Awakening was a lot like exiting a cool spring into the warm air. One doesn't know what to expect and it's never the same as what you had just experienced.
Akihane tended to not dwell much on her feelings or on the minuscule actions that she took part in every single day, but when one was left with nothing to do for a day while thoughts ran rampant, they tended to look back on those things.
'You are strangely calm for this hour of the morning, Akihane. Are you still thinking about Sarutobi?'
Tobirama's voice sent chills down her back, her eyes snapping open to view the bright sky as she laid back in the grass. Beside her, Shikamaru lazed in the sun while watching the few clouds drifting by.
A night spent at the Nara Estate, a day spent wallowing in her choices, and hours resting upon a single choice. She wasn't certain if she forgave Hiruzen for his actions prior to the meeting where she was revealed as a Clan Head, nor was she certain about how she would spend these next two days waiting for the man to die.
'Are you still mad at him?' Hashirama's gentle baritone wafted through her psyche, earning him a barely-there sigh.
Slowly, Akihane rose to a sitting position, resting her hands in her lap while she gazed at her palms. Calluses marked the pads of her fingers, formed from the repeated use of weapons over the years. The Kyuubi had healed them at the start of her time as a Kunoichi, but the continued use of weapons soon overpowered even the Bijuu's healing capabilities. There were also faint dark spots on her skin from where she had recently handled chakra-ink, the medium refusing to come off as it fed on the chakra surrounding her.
'I'm no longer mad per say…I just…I understand his reasoning and it still hurts, but I don't really know how I feel. It's always been so hard to look at a mirror image and tell what I'm thinking or what parts of me see what scenes…trying to relate emotions and apply them is just the same way. I've distanced myself ever since I first experienced emotional backlash, and it damaged me.'
She projected to the two Hokage, tracing her right thumb over the center of her left palm.
Akihane near jumped when a hand rested on her shoulder, her lavender eyes raising to meet brown hues.
"Hey, you alright? You seem rather…off." Shikamaru questioned her, his hand removing itself as his eyes furrowed. His gaze met her own and she tried not to think about how the warmth made her open her mouth to tell him.
She paused when she realized it would be hard to explain the situation to Shikamaru without telling him about the Shodaime and Nidaime currently occupying her head.
'He's a rather perceptive child. Talk to him, it could help you out in the long run, Akihane.' Tobirama advised her, his tone soothing even as her heart jumped and she tried to find her words.
"I-It's nothing. I'm just not sure how to face Hokage-Sama after all of this…" She offered instead, trying not to linger on the pang in her chest she felt over not telling Shikamaru the full truth. She had been tempted to tell him, Sasuke and Hinata as well, but she didn't think that doing so was a smart decision. The fewer who knew about the extra burdens she now bore, the better off things would be.
"What do you mean? I thought that you saw him last night? Did you have a falling out or what?" Shikamaru continued to question her, his eyes narrowing on her while he tried to piece together the puzzle she had laid out for him.
"N-Not really. He, well you know how he doesn't have a long time left to live, right?" At Shikamaru's nod, Akihane continued with her line of thoughts and answers.
"He used a Jutsu that I detest, which caused that to happen. He used that very Jutsu to protect me, something that I understand he felt the need to do. This Jutsu couldn't be countered by Orochimaru and it would ensure that the traitor couldn't do more damage…I understand his reasoning and I can see why he did it, but it's still hard to…to accept that he…" Akihane sighed and tried to get a grasp on her words, tried to move her thoughts forward in a manner that would make her point clear while also helping her understand what she meant as well.
Hiruzen had always put her first, even over the village. The man loved her dearly and she loved him just the same, but things never turned out correctly and half the time she was left wondering what he meant to her while also trying to piece her emotions together as they fell apart at the seams.
She was upset at Hiruzen, but for what she wasn't sure. The Jutsu was a given, but she had accepted that fact. She had accepted her would put himself on the line to protect what was precious to him.
So why did the very thought of him still make her chest burn and cause angry tears to brim under her eyes?
'Perhaps it's not the Jutsu at all Akihane. Maybe…you've already admitted what makes you angry about this situation.' Hashirama whispered into her thoughts, his cryptic offerings confusing the young Uzumaki. She prepared to question him, but as she did, Shikamaru spoke up.
"Oh," Shikamaru whispered, garnering Akihane's attention again.
At his friend's pursuing gaze, Shikamaru sighed heavily. He then gave her a soft and sad look that made her heart hammer while white noise started to build up around her.
"You don't know how to accept he's going to die." The Genin quietly informed her.
