Only an hour had past from when Kakashi carried Aki off from the Training Center. After placing her in his bed, he looked her over and noticed how thin she was and how obviously exhausted she was considering how calmly she slept. With only being gone a week, it had a drastic impact on her, he could tell. He blamed himself for the condition that she was in. If he hadn't of been so inconsiderate, so stupid.
Kakashi stepped out of his apartment for only a moment to buy something for her to eat when she finally woke up. She needed nourishment and a lot of rest to work up her energy again, as did he. When he returned to his apartment, he expected to see Aki, still sleeping, nuzzled under his covers. What he didn't expect to find was the bed empty and Aki nowhere in sight.
In the Hokage's Office"How to deal with this situation is not for you to decide. This fight belongs only to Aki." Jin stated to the other Ninja in the room. He was in the Hokage's office with many others of Konoha's Ninja. He was sitting on the floor next to Shiro Takamori, in front of the Hokage's desk.
"This is our fight too! One of our own was 'sealed' because of this maniac." One of the Ninja fought back angrily.
"I am the maniac who sealed Hayate-san." Shiro stated flatly. "If you wish for some kind of closure for that, then I am the one to punish."
"You?"
Jin started to explain the whole situation. "Shiro-kun put the seal on Hayate-san because he knew that Aki would break it. He was hoping that she would indirectly break the seal binding herself, but it didn't work that way."
"What if he had died?" asked the Hokage.
"I was watching him carefully. He was never in any real danger," Answered Shiro
"That problem is of the past. What we need to focus on now is Aki. She is about to come face to face with her father after over 5 years. Her father, who is supposed to be dead. She must face now, not just losing him again, but being the one to take his life."
"But from what you are saying, he isn't really her father," Asuma said.
"No, he isn't. His body had been possessed. It is no longer his spirit or his soul, but it is his memories, his Chakra, his power. He is still Ryuuchi, but he isn't."
"Because of this seal he tried?" Asuma continued.
"Yes. He tried to create a seal that would allow him to use his powers on water. He had wanted to manipulate water, but was unable to do so if the water's surface wasn't smooth, or flat. He was unable to bend light to form on the surface of water if there were waves. It wouldn't ever create the seal in its entirety. So he tried to create a seal that would bend light to mold to the waters surface." Jin explained
"So," Asuma continued to ask, "if he was to create a seal, it would only be flat, on one plane. You're saying that he wanted to change that so if he created a seal, it would cover multiple moving planes?"
"Yes, exactly. The same goes with fire. Fire doesn't have a flat surface, so in order for him to control it, he needed a seal that would mold to it."
"What about Earth? It isn't smooth or flat. Or a person's leg, for that matter. How was he able to form seals there?"
"Because the surface of the ground or a person's leg is constant, they aren't changing shape or form."
"So what happened after he tried to create the seal?"
"…I'm not exactly sure what happened…"
"He got the seal wrong," Shiro bluntly said. "He sealed his spirit and soul inside the water, instead of creating a seal to control the water."
"Is he still sealed there?" the Hokage asked.
"No. He's dead." Shiro stated.
"If he's dead, then why is his body running around? And how did he die if he was sealed in water?" Asuma started his questions again.
"Another entity had taken his body over." Jin started to explain again. "When he tried to create the seal, he sealed himself in the water, also, releasing something else. Whatever it was, it is now in possession of his body."
"You don't know what it is? Or where it came from?"
"I don't, but…" Jin said looking to Shiro.
"He is an old exiled Ninja from my village, the Hidden Village of the Moon. As severe punishment, we would seal these types in the one thing they feared the most. In his case, it was water. Ryuuchi wouldn't have been aware of it, because he wasn't from that Village."
"You're saying he just picked the wrong puddle of water to step in?" the Hokage stated astonished.
"Yes."
"How did he die if he was sealed?"
"By fire." Shiro continued to explain. "The exiled Ninja didn't like water because it was his greatest weakness. And to make sure that the body he finally got would remain his, he set the surrounding forest aflame, causing the pond to evaporate, to disappear, Ryuuchi along with it."
"How did Aki find out that he wasn't her father?"
"He tried to kill her. But after fighting her he realized how much power she held from both villages, he wanted her body instead. He placed a seal on her making her forget all about what had happened to give him time to figure out how to seal himself in her body, killing her. Only I knew the truth and to keep me from her, he made fabricated memories that I killed her father and was trying to kill her."
During this whole conversation, Nevins was leaning against a wall almost sick to his stomach. He had known Aki for about 3 years and it had never dawned on him that she might have a seal on her. Why would he think that? But he was still angry at himself for not noticing. He was just trying to keep her safe from Shiro, who turns out to be doing just the same as he…protecting her.
"So, you and Aki had known each other before all of this happened?" the Hokage stated.
"Yes. Ryuuchi and I are rivals. We come from opposite villages that wiped each other out. Only the two of us remained and I wanted an answer as to which village was truly the strongest."
"The last to survive is the strongest…but Aki also remained." Asuma said his thoughts aloud.
Shiro chuckled at his statement. "Ah. That was my thinking. I thought about fighting her as well. But she changed that. Being a Ninja isn't just about who is stronger, but about who is strong enough."
"Strong enough for what?" Jin asked.
"Strong enough to put your life on the line for what you believe in."
"Is Ryuuchi strong?" Asuma asked.
"Ah, we're equal."
"Oh, complimenting yourself, are you?" Aki teased. Everyone had turned at the sound of her voice. How long had she been standing there? How did she get in the room unnoticed? And where was Kakashi?"