyes narrowed. Was he also related to Orochimaru? She wouldn't be surprised. He was deranged enough to be a long-lost cousin. "For?"

This time he pointed toward her body, conversation swinging. "The cuff around your neck. Look familiar, don't they?" he stood up slowly and began walking around her. "See, I'm a bit of a seal enthusiast myself. I was able to recreate those chains of yours."

The game of cat and mouse was tiresome. "And?" she pressed.

He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "And I want you to make me one. A seal, that is."

As if. "I'm not making you shit. Go fuck yourself." She seethed.

Sadao nodded to someone out of sight. Without warning her chair was tipped back and a piece of cloth stretched taunt over her face.

When frigid water spilled over her face she screamed. Bad idea. Water went up her nose and into her mouth. No matter how urgently she struggled there was no breaking free.

Only when he deemed did it stop.

She fell forward, choking and hacking. Watery snot dripped from her nose as she desperately expelled any liquid where it didn't belong.

Her lungs burned as she inhaled deep breaths of beautiful oxygen.

The relief was short lived when a large hand gripped her cheeks in an iron grip, nose brushing hers. Repulsed, and not really in a clear state of mind, she spit directly on his mouth.

Her stomach turned when, nonplused, the man licked it from his lips.

Trimmed nails bit into her tender flesh in warning. "I'm not asking, sweetheart. Don't you want to keep your team relatively unscathed? I could bring one of them in here and cut 'em up real good as you watch."

She spoke between forced puckered lips. "…what kind of seal."

"That's more like it." He placed a lingering kiss on her cheek then took a step back. Piercing blue-gray eyes held her in place. "It's nothing serious. Just a brainwashing seal. Piece of cake for a master like you, right?"

Akira snorted. Then she laughed. Hard. She'd wipe a tear if her arms weren't bound behind her. Deranged, indeed.

When she spoke, it was in a condescending manner. "Seals for the mind are prohibited for a reason. And even if I tried, there's no way to see if it works."

"We have many test subjects, thanks to that idiot Osamu."—she thought back to her conversation with the man.

"I've sold it for less."

She tried again. "Regardless, seals that effect the brain are virtually unheard of. It's too fragile—the mind would fracture."

He looked like the cat that caught the canary. "But one already exists, doesn't it?"

Her blood ran cold, face falling flat. How the hell did he know so much? Was it the Hokage? Was he behind this? Did…did Jiraiya—

'No,' Akira banished the idea, 'Jiraiya would never betray me like that.' They must have successfully got past her homes security and went through her sealing documents.

Her godfather was many things but he wasn't a traitor. He loved her.

If she agreed to help Sadao, it would theoretically be easy. She had the experience. Had studied brain anatomy thoroughly in order for the Remembrance Seal to become even a stroke on a piece of paper.

But at that time, she had tested it on herself. Trial and error until it had by, some miracle, it worked.

Not how she intended, but it functioned.

What was being asked of her was no more than human experimentation. It was unethical and wrong—even more so was the idea of making a seal to control a person for someone like Danzo.

She'd be damning whoever it was used on to a life of questionless subjugation.

A weird and pale boy—Sai—crossed her mind. He was able to change because though he was raised in ROOT, he had at least a smidgen of individuality. There would be none of that if she got involved.

The only thing stopping her from rejecting his offer was the lives of her team dangling above her head like a noose. She didn't want to do it.

But what would you be able to create without the constraints of regulations? Of morals?

It was blasphemous.

Would you finally find out what you are truly capable of?

The loud beating of her heart filled her ears as darkening thoughts flitted and tripped thorough her mind. Her brain felt made of cotton soaked in kerosine.

Would you become a God?

Akira lit a match and watched as the world was bathed in flames.

"I'll do it as long as you let my team go when it's finished."

Sadao beamed.

.

.

.

When she had been led to a dank cell across from her team she sat down in the center of the small room. It was nothing more than a carved in hole with bars at its mouth.

It was dank, heady with the stench of piss and despair.

Ryu had a gag in his mouth, one of his arms missing. It wasn't like that when she last saw him. She took a deep breath.

That made her in charge.

No pressure.

Glowing violet eyes reflected with the flickering flames of torchlight. Her voice was hard as ice. "Status report."

Though she wasn't able to gather much more chakra to do more she was intimately familiar with the sealing on the chains binding her—there was nothing she made that Akira didn't know every microscopic detail of.

Even then the song of the seal danced into her ears, weak as it was. If she worked hard enough, she might be able to find a way around it due to the alloy used.

According to Shin, Ryu had let loose a fire-jutsu and killed two of their guards. It had been a valiant effort, but they were outnumbered inside the base. It took mere seconds for them to be swarmed.

There were masked shinobi everywhere, thus their sensei had been subdued and disciplined. Taking a ninjas arm was possibly one of the worst forms of torture one could survive.

"Other than a ton of caged civilians, that's it." Shin said.

Akira nodded slowly, ignoring her emotions to think logically. Her brilliant conclusion?

They were fucked.

"Kai how are you doing?"

"M'alright. No need to worry about me." he assured with a ghost of a smile.

Shin wasn't having it. "Bullshit. They stabbed you in the stomach. You could be internally bleeding or worse."

Kai waved an uncaring hand. "Nah, it didn't hit anything serious. Just focus on getting us out. Waiting to be rescued would be lame."

You didn't have the heart to say no one was coming

You didn't have a heart at all

A sigh. "Fine. Just tell us if something starts to feel off, okay?" she ran a hand down her face because how the fuck was she going to keep them alive?

Would she actually have to go through with creating an abomination?

So many lives depended on her ability to keep a level head. It was stressful but there was little else she could do in such a shitty situation. She had no other option but to trust in Sadao's words, no matter how much it went against what her instincts screamed.

The look Shin was giving her burned through her skull, a hint of accusation on his tongue. "How are you so calm?"