Something settled and a weight drifted down her shoulders while a lump formed in Akihane's throat.
'That is what I believed as well.' Tobirama told her.
Hashirama's sad hum was all that alluded to the whole ordeal.
Was she afraid of Hiruzen dying? Was Akihane failing to accept the fact of life that she had faced more times in her life than she could count? Only two days ago she had been faced with accepting her death at the hands of her relatives, and yet…
Shikamaru's words were true; she knew it deep down within her heart. Akihane knew that the boy was right, if only because of the way she had reacted to the information, the revelation.
She did not want to accept the fact Hiruzen was going to die.
Her lips tried to form words and her gaze drifted back down to her palms while the moisture in her eyes built up.
Shikamaru watched as she dwelled on the fact, his gaze steady even as his clenched hand began to shake.
"I-I've accepted the d-deaths of loved ones b-before…w-what's different here? I-I was always a factor in their decisions and I've felt g-guilty, however…I've accepted their deaths. All of them." Akihane's words echoed in the silence around them.
Minutes passed as the two debated their thoughts and tried to mend the fractures. Shikamaru continually thought over what he knew about the situation and tried to derive a way to help his friend, even though he was more likely to break her instead.
Even so, Shikamaru hated the look on Akihane's face that she donned every time something happened and someone needed to step in and fix things. She had been the main component that kept her team together, the one to keep those around her from falling apart. Shikamaru, everyone in Konoha even, owed the Uzumaki their debt and gratitude for all she had sacrificed and accepted, for the pain she went through and the way she walked in stride and continued to stand tall as a pillar of defense. He owed her enough to help her this time.
"Yeah, but they died without you witnessing it, didn't they? I don't think you've actually seen someone die yet, or been so close to stopping it." Shikamaru offered finally.
He didn't feel as though he was giving Akihane worthwhile information, a few measly words hardly even seeming important in the grand scheme of things.
Akihane paused, taking in the Genin's words while deciphering them.
'You have lost many in your short life Akihane, but never had you witnessed the decline of life for a loved one directly in front of you. Loss can destroy someone, but witnessing loss…it decimates their souls, tears into all they know and destroys it, leaving behind broken fragments for that person to lift and try to fix. You must realize that by witnessing someone dying, you have then seen the very last part of life that cannot be stopped or avoided for long. Death is constant and factual, and watching a loved one submit to such a force is a moment one never forgets.'
Tobirama's words, still soft but tinged with sadness and knowledge for the ages, stung. She had nearly refused to come back together after Shisui's death, only the Uchiha Massacre and Sasuke's need for someone keeping her grounded. She had despaired and cried and screamed, but she had not been the one to watch him die.
If she had seen it if she had watched the boy she had grown so close to jumping over that cliff into the Naka River…She would have gone after him.
Akihane took a shaky breath, counting slowly while thinking of unimportant things. The number of spikes in Shikamaru's ponytail, the few seconds Hinata waited before throwing a Kunai in a spar, the steps Sauske took while performing kata,s the links of the common storage seal, the transformation of water to ice and then to a gas and back to a liquid before shifting into something new. Her mind wandered and she managed to round up her emotions and get a grip on her state of mind before she pushed at the ground below her.
The girl rose to her feet, pausing briefly to incline her head to Shikamaru.
"Thank you, Shikamaru…Now, I have something I need to do." She bit her lip at the last part but surged her chakra and morphed it into a shuinshin before she could make up her mind.
She had known what she would do the night before, had known her decision to remain impartial and state her goodbyes only when Hiruzen was passing on, but she could no longer follow that. She had been afraid to accept his death and as such pushed the only person to care from the very beginning away from her.
She needed to make it up to Hiruzen, to her Jiji.
I~~~~I
Walking through the halls of the Hokage's personal residence wasn't an entirely new experience for Akihane. A few nights of her younger years had been spent exploring the Hokage Mansion, documenting the rooms and floorplan while also discovering the crawl spaces and other secret passages. She would play in the gardens with Shisui and trained with Sasuke and Hinata behind the building, or she would watch over Konohamaru and wait for the Hokage to return to the building so they could have dinner either in the kitchen or at Ichiraku.
Memories lined the halls and bordered each grain of the wooden floors. Reminders of better times, of past conceptions and of a family in the making, never quite whole but not broken.