What a loaded question. "This isn't my first rodeo." She said, motioning to her exposed arms.

"So… that's where your scars came from?"

She looked down at her bloody hands. "Yeah."

"How long?" they look at her as if they need reassurance; Ryu's gaze was heavy.

"Four months."

"Oh…" Kai looked resigned.

She met their eyes, her own burning with determination that she scraped up. "This time," she asserted, "I'll get us out in one. Can you last that long?"

They still looked unsure, but lightened with her words. "Yeah." "You bet!"

"Alright. Now, do exactly as I say."

They nodded.

None of them questioned what she was doing every day when she was pulled from her cell. Didn't speak up when she was dragged back to said cell bloodied and bruised.

.

.

.

The screams weren't the worst part. It had been a long time since she had become desensitized to the noise of a person in agony. Instead, she worked through what had gone wrong with the seal and ways to fix it.

It was the body's reaction to a foreign invasion that truly got to her. One of the civilians' bodies had twist and contorted in bazar and inhuman distortions. Joints had popped out of socket and ink oozed from their mouth, ears and nose.

The first time it happened she had refused to continue. It hit too close to home on her own experience and how agonizing it had been. The only difference was she had survived.

In retaliation Sadao brought in Shin and cut him up, just as he'd warned previously. After they had dragged him away, sure to keep him nearby, the sounds of his continued screams had her fumbling to pick up her brush and endure.

To turn off any emotion that would keep her from her goal.

When Akira had gone back to her cell she had cried, begging the Hyuga for his forgiveness. He didn't speak. No words of affirmation nor to his teammates on what he had witnessed her doing.

Two nights later, Kai wasn't looking great. She could smell the infection. The subtle taint of rot.

"I'm just feeling really tired and stiff today. A little rest and I'll be in tip-top shape, promise."

Hours later his usually tanned skin was ashen, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"I-it hurts so bad." He groaned, "My body is burning."

Akira pleaded with Sadao to give Kai medical attention. Told him she'd do anything.

His answer was airy but pointed. "I want you to finish the seal, my Dove. Then I'll bring in a medic."

She worked so hard after that her fingers bled and her head pounded. No longer did she consider the subjects as human. Instead, they became hurdles that she observed apathetically.

Stepped over their expiring bodies to reach her own goals.

Two more days passed listening to Kai moaning in misery without end. Shin tried his best to clean the wound but the water they were given was rank and they had no way to boil it.

The next morning, they awoke to an oppressive silence.

Kai's ghostly wails echoed in her ears long after.

---

Itachi
***

"It just doesn't make sense!" Shisui cried out, hands tugging at thick curls. If he pulled any harder, he'd rip the strands clean out his scalp.

Itachi spared him a glance. "Little does when it comes to Kira."

The older Uchiha had been growing increasingly more distraught as the days passed after the news reached them.

They had been sitting in an empty training ground for the past few hours in a vain attempt to exhaust the complaints from his cousin but that could only work for so long.

Though the future Clan Head was just as concerned—if one looked deeper into the ongoing investigation everything just felt off—he had to keep his calm.

Akira and her team taken down by some nobody pirates?

Yeah right.

Knowing the blonde, she was more likely to have joined the damned pirates. Unleashing her own special form of mayhem across the sea. Not to mention the other three that made up team Twelve.

Together—and not preoccupied with bickering—they were a lethal unit.

Ultimately: if there were no bodies, he wasn't buying it.

Itachi kept those thoughts to himself, though, not wishing to add fuel to Shisui's conspiracies.

The curly-haired boy flopped down on the grass, ripping blades from the ground without remorse to the ecosystem. It was scary how much of his best friend he could see in Shisui. Their strange habits blending into one.

"This is bullshit. She's never been gone this long before." He whined.

Ugh. Gross.

While Itachi silently agreed, he couldn't get over the way Akira and his cousin fawned and hung over each other like a couple of love-sick puppies—just more horny.

It made him uncomfortable.

Displays of affection weren't meant to happen out in public but the duo didn't seem to care for his comfort. Itachi was under the impression the did it on purpose just to get a reaction out of him.

And don't even get him started on the pet-names.

Bunny? Really?

Itachi shook his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind.

"She was constantly warning us to stay away from that Danzo guy. What if he had something to do with it? We could get answers from him." Shisui's tone insinuated he'd be getting answers the hard way.

Itachi dropped the book he was reading—Codependence No More—to send his cousin a glare. "Drop it. She warned us to stay far away from Elder Danzo. There must be a good reason."

Akira seldomly expressed herself. She cloaked herself in humor as if it were armor. Too busy joking around and killing to hold a proper conversation.

The night she had cried as she begged them to keep a distance from the elder was seared in his mind. When his best friend bore her soul he listened.

Danzo Shimura was a wolf stuffed in a sheep corpse, tied together in bandages.

Shisui sat up once more, eyebrows scrunched in worry. "But—"

"She'll be back." Itachi stressed, turning back to his book. "Nothing could keep Akira Uzumaki away from her brother."

Alas, Shisui didn't listen. Impatience and overconfidence fueled his decision to meet with Danzo.

By the time Akira came back it was much too late.

---

Akira
***

Akira finished the seal in three weeks. Had she not been so drained and appalled, she would've been proud.

The process to make it work was arduous and ritualistic. In short, it reset ones brain—keeping muscle memory as to be easier to train—and made the target dependent on the casters will.

First came the task of inking the many symbols onto the subjects' body that stretched along the ground in swirling runes. Once activated three words were spoken in an unbroken line.

The seal condensed, symbols collecting into the spinal cord. It left behind a mark: a circle with a cross inside and a halfmoon atop.

Second the caster would speak the three words.

The first was always the same in order to paralyze, the second was chosen by the caster to push back their consciousness and the last—similar as the first in its need to be the same—finalized the technique.

Watching her creation come to fruition had been gratifying horrifying. The civilian had turned into a functioning human zombie, no chakra strings necessary.

Akira watched as the brown eyes of a man clouded over as stared up at her, awaiting orders. He acted like a marionette, only moving when told.

It worked.

Sadao enveloped her in a binding hug when he'd seen the results. Her skin burned and itched at the contact but she didn't move away. "Congratulations," he had whispered sweetly in her ear, "You've done it."

Akira shivered.

Youdidityoudidit-.It

"I have a present for you but it will have to wait." He collected all of the paperwork and turned to a nearby guard and made a few hand gestures.

Akira walked after him, hands fidgeting. "Where are you going?"

Hazy blue-gray eyes regarded her fondly, hand coming up to cup her cheek. "To share your creation."

You climbed the tree in order to sample the fruit of the gods and—

"What about my team-"

He smacked her. Hard. Unforgiving. Like the flipped coin of his flighty personality. "Ah-ah~ Don't forget your place~"

There was a pinch on her neck. Her head swiveled to see someone had snuck up behind her with a syringe. When had she grown so complacent? Where was her usual situational awareness?

Had it been beaten out of her in one of Sadao's many 'lessons?'

The last thing she heard was Sadao's pacifying voice; "I'll be back for you, Dove."

it was bitter.

---

The scent of rot was stifling as always when consciousness greeted her once more. The back of her neck burned with whatever they had injected her with. A testing touch had left her body reeling.

"Akira," a wheezing voice called out in alarm. "Akira get up."

The blonde fought with her limbs, circling her small amount of chakra through them to pull herself up against a moist wall. She slipped a few times until, finally she sat up on her knees.

Vertigo caused her vision to tilt back, her body following the motions.

"Kira please—"

"I'm up, dammit." Akira groaned. Gods, everything hurt. So much so she barely realized her teammate had finally spoken to her. It had been so long.

Shin's voice was hoarse and vehement. "What have you done? They took Ryu-sensei."

Akira's attention snapped into pin-point focus. "Where did they take him?"

Shin was pressed against the bars across from her, eyes dull but frantic. (Kai's decaying body lay just behind him, a shirt placed over his sleeping face.) "I don't know! They said something about 'disposing of the trash' and dragged him away."

"But—" but they had a deal. Her team's freedom in exchange for the seal. She shook her head. "But you were supposed to be released."

"Released!?" he sounded half-mad. "Do you even hear yourself? Why would they release us? What the fuck have you been doing with that psychopath!?"

Her mouth clamped shut.

Shin rattled at the bars with whatever strength he had left. "We're captives! Once we lose our importance we die. What use are we to people like them?"

"He wouldn't."

A bark of disgusted laughter—he smelt of resentment and loathing. "Open your fucking eyes, Akira. Unlike you we are disposable."

Fury and regret boomed through her nerves. Her eyes flickered between red and violet along with the rapid thundering of her heart. Shins words reverberated through her chest: "What have you done?"

Footsteps closed in and soon a guard came into view. He stood close to her cell. They didn't view her as a threat.

'Ryu-sensei.'

Scorn fueled her as she reached through the bars, grabbed a fistful of a hair and repeatedly slammed the guards head against the metal. Blood and brain matter splattered in every direction.

Her other hand pierced through his chest with a little chakra enhancement. It drained at her but she was far too gone to notice.

A set of keys fell from his hands at some point. Akira dropped the dead body and plucked them up, searching for the key she had long-ago memorized.

The cage creaked open on rusty hinges and a monster stepped out

Akira rushed to the other cell and opened it, fumbling with the keys with her gore-stained fingers and handed Shin a kunai picked from the cooling corpse.

He scrambled back as she spoke. "I'll be right back. Don't move."

'my fault, my fault, my fault.'

Akira followed the scent of her sensei to a closed door. She kicked it open and jumped on the first person in her way. Their neck made a sickening pop as it twisted.

The other two descended upon her but she used her shackles to her advantage, trapping one of their wrists between the chains and elbowing his nose through his skull.

A kunai soared at her face but she caught it inches from grazing her skin and threw it back. It tore through his head like a bullet.

Ryu-sensei was bound to a table so she hurriedly ripped the ropes apart.

He was already at deaths door.

Clenching her fist, Akira brought her wrist to his mouth but he knocked it away with the little strength he had. An unfocused silver eye cracked open. He shook his head.

'He knew.' But of course, he did. He was her jounin-sensei—there was little he didn't know about her.

Silently, Ryu handed her his wedding ring, large hand encompassing hers. "Tell him… it was quick." Were the last words he said before his heart stuttered to a stop and his arm fell.

This wasn't happening. She put her hand to his unmoving chest, willing for it to beat and calm her down as it always had. There was nothing.

'Compartmentalize. Work out what needs to be done and deal with it all later.' She ran from the room. Greif was a luxury she had no time for. At least she had Shin. They could easily escape together and make it back home.

'My fault. This is all my fault.'

By a stroke of luck Akira came across their belongings. She shoved everything in a storage seal except a few of her version of the Flying Thunder God kunai and made her way back to Shin.

Gods, what was she going to tell him?

"Hey, I'm back! Let's get the hell out of here." There was no reply.

When she turned the corner, she tripped over her own feet. Shin lay still, hair fanned around his head like a halo. One hand lightly gripped the kunai plunged in his chest while the other held onto Kai.

There was the smallest upturn of his pale blue lips.

'No, please-'

Akira desperately fought to push back her rising emotions.

They rose steady like a geyser as she dropped to her knees before the unmoving bodies of her friends. She reached out a trembling hand to his face. "Shin. Hey, Shin. You gotta get up." Her voice broke as she repeated his earlier words.

His skin was waxy and chilled against her heated touch. Once more he answered her with silence.

Her sight began to double as a low, distressed whine left her lips.

There was shouting.

Their words could have been spoken in another language and she wouldn't have known. Wouldn't have cared.