Stepping past several doors and walking across from the large library, Akihane finally stopped at the door where Hiruzen lay behind. His chakra was fluctuating, more so than the day before, but not as much as someone near death. At the door's front stood a visible ANBU officer, their eyes trained ahead while their posture remained stiff and unassuming. Akihane could sense the others dotted around, as well as the two medic nin on standby in the room across from Hiruzen's.
She did not hesitate after the ANBU officer allowed her through, merely stepped into the room with a blank look.
Hiruzen was sitting on his bed, a book laying on his lap while the windows showing the sunny outdoors were left open. A breeze gently brushed the receding grey hair on his head and the smoke he exuded after withdrawing from his pipe.
The man turned toward the doorway. His eyes were soft when they landed on her, gentle in a way that left Akihane breathless and wishing for a Sharingan if only to capture the moment perfectly.
"Akihane." Hiruzen greeted, his lips softening and a weight falling from his shoulders.
Akihane stepped forward again, feeling her leg quiver beneath her as her eyes watered.
As always, the man could read her mind. He understood what she wanted, what she needed before she did herself.
His arms open in a show of welcome, his small and frail body straightening.
Her lip quivered and she couldn't withhold the soft cry that left her lips. Her feet surged forward and she launched into the man's embrace, putting most of the pressure on the bed as she fell over his weakened body with a sob.
Slowly the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, wrapped her tightly in his embrace and buried his face in her hair.
She continued to cry, clutching at the man for dear life even as her world tilted and the tears on her cheeks started to flow more than they had before. She had hardly cried like this, with reckless abandon and no care for preconceptions or obvious signs of her distress, since Shisui's death.
Akihane did not let Hiruzen go, muttering soft apologies to the man that was every bit her grandfather as Tobirama was.
The whole time Hiruzen remained silent and kept her close, his heart warm and accepting.
I~~~~I
After a few hours, Akihane had managed to dredge up enough will to silence her cries if only to ensure her Grandfather's safety and continued health. She then took the book he had been reading before she came, one by the name of "A Tale of a Gutsy Ninja" By Jiraiya of the Sannin.
She had been a little surprised, but as she read on and the words slipped out her lips to meet the open air and her Grandfather's ears, she found herself indulging a little more in the man's story.
For hours she sat at Hiruzen's bedside, reading from the green book as the sun dipped lower and the breeze died down to a cold draft. The window was closed and the curtains remained open. The Hokage remained seated back in his bed, watching his granddaughter enjoy herself in his student's first book.
The entire affair was a simple one, a gentle reminder that times didn't have to always be stressful even in the face of one's demise.
It was only after the sun was finally vanishing and the two felt the tired urge to eat, did someone disturb their time.
Asuma walked into the room, looking both stricken and unsure while also determined. He carted a package of food under his arm, one Akihane recognized as a takeout box from the Barbeque joint that Shikamaru and Choji liked so much.
Akihane rose as the man approached, gently marking the page in their book while setting it beside the Hokage's bed.
In a simple gesture of affection, Akihane settled a kiss on her Grandfather's cheek before she turned to Asuma and gave the man an encouraging smile.
"I'm going to go check on Konohamaru. Take your time and find me when you are done. I'll be staying here tonight." Akihane told the Jonin, earning a rather sad smile from him.
"Alright." Asuma set the food down and Akihane left, reaching the door just as Asuma began talking.
"Dad-"
The man began as Akihane grabbed the door and gently shut it. The ANBU stiffened but did not counter her move, something that had her casting a tired smile to the Ninja for. That talk was private, and it was nice that they could understand that.
Akihane then made her way toward where she knew Konohamaru was staying, his chakra bound tightly and echoing her own suffering. The boy would be greatly affected by the Sandaime's death, she knew this. It was true that Konohamaru had lost his mother and father, one to a mission and the other to disease, but he had hardly been old enough to know them well or comprehend such a thing. The Sandaime, on the other hand, had tried his hardest to raise Konohamaru as well as be Hokage. With Asuma, it had been harder since there was still the distance the Hokage position created, but with Konohamaru the boy knew that while his Grandfather, the Sandaime did not have to raise him as his son, which allowed more room for a better relationship.
Stopping at the door to the boy's room, Akihane gently knocked.
The Kunoichi listened intently, pausing only when a muffled 'go away' could be heard. Humming with the patience of someone used to Uchiha-Level Sulking, Akihane turned and pressed her back to the door, sliding down the wood to sit down where she knew Konohamaru would see her shadow. The boy would know when she left and she wasn't planning to anytime soon.