White noise rang her ears. Her gut fluttered like little licks of flames.

'They were all-'

Pressure built in her skull as she caved in on herself, forehead pressed to her friends still chest. Taking in one last time the scent of her teammate, the coppery tang of blood and overwhelming decay.

(She stands before a towering door-)

Fingers clawed at her skin as her vision went in and out of darkness.

(she stands before a towering door and does nothing.)

Burning yet frozen. Gutted open and so very raw but held together by Teflon.

She felt something so deep and gaping that it swallowed her whole.

A string pulled taunt on something within, stretching like thin elastic.

She felt apocalyptic.

'GOnE!"

It snapped in a flash of black as Akira's head snapped up, mouth agape and hands smashing to the ground hard enough to send chunks of concrete flying.

The collar cracked and fell to the ground.

Acid licked her skin in delicious well-deserved pain as dark, toxic chakra engulfed her body; soothed instantly by the highest feeling of euphoria she'd ever experienced.

And fuck did she drown in it.

Immensely dense chakra gathered between a jagged and unhinged jaw of a blistering cloak. It built and built into a small but devastating orb.

If you were unable to become a God, you would gladly take the place of The Devil.

---

An earth quaking roar shook the heavens followed by a catastrophic explosion.

Miles away in Uni, already weakened buildings collapsed in on themselves from an aftershock, crushing anyone within. Starving babies wailed and animals thrashed in a frenzy as citizens screamed and ran for shelter.

A gust of air sent birds trilling into the sky. Thick clouds of destruction rose high in the sky as a forest was razed flat.

Trees were uprooted as more blasts tore through the surrounding area, only stopping when a red light hazed in black shot high in the night sky. It arced before falling like a shooting star in the direction of their village.

The head of said village exited his lavish home in his pajamas, taking in the brilliant sight. As Uni was destroyed by a weeping and wounded creature spitting orbs of oblivion, Osamu learned his last lesson:

When you seek the help of the devil, the wrath of God wasn't far behind.

Only until after the dust and shoot had settled and the moon once again glowed, a broken girl silently cried tears of blood, hands clenched tight on the ring in her trembling hands.

---

As Akira lay numb amongst the carnage the blonde belatedly recognized just how much of a curse heightened senses could be. They branched further than things like scent, sight or touch. It reached deep into her emotions and latched into her very soul:

And it fractured in ways unredeemable.

"There is pain in feeling so deeply." A gravelly voice Akira hadn't heard in forever mumbled moments before her eyes closed from exhaustion.

.

.

.

"So," Kurama mused in the asylum of her mindscape, a tinge of curiosity pushing into her, "the Old Man sent you here, did he?" he rest his head on the tops of his humanoid paws (hands?), nose mere inches from the bars which separated them.

(Much later Akira would think back at how gently he spoke. As if scared of frightening a wounded animal. But at that time her mind had retreated far within herself to notice.)

Akira barked out a mirthless laugh, chin resting on the caps of her knees, unconsciously mirroring his movements. "'Sent' isn't the word I'd use. 'Damned to hell' is more fitting."

"There is nothing He does without thought. You were brought here for a reason."

An unimpressed eye-roll. Did he steal those words from a religious pamphlet or some shit? "Who knows. I particularly don't care. All he told me to do was 'survive.'"

Which was just some philosophical bullshit for "suffer quietly, k thnx~"

Kurama hummed. "And you have."

"…and I have." Akira grudgingly agreed.

But at what cost? Everything had gone to shit.

Her team was gone.

Family, good as gone after that…mishap—would they keep her away from Naruto?

'What are the repercussions for wiping an entire village off the map?' she wondered.

Her last couple of friends were doomed if they stayed near her.

Everything was doomed.

"All that's left…" Karuma began, eyes flashing unnaturally, "is to get back up."

"For what?" her voice cracked. "My existence has changed nothing. Danzo has likely heard of what happened here—hell half of the shinobi world probably knows. I'll be going back to a resentful Village with proof that I'm exactly what they believed."

She didn't even touch the subject of seal she had made.

that wasn't a mistake.

You transcended into something More under the pretense of being their shield

The only upside to what happened was how it would likely scare the villagers enough to pretend she didn't exist.

It was silent for a tense moment.

Kurama broke it, voice mocking. "Then is that it? The fate of Akira Uzumaki-Namikaze: heir to two clans and jinchūriki of the Kyuubi? Giving up like a pathetic weakling?"

She growled, "I am heir to nothing and keeper of no one! This isn't weakness—I'm just smart enough to know when to call it quits.

And if you haven't realized: I quit."

"Smart? Hah! Don't make me laugh. You're a coward. Just a scared little girl—"

"AND SO WHAT IF I AM!?" she cried out, face flushed and tears gathering like crystals in her lashes. "Why does everyone expect me to be some infallible machine that can take hit after hit without so much as a flinch? How many pieces do I have to break into until you people are satisfied?"

His glare felt like fire. Or maybe that was her. She didn't know. Everything was melting into one.

"As many as it takes."

Lava leaked into her nerves, clashing with the protective icy glacier that had formed over her emotions through self-preservation. Feeling was slowly crackling its way to life.

"What? Does that make you angry?"

"Yes! You stupid overgrown, body dysmorphic FUCK!"

Karuma smirked—and the Gods as her witness, Akira was going to wipe that damned egotistical look off his fugly face even if it was the last thing she did—"Good."

"'good'?" she mocked, standing on shaky legs, ready to fulfil her promise with fists clenched so tight her knuckles bleached. "Fuck this—I'll show you good once I rip out your larynx and shove it up your ass, ttabane!"

Tails swished behind him as his smirk morphed into a full-on grin.

That was it.

Her newest reason for existing was to destroy her half of the Nine-tails. Her body felt rewired, pistons clanking back to life and sharpening.

Would eradicating him from within the seal kill her? Maybe. Was she willing to fuck around and find out? Definitely.

"You feel that anger? The endless temptress of fury? Use it." He looked her up and down, eyebrow raising. "You're standing again, after all."

She paused. Looked down. Relaxed. Mulled it over a few times. Looked back up. "I could just sit back down."

"Nah."

"I'll do it just to spite you."

"You'd just be proving my point." He shot back lazily, head tilting to the side.

Akira wiped a tired hand down her face, exasperated. "Listen, my situation isn't as easy as you seem to think it is."

He yawned, and she was getting angry again. But she refused to show it because like he said, that would only prove his point. "And its far more simple than you believe it is."

"And pray tell, oh intelligent godly being: what would you do?"

"Well, I would start by ripping out Danzo Shimura's intestines and hang him with them, along with his kin."

"Can't. He's a village elder and friend to the Hokage. Kill him and I'd be damning myself to the life of a missing nin, hunted down for the rest of my life."

It was her fault for holding any hope he would have an actual useful idea. All he knew how to do was kill, kill and kill some more. Thoughts weren't really is thing. (But wasn't she the same...? Nah.)

"Hn. Humans. Fine. Then I would destroy him from the inside. Become what they all fear and take down anyone else standing in my way until there's nothing left but a field of corpses." He lift his head in contemplation, "kind of like what you did today. Just more bodies. Sends a better message."

Akira face-palmed. He had literally taken one of her ideas with just a few extra gory bits tossed in. Sure, she had been playing the sidelines more and more as she grew closer with her team.

Danzo had requested her presence many times, which she had gracefully, with all disrespect intended, declined. Since she had people who would notice if she was missing, he couldn't do anything. It was her plot-armor, so to speak.

Though not the strongest, Ryu-sensei had political sway by being jounin and entangled with her father in a past she didn't know about—wouldn't get to know.

There was a reason the jounin was chosen as her team-leader, after all.

Everything always had a reason-

Akira doubled over as the breath was stolen from her lungs. She needed to get back to Konoha.

It all made sense.

While she had been playing checkers, Danzo had been playing an intricate game of chess: Oishi, her emotional support was mysteriously dead. Her team killed only after getting what he wanted—he knew negative emotions unleashed the Nine-tails in some way.

He, too, knew what you were capable of

And like she had stated half the shinobi world would know what happened. They'd be too busy watching her to pay attention to her Uchiha boys.

Shisui.

Itachi.

The entire Uchiha clan.

Naruto.

Akira looked up at Karuma, mind whirling to form an idea. A really bad idea. A possibly catastrophic idea.

"Let's make a deal."

The resulting grin was devilish. "I'm listening."

---

It took two weeks for Akira to make it to Konoha's gates. Crossing long distances of water turned out to be more of a struggle than she'd previously thought.

The ninja manning the gate looked like he had seen a ghost when she slapped her papers before him.

"Akira Uzumaki, back after being MIA."

The blonde didn't blame him for his reaction; she had seen better days. A skirmish with some random ass missing-nin charged with her re-capture while she was basically empty on chakra—due to Kurama giving her the silent-treatment for calling him Fugly.

It could have been worse.

How it would get worse than almost getting her ass killed and recaptured again, she didn't know. But, it could've.

Overall, she was tired, limping (Kurama was a petty being and refused to heal her) on an injured leg and her clothes, or lack thereof, was pushing her a just that much closer to the edge.

Still in her disgusting chest bindings Akira's many wounds were on display. One of her pantlegs was missing while the other was ripped just above her knee.

Thankfully her shoes and seals made it. Silver-linings.

The guy behind the desk stared blatantly at her chest with a gaping mouth. So they weren't wrapped properly, sue her. A nip-slip was the least of her worries.

Akira had traveled by herself and had an overall Terrible Time. She adjusted her bindings. "You gonna keep staring or stamp my damn papers?"

He did so with a quickness reserved for ninja. Sending one last glare she snatched to papers and made her way to the Hokage tower.

Hospital could wait.

People whispered as she wobbled through the village. Crowds opened like the red sea when they saw who it was. They whispered between each other like clucking chickens.

If everyone didn't know she was back, they did now.

Entering the tower all eyes turned her way. Taking advantage of the attention she raised a hand. "I'd like to speak to the Hokage."

A woman with graying hair sat behind the desk glared, eyeing her form up and down in distaste. "There's a waiting list. Sign in and sit down."

She had guts. Akira could respect that.

After she scribbling her name down Akira glanced up to the woman. Her nametag read Jun. She was either new or back at the job after a long absence. "Is Kisho in the hospital today?"

"How would I know?"

"You work in the Hokage tower."

"Just go sit down. I'll call you up when it's your turn." Jun shooed.

The chair was uncomfortable. So was the atmosphere. There were so many scents entering her nose that it was beginning to become overwhelming.

Two weeks by yourself did that, she guessed.

Something landed next to Akira and she screamed—a few people fled which worked in her favor. Looks like her name just went up on the list.

A crow watcher her from one side of his face. It pecked her head. "Ow! No need to resort to violence." She scratched at the top of its head fondly, regardless. It felt familiar.

After untying the tiny piece of paper from around its leg, she expecting it to fly away. It didn't.

Akira read the message.

Once.

Twice.

Turned to the crow.

It turned its head, too, revealing an achingly familiar sharingan. One that, when attached to a specific body, held her dying heart.

She'd know them even if she was blind, deaf and comatose. Had run her thumb under them numerous times in the hushed silence of her living room.

"A jewel was stolen from the rabbit by a hungry vulture."

The paper crumpled between her fingers as the crow flew off with a loud caw.

Beyond grief—that could come later—and reason Akira stood suddenly. Killing Intent wafted from her person.

Jun shook when red eyes fell on her. "Open the fucking door."

She was going to talk some much-needed sense into her villages retarded Hokage, and he was going to fucking listen.