Her head leaned back on the door and distantly Akihane wondered how things would have gone had she never been attacked that day, had the Sandaime not left her care to that of Uchiha Shisui. She wondered if she would still be here with her sturdy relationship with the Sandaime. She wondered if she would have met her brothers or if she would have been the same person.
Would she still be sitting here, waiting for Konohamaru to let her inside his room to talk? Would she still have to Hokage sealed in her mind while she waited for the end of her Grandfather each passing minute?
The door behind her creaked and Akihane looked toward the door handle.
Konohamaru stood there, his eyes red and puffy, his customary scarf held in his arms while his hair was left to fall over his face rather than be obscured by his odd helmet.
"A-Akihane-Neechan…" The boy bit out, his voice wavering like hers had hours before. The boy didn't bother holding back the sobs that started up again, falling toward her even as she sprang up to catch him.
Hauling the boy close in a way that Akihane was used to receiving but not giving, the Uzumaki walked toward the boy's messed up bed. She rubbed the boy's back and closed her eyes against the harsh cries of anguish leaving the boy's lips, his wails echoing in the room despite being muffled in her shirt.
Akihane arranged the two on the bed, still holding Konohamaru close and rubbing his back. She couldn't think of much to say to reassure the boy of his standings, so she started with the only story she could remember easily.
"You know, back before Konoha was founded, far before the Warring Clans Era or the Uchiha-Senju alliance, there had been the Sage of Six Paths, the Father of all Shinobi. He was a master of all the Ninja arts, then known as Ninshu, and showed those around him how to not only access chakra but wield it as well-"
She spoke nonsense, history, facts, and legends. She told Konohamaru about the Sage and his sons, told the boy about Konoha's founding and what she knew about Uzumaki Culture and history. She told him about an island surrounded by Whirlpools, about two Uzumaki that changed her life, and then she continued.
Her missions, her life, her time with friends and her experience with emotions. She told the boy about her fears and listened as his cries died down to soft sniffles.
Konohamaru fell asleep to the images of blondes and redheads, to the stories of twin swords and twin souls.
Akihane followed him not long after, closing her tired eyes even as her mind protested.
She never found out that Asuma sent a clone to tuck them in, nor that the man stayed with his father the whole night and regaled stories of old just as she had. She never found out.
Akihane only ever knew that when she woke that Konohamaru was noticeably better and that Asuma and Hiruzen had made steps to mend their bond before it was too late.
I~~~~I
When Akihane finished her godfather's first story, she took her time to grasp her Grandfather's hand and hold it tightly in her own.
The spark of truth, the insight that Jiraiya had inadvertently named her Naru through his writing, had been shocking. Following that, there was the fact that Jiraiya was able to portray such an avid problem with the Shinobi World, the fight for peace.
"Falling asleep on the job, Uzumaki-San?" A voice spoke up behind her, the semi-familiar tone drawing her head to the newcomer.
Her head turned sharply and her eyes leveled on the body of another aged Kage, the Tsuchikage.
The Iwa shinobi stood beside his granddaughter, the two relatively unharmed. Behind them stood two other visible ANBU officers, several more ANBU signatures tingling at Akihane's senses as they appeared next.
Hiruzen sat up smoothly as he gazed in amusement at the Tsuchikage, his eyes twinkling.
"Oniki. I would have thought you'd be back in Iwa by now." The man questioned, earning a snort from the Tsuchikage.
The leader started toward them, his lips twisting into a smirk.
"I figured I'd stay a little longer if only to bid you a farewell old friend." Oniki provided as he stopped at Hiruzen's bedside.
Akihane shifted from where she sat, inclining her head to the Tsuchikage and his granddaughter in a show of respect.
The man turned to her, staring unblinkingly at her face while mulling over something in his head.
Just as the stare was becoming awkward and Akihane was going to question the leader, he spoke up.
"Your Father was a giant thorn in my ass, Uzumaki-San. I do hope you won't be the same."
He told her, his eyes sharpening while his smirk turned smug.
Unwillingly Akihane's features turned up in shock, her mouth parting slightly as she gazed at him.
"W-What…? H-How do you…" She gave Oniki a wide look that was normally reserved for those that had surprised her out of her wits.
Kurotsuchi's brow furrowed as she glanced at her grandfather and the Uzumaki child, wondering just who exactly he was talking about. Iwa had quite a few enemies from Konoha, the most notorious being Konoha's Yellow Flash, the Red Demon, and even Hatake Kakashi. More followed under that list, but she couldn't think of any that really reminded her of the girl who had saved her Hokage.
Hiruzen raised a brow at Oniki and sighed heavily.