.

.

.

Chains clanked heavily on the Hokage's desk, along with three headbands. When she had come to, Akira had picked through the rubble to find the very shackles that once held her.

A stack of papers scattered to the floor in a flurry.

Hiruzen gave the mess a precursory glance, expression giving nothing away.

Wordlessly Akira plopped into the proffered chair and made herself comfortable.

Leaned back into the cushion seemingly without a care, ignoring the weight of the world that crept in like hightide. Her hands folded over a bare stomach; elbows balanced on their rest.

How wonderful she must have looked at that moment. It was obvious she was in need of medical attention. Bruises blotted over her skin in various stages of healing like an abused banana peel. Blood and dirt stained once white bindings.

Most not her own.

A mixture of sleepless nights and grief clung to the skin under blank violet eyes that refused to leave his.

"It's good to see you back in the village Akira." The old fuck began, voice sickeningly fake and grating against her ears. "Though I'm saddened to see you in such a state."

He eyed her carefully like a bomb in flesh.

Could've been from how fervently the blonde had demanded to meet with him. Rejecting insistent medical help and threatening bodily harm to the poor assistant who kept acting as a barrier in her way.

There was numerous ANBU stationed in the room, not as hidden as they thought they were—or maybe it was a show of power? That he was protected and prepared to take her down lest she make the wrong move.

She stayed silent. Watching him watch her. Waiting for him to react or begin with his bullshit.

She wasn't let down.

"The loss of your team was a devastating blow to Konoha and our ranks—"

Ah.

She wanted to laugh. Scream. Stab a kunai deep within the wrinkled skin between his eyes.

'How dare he,' she thought, 'how dare he sit on a throne and act as if it were any other day. Act like her team was just another causality in a war that ended years ago.'

It was easy to zone him out, only passively taking in all of the empty words spouting from the gaping hole in his mouth.

Had she known this meeting would turn into a debriefing, Akira would've told the old geezer to go fuck himself.

She wasn't looking for sympathy nor his half-baked words of regret. Not for her loss, but for Konoha's. Never for hers.

And Shisui—her soul hurt. Yet another loss that happened when she wasn't there.

Oishi had been paranoid before his death that someone was following him—she'd known that. But accepting his death as a heart attack like the autopsy 'revealed' gave her an out.

Pushed the blame to nature and not the natural consequences of someone being close to her that it so blatantly was.

It was all planned so shamelessly well. She'd have to give Danzo props. Years of planning must have gone into plotting her downfall.

"—we will have to have a more detailed account as to what happened on your mission—"

They had trusted her and she'd failed so horribly. What was she thinking back in that base? Had she been thinking?

She'd made a fucking seal that went against everything she was taught. Everything she believed in. And for what?

The burden is heavy but you were so eager to reach toward the sky

All that happened due to her mistakes would just be another one of her failures.

(They piled and piled and piled and-)

"—just an occupational hazard that comes with the life of a shinobi. You will be compensated for the destruction of an enemy base, along with your mission going up from C-Rank to A-Rank."

'What other ninja in their village constantly gets kidnapped and tortured?' she thought venomously. 'There's no amount of money in the world that could account for the lives taken.'

In her mind Kurama's tails tapped in annoyance. "Why are you sitting here listening to this old bag of air?"

'Now you wanna speak?'

"Humpf. Your mate was killed, of course I'm talking."

She ignored those words. 'Because, sadly, he's the boss. Now shut up.'

Hiruzen paused in his never-ending speech, lip twitching. He must've realized she wasn't paying all that much attention to him. "You look as if you have something to say."

"What gave me away?" she drawled lazily with a sneer.

Brown eyes narrowed but he motioned for her to continue.

"I want to know what you plan to do." She said simply, inflectionless.

"As I just explained—"

"No," she cut in, "I want to know what you plan to do."

The chair he sat in creaked as he leaned himself back, grandfatherly mask fading away into a memory. There he was. "Was there something you needed?"

He was dancing around the subject. Akira would allow him. For now.

"Protection for Naruto. An ANBU squad, personally picked by me, following him at all times on rotation." The 'I don't trust your choices' was left unsaid but hung in the charged air between them.

Wrinkled hands came together on his desk—mere inches from the chains and all that was left of her team. "I can post two-man team to watch over him. An entire squad tasked only to a child would be a waste of resources."

"A child you promised my parents to protect as their dying wish." She snapped lowly in her first show of emotion. It was hard to tamp it down but she did. "I don't think a squad watching over Konoha's second jinchūriki would be something I'd call wasteful."

And if the ANBU didn't know before, they definitely did now. But she had his attention. Hiruzen's expression morphed once more as he made a cutting motion with his hands.

The ANBU hiding around vanished. Still, he didn't activate the privacy seal.

"Your request is still asking too much for nothing in return."

The audacity to try and negotiate after everything that had happened was the las6t straw. "I don't think you understand, Lord Third," Akira began, eyes burning red, "I'm. Not. Asking." She repeated the words spoken to her.

His knuckles blanched with how tight his hands clasped at each other. KI leaked out of him. "Excuse me?" a warning tone.

"That child is the one thing—" a breath, "If something happens to him within these walls—"

The pressure in the room increased tenfold but she refused to yield. Compared to the night Kurama was sealed in her stomach it was rather lackluster.

Most importantly: Akira wasn't a child anymore.

"What you're saying is starting to sound like a threat."

"It would be if you'd let me finish."

Hiruzen's fist banged loudly on his table, echoing off the corners of the room along with his booming voice. "You are becoming far too out of control and out of line!"

"Oh, so there's a line now?" she laughed mockingly, "Pardon me, Hokage-sama but this is a conversation you should be having with your good friend Danzo Shimura and his lunatic of a grandson."