"I would appreciate it if you would keep that information on the down low, for now, old friend. Akihane is hardly in a position to protect herself from those that would hate that title."
Oniki easily waved off the Hokage's concerns, huffing. "Bah! As if they would believe me after Kurotsuchi's team brags about her actions in this failed Invasion. They adore the girl."
Akihane nearly choked, looking between her grandfather and Oniki, wondering how she was supposed to react.
Finally, she managed a few words.
She settled on. "What gave it away?"
"Well, your 'guardians' for one, and then that clever little trick you used to get into the barrier," Oniki told her.
Akihane paused and looked the man in his eye, her lips twisting into a soft frown as she debated the circumstances.
Shaking her head, the girl looked at Hiruzen.
"Jiji, does this mean I can stop with the plan?" The girl questioned.
Hiruzen hummed and nodded at her.
"I suppose. You'll still have to proceed with caution, but since we already let your Heiress-ship out of the bag, you might as well allow the rest through. You are a Chunin now, so that is no longer a problem."
The tired old man smiled at his granddaughter, ignoring the other shinobi for a moment. Akihane met his smile with one of her own, a heavy breath leaving her lips as she shifted on the bed.
"I suppose I should formally introduce myself then." Akihane slowly stood, facing Oniki with a smile as she bowed at the waist.
"It's a pleasure to meet your Tsuchikage-Dono, my name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Akihane Naru. I sincerely hope we can build a strong relationship and put aside the past." Akihane met the man's gaze as she rose, earning a rare smile from the Iwa Shinobi.
"The pleasure is all mine, Uzumaki-San," Oniki replied.
As he did so, Kurotsuchi backed up a step, staring at the blonde before her in shock.
Namikaze, the girl was a Namikaze. The daughter of Namikaze Minato, Konoha's Yellow Flash…
How had she not seen it before, the Kunoichi wondered. She had witnessed the girl's closeness with the former Hokage Guard Platoon, had watched her use Hirashin to enter the large purple barrier…
Shaking her head, Kurotsuchi tried to remind herself to breathe. The girl had started a friendship with Hesei and his teammates, had managed to garner respect from the students she had been loaned when she had to work her ass off to get it herself. Akihane was mending the damage her father had created, even if she wasn't trying to in the first place. She had done something.
Kurotsuchi would just have to give her a chance then.
I~~~~I
"I want to show you something," Akihane spoke up.
It had been an hour since the departure of Oniki and Kurotsuchi. The Tsuchikage planned to be back in Iwa before night fell.
Now it was nearing noon and Akihane looked to have decided on something she had been pondering for a while.
Hiruzen raised a brow at the girl, raising his gaze from the last bits of his Will that he had been going over.
"Oh? I can't exactly move, so unless it's here I'm not sure what you'll do."
Hiruzen told her, earning a rare exasperated look from the Uzumaki.
It felt nice to pull reactions from his Shinobi, especially ones that were reserved for very rare occasions.
"It's technically here. I just…Well, I need you to help." The girl told him, earning a rare look of shock from her grandfather. The man set his papers down, watching as Akihane chewed her bottom lip.
The girl reached over him, settling her hands on his own while meeting his warm gaze.
"Just trust me, okay Jiji?" The girl asked shyly, her behavior odd but not unknown to the Kage.
Nodding, Hiruzen allowed her to drag his conscious forward and into her own.
Moments passed in darkness before the two appeared again, this time sitting on a couch within a gloomily-lit library.
Wispy foxes still danced about the area, perking up slightly upon Akihane's arrival.
Hiruzen looked around in awe, only settling when his eyes met two pairs he had never quite expected to see again.
Akihane gently grasped his head, gesturing silently with her other arm to the men before her.
"I wanted you to talk to them…before you d-died." Akihane managed the word, choking even as she smiled sadly.
Hiruzen felt his throat tighten as he gazed at his past teachers, both looking exactly as they had prior to their deaths, if a bit younger.
His hands clutched onto Akihane's and he chuckled deeply, the sound cracking even as he smiled at Tobirama and Hashirama.
"Thank you."
I~~~~I
"You should sleep, Aki," Hiruzen spoke up, trying to placate the restless child laying her head by his hand.
Akihane blinked at him, the sleep in her eyes threatening to take over even as she pushed herself to stay up.
"I'm okay…" She spoke up just as she yawned, tears pricking the edges of her vision.
Hiruzen sighed and patted the girls head, earning another yawn from the child.
She had been up since the early morning, staying with him even after his ANBU had been dismissed. She didn't want to leave him alone when he passed on, he knew that, but he also knew it would hurt her more to remain awake.
"I'll be fine…" She mumbled again, her white hair like silk under his fingers.
"Sleep," Hiruzen told her again, chakra fueling his words.
A rather powerful Genjutsu sent the Kunoichi into a peaceful slumber while also garnering bone-rattling coughs from the Sandaime Hokage.
His entire body ached and he knew he wouldn't make it until the next morning. Hiruzen had accepted his fate, despite the circumstances regarding his death and those he'd leave behind. He had made peace with his family and friends.
"That was rather rude, Hiruzen."
The voice called to him, the owner of the voice sounding both wistful and resigned at the same time.
Hiruzen looked up, gazing into the once pure-violet gaze of another old friend.
"Did you come to see me off, Yin?" Hiruzen asked the Uzumaki, earning a dry grin as the man slipped through the doors of his room.
Yin stopped and leaned down to brush Akihane's bangs from her eyes, placing a finger on her forehead while channeling a bit more chakra.
A diamond formed, morphing into a four-pointed blue star after a few seconds.
Hiruzen withheld a gasp when he noticed what Yin had done, his eyes watery.
"You're giving her a part of that life force?" He asked softly.
Yin blinked up at the Sarutobi, nodding once before allowing his fingers to leave the girl's forehead.
"She'll use it better than I could. Intel I have gathered states that Jiraiya will be leaving with her to find Tsunade…She can teach her how to use it." Yin sighed heavily, trying to relieve the weight on his soul.
"She'll be safe in your absence Hiruzen. Do not fret." Yin murmured.
The words left his lips, and with them so did the remaining strength Hiruzen had.
His shoulders slumped and he expelled more air that soon led to more coughs, his eye rolling again his pillow while a gentle smile graced his features.
"Good." He replied.
Yin turned to the man, leaning over him.
Hiruzen watched, faintly surprised when Yin's fingers rested at his heart. Lightning chakra surged under his touch, resting on his skin without breaking through to his fragile heart.
"Ahh…I see now. I had thought you were afraid of seeing Orama, but now I understand…" Hiruzen muttered, his eyes ghosting closed.
Yin huffed out a slightly hysteric laugh at the man's words, trying not to cry at the sudden onslaught of emotions working their way through his fragile psyche.
"I am, I'm deathly afraid of what she'll say to me…But I can't run forever you know. If you die before the allotted time I bargained for…My contract is null and void. The Shinigami knows this."
The unspoken fact that the Shinigami allowed Yin to continue anyways drifted between them.
"I wanted you to have what I did not. I wanted you to be able to let go, and not let the pain and regrets rule your heart."
Yin whispered, faltering slightly when Hiruzen's hand weakly circled his wrist.
"Thank you, Yin…" Hiruzen told him, his eyes opening one final time to wink at the Uzumaki.
Power pushed through Yin's fingers and the Sandaime's back arched once, his face still peaceful even as his body settled lifelessly against his bed.
A tear fell from Yin's eyes and hit Hiruzen's hand as he clenched it tightly. His whole body shook and he bit down hard enough to draw blood from his lip.
Never Again.
He reminded himself.
Never Again.
It was his way of surviving, his way of accepting the hand he was dealt; It was the way he coped.
I will never again break a promise to someone I love. I will die before I allow harm to befall those close to me ever again. I will not fail, I will preserve your line and ensure she is happy. I promise you Orama, on my pathetic life and the sanity I still hold.
Yin flickered from the room, blazing fire working its way around his body like the tender embrace of a parent.
The flames burned away his tears and left him feeling less broken.
I~~~~I
Here it is; Hiruzen's official death. This chapter took longer than I thought it would, but your reviews helped me out immensely. I have had this whole thing planned for a while and several points made here will be made crucial later on. Please stay tuned for more!
Discussion-Pairings.
Well, here we are again. I recently mentioned pairings for my other story and figured I could probably provide some insight into this story. First thing's first, this is slow build. I really don't like the instant connections in relationships, so whatever relationship Akihane has will be progressional. As for whom it's with…well, that's for you to figure out. I've left hints as to which pairings are considered and I have mentioned which one I see as the most likely the more I write, but like with any real teenager's life, Akihane will have quite a bit of trouble along the way. I'm not comfortable enough to do CRA, or Reverse Harem, so sorry about that. I don't mind reading those stories, but I feel like that would also interfere with the plot and where I'm taking it. I have the key moments planned right now, so it's only a matter of getting them written and working the relationships into it.