Surprise filtered on his expression along with angered confusion. "Now you're casting blame on a respected village elder?" he sounded beside himself. "Danzo has no children. Perhaps the journey here—"

Akira shot forward in her seat, hands gripping the armrests until they splintered. He wasn't going to make her out to be insane when that delirious nut-job tortured her and her team. "I know better than anyone who tortured me and my team and his name was Sadao Shimura. He was in charge of the base that held us hostage!"

"There is no such person by that name in my village. I will give you a month on leave to readjust yourself. Hopefully being in a familiar environment—"

"SHISUI IS GONE!" her voice was laced with all of the pain she had barely been able to hold in.

"By his own hand." he stressed. So Hiruzen knew what Shisui had meant to her.

Her words came out fast and frantic, "You don't really believe that—"

"Enough!"

"—Where do you think the seal on those chains came from? How did someone get their hands on seals I created? My team was killed trying to get to me so I could make a some fucked up seal and when I finally managed to drag myself back after the Kyuubi took over, my Uchiha boyfriend is dead. You want me to believe that war-crazed bastard had nothing—"

"GET OUT!" Hiruzen bellowed.

It was her turn to slam her hands on his desk. It cracked. "Deep down you know! Which makes you just as guilty!"

"Watch your mouth, Akira Uzumaki! I will call for you with my decision on your request. Take your time off to pull yourself together."

"Uzumaki-Namikaze," she corrected heatedly, "You no longer get to decide who I am. I do."

Getting up the blonde storm-limped her way to the door and swung it open so hard it cracked the wall. There was a weary sigh behind her and a mumbling of the name Tsunade.

Bergamot and dogs.

Her body went rigid and cooled.

Sitting in one of the chairs just outside of the doorway was Kakashi. He was bent over, elbows on his knees, hands clasped and staring up at her in shock.

Ah.

His scent was a flurry of fear, relief and pity.

One gray eye took her in and his eyebrow scrunched in a way that sent echoes of the past screeching in her ears

("you're hurt.")

He looked good. Older. Healthy. Haunted.

His mouth moved under the mask as if trying to find what to say.

Ah. Ha. Hahaha-

It took her being presumed dead to even so much as give her a backwards glance.

Her expression went slack but her eyes; they hardened into diamonds and flashed red in warning.

Kakashi stiffened—because everyone did when it happened and he was not an exception.

In her mind she was scooping up broken pieces of porcelain off the floor, furiously wiping tears from her eyes.

(I can fix it, she thought. Hire someone to put it back together. It wasn't so bad—)

Akira turned down the hall with heavy, uneven steps.

The ninja standing around who noticed her gave her a wide berth. Everyone had to have heard the argument that went down in the Hokage's office. Some looked surprised she was still alive to tell the tale.

.

.

.

Later, when she walked into her apartment her knees hit the floor. Any spirit residing in her body left in an instant as she took in all of the decorations throughout her house.

The trinkets mocked her. Whispering memories in her ears that both soothed and marred.

Akira stared at them so long they turned into nothing more than objects. The act of repeating a word over and over until its significance became lost.

A forgotten, hollowed out tree still standing alone in the remnants of a long-lost battlefield. Roots fixing her into inhabitable soil, gradually rotting.

A gentle breeze could have toppled her over and she wouldn't have cared enough to fight.

Ruckus from the hallway broke her out of her trance. Overwhelmed by flashbacks, Akira hid in the shelter of her bathtub, kunai held pressed against her chest.

'I am nothing'

The solace of a long-abandoned mantra left her blissfully empty. It rang true, deep within her core.

The will to fight she had briefly gained by meeting those far more worthy of the effort, sputtered like a dying light.

Akira had grown stronger, sure. Her skills were sufficient enough to make jounin had it not been for the political opposition raised against her.

What she was capable of would never be enough. Not when anything higher than chunin would grant her diplomatic power. Opportunity would always slip through her fingers like corrupt grains of sand.

But even with that strength it wouldn't have affected the outcome. Everyone she cared for had died regardless.

It mattered not how durable her body had become. How many enemies she had brought down in the name of a village set against her. In truth Konoha would never accept her.

Unlike what others believed; Akira was not a monster—she wasn't fully human, either. Not after what she'd done.

She lay somewhere in between. An ambiguously gray figure standing amongst those who judged in black and white.

'I am nothing.'

So, she would be nothing and stay that way. Until the next unfortunate soul approached with an outstretched hand —only for her to light them aflame.

A wildfire didn't concern itself with the consequences of its own nature, after all. It consumed any who wandered too close to its dazzling flames. Devouring them just enough to spit out constellations to remember what was lost.

---

She didn't sleep.

Couldn't.

Wouldn't.

Instead, she acknowledged the gaping void in her chest as days blended into one. Descended further into its depths as she ignored the knocks on her door. That was, until a missive from the Hokage tower slid its way under it.

Kurama had grown silent three days prior. He was a beast of hatred, not healing, and she didn't wish to admit to her mistakes quite yet.

That could be for Future Akira to worry about. She just wanted to pretend everything was okay, even if it so blatantly wasn't.

So, she busied herself into looking somewhat presentable. Her body had mostly recovered, but the scars still remained. There was no answer as to why her wounds refused to fully heal. When, in another life, her brother never came across the same issue.

Perhaps it was a matter of resilience she clearly lacked.

Naruto was akin to the sun. Warm and reassuring in the way it rose every morning in spite of despair. Its radiance heating the earth and permitting plants sustenance to grow.

Akira was like the moon on a snowy winter night. Cold and distant. Waning through phases of wholeness and loneliness—forever bathed in darkness. Never truly showing its face.

(It was easy to forget that, much like the sun, with no moon the world would be thrown into chaos. Without its gravitational pull, the tides would refuse to rise and the seasons would reject change.

How, though it stumbles through each of its phases; it is always whole.)

The walk through the village was surreal.

Life had continued on.

The market she had to pass to reach her destination was bustling with life.

A group of children dashed past, almost taking out her legs as they played. Their screams of glee faded as she walked further, replaced shortly by shouts from busy vendors.

Birds trilled in the azure sky, wings flapping and soaring against invisible currents. A strong breeze sent long, unbound light-blonde hair into disarray.

Attempts to tame the mess that was bound to happen were fruitless. When the wind had stilled, someone bumped against her shoulder as they were walking past.

Her skin prickled in warning as the stench of blood and vanilla muddled her brain. Violet eyes widened as her footsteps slowed to a stop. She moved to arm herself with a kunai—

A puff of warm breath brushed against her ear as he leaned in close,

"Obelus,"

There was a searing burn at the back of her neck as her body froze. Her heart raced as panic truly set in.

When the fuck had they put the seal on her?

She was cut off from her chakra—Karuma distantly roared out her name in alarm. There was no way to escape.

A hand caressed her jaw. "I've come back for you, Dove. Just as I promised." Sadao murmured in a dark rasp.

He easily lifted her up bridal style and made his way to a nearby alley. No matter how fiercely she compelled someone to notice, one glanced their way.

"Put me down." She objected weakly.

He tsked playfully, trapping her prone form closer to his chest. "But you fit so exquisitely in my arms~"

It didn't take long for them to arrive in an underground bunker hidden inside an inconspicuous building. Shoddy security seals etched in the walls lit up as they became active.

Sadao set her in a metal chair, maneuvering her body into position.

Danzo walked into the room, cane tapping against the damp concrete floor. "It's been too long." He said, "I've requested your presence for quite a while now."

His appearance caused her mind to go blank. Shisui's chakra oozed from his bandaged eye. She felt faint. Her sinuses burned with the urge to cry but she fought it down.

Yours, yours, yours-

"You fucking bastard!" Akira growled, "Just what do you think you're doing, Shimura."

The older man regarded her mildly, his cane positioned in front of him held by both hands. "I'm taking what was rightfully mine."

"The hell does that mean? I belong to no one but myself."

"That is where you are wrong." His began, "Hiruzen gravely miscalculated. Due to his abhorrent naivety, he granted you autonomy and undeserving opportunity in the hopes of gaining your loyalty to the village."

Akira thought of all the times the citizens of Konoha had mistreated her. The abuse she received as a child for existing.

How quickly their love had soured after the death of her father—their Hokage who had been the one to seal the nine-tails in her to begin with. They always forgot that part. How it was never her choice to become their monster.

Hiruzen had called her a war hero. But to them, she was nothing more than the enemy sealed inside her gut.

The only person in the village that deserved her blind devotion was Naruto. And even he wasn't treated favorably.

They had shunned and villainized her first and Akira refused to feel sorry for becoming what they made her.

"In order to receive loyalty, one needs to give something in return. All this village has shown me is hostility and mistreatment. Why the hell should I blindly devote myself to those who would sooner kill than embrace me?"

His gaze hardened. "Another one of his many mistakes was treating you jinjuriki as human. I make no such mistakes. Even without access to the Kyuubi's chakra you'll make a useful tool.

That is the only thing keeping you alive."

"You won't get away with this." She insisted hotly.

Danzo smiled mirthlessly. "I don't believe you understand the severity of your situation. I already have."

The panic was evolving into dread. "They'll look for me."

"Who? As far as they'll know, you're a missing-nin." He looked to his grandson and gave him a nod as he turned and leave the room. "When we meet again, I hope you will be more cooperative."

Left alone with the pervert, Akira glowered Sadao's way. "Who are you really?"

Murky blue-gray eyes trained on hers with a slimy smile. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten."

She ignored his words and the painful memories attached to them. "Hiruzen is convinced that you don't exist."

Sadao's mouth made an 'o' in understanding. "Ooh. I haven't been officially adopted yet. I'm to take the name Shimura when Danzo-dono no longer can. Though," he grinned sadistically, "now that he has the sharingan within his grasp, that plan might come later than expected."

Toxic sludge pumped through her veins. "Both of you will pay for taking what was precious to me. And when the time comes, I will take everything from you."

"But that's the best part," He leaned in close, hand rubbing circles on her thigh. "You will be all mine. And with the seal you made, not even the Hokage could take you from me."

"You're fucking sick."

His lips brushed against hers. "Yet you'll follow nonetheless. I'm sorry~"

Her eyes burned, reflecting her wildfire heart. "You aren't. But you will be."

Devils held fast to their secrets and this was yours:

As you plucked the dreaded fruit from its branch

You planted a key to break the seals spell and told no one

"Even if I am, you'll never know. Hell, you won't remember anything!"

Sadao stood and made his way behind Akira's trembling frame like a panther hunting its prey. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.

"Obelus,

Yearning,"

Akira's body convulsed as she weakly fought against invisible hands digging into her consciousness. Pain shot through her marrow as her mind was torn apart and shoved aside into awaiting darkness.

Because the best kept secrets lay underneath the underneath

"Momentum."

---

End

---

A/N: So this chapter came out much later than I anticipated. Had a family emergency that brought me out of state for four months without access to my documents :')

Bc of format issues I had to change the centered sentences from strikethroughs into underlined words. I dont like it. The original was better imo.

but I'm back now! And with a huge ass chapter, too. A whopping 20,000 words, actually. Making it the most lengthy chapter to date! Its a bit meh with parts I'm not completely satisfied with but only practice can fix that. (so many errors, no will to edit)

Now about the chapter...

Its dark. Its (as stated) repetitive. Akira's origin story was always meant to be a shit-show. In this chapter I wanted to really push the fact her mental state is a tattered red flag that refuses to surrender out of pure spite.

Yes, she's OP af.

No, she's not a reliable narrator.

Which will break first? Akira or the brainwashing seal of her own creation? Find out next time on Momentum!

(Follow, favorite and review! It really helps with my deteriorating motivation tbh)