.: I hope Christmas was well! I sure was busy, considering it's been like two weeks since I last updated. But I decided to investigate Akuma's character a bit more. There are still a few flashbacks I want to write about with him, but I will try to spread them out so that Dolia's storyline is not constantly being disrupted. To be honest, Akuma has changed a lot from when I first came up with him. I have taken him down a path I was not expecting. He has become a different kind of villain, which fits the Naruto universe pretty well. After all, the villains in Naruto come across as broken heroes most of the time. Do you think Akuma fits that category? And Thomas, I will admit that I have been planning on a little bit of Naruto having a talk no jutsu with Sasuke about Dolia when the time is right, because you are right that Sasuke and Dolia do mirror each other to an extent! But who knows, what I have planned for a conclusion may not end up what happens. I actually can take the ending in different directions. Some are happy, some are sad, and some are bittersweet. We'll just have to see what my heart desires when we get to that point in the story. :.
The Archangel of the Hidden Leaf
Chapter 31:
Leader of the Pack
In an underground shelter where the walls seeped nothing but cold, there was an echo of water dripping steadily into a metal bucket. Any noise from the outside was blocked out. That meant every noise inside the shelter was amplified for whoever resided inside. But for the man who was responsible for the occupants, none of it bothered him.
Akuma sat at his desk with a single candle lit, writing in his worn journal that contained every single detail known about the Tenshi Clan's archangels. His pencil scratched against the surface of paper he manually added to the spine just so he could keep all of the information in one place. But the truth was that his journal was long overdue for retirement. Usually, it laid wide open because it refused to stay closed; the number of papers outmatched what the spine could physically handle.
But Akuma continued to test its limits. It was a sentimental issue that was holding him back from beginning a new notebook. Memories of writing research information in it when he first was tasked with the mission of excavating archangels from caves returned to him every time he sat down at this table. The fondest of those memories was Akuma staying awake at night to write while Tenshi, a pregnant archangel, slept with her head in his lap.
Being a subordinate of Orochimaru, he spent many months finding archangels that were scattered across the Land of Fire and bringing them under his care. Most of them were alone, having been separated from others amidst the chaos of the final cave excavation, and were stuck with fending for themselves in an environment they were unfamiliar with. Akuma learned many new things about them due to their circumstances, such as the need for group structure to live day to day. Not having a whole population to rely on truly was a test on their kind.
Not everything he did was a success, though. Archangels were tricky beings to deal with. After the trauma they had faced, they were understandably untrusting of people like Akuma. Months were spent just trying to convince a single one to come under his protection. What else was tricky was managing their remaining numbers while keeping them controlled; if too many of them were grouped together, then they could overpower Akuma's team and ensue a devastating massacre. So, he decided to separate them all for the time being. One would only interact with another archangel when breeding was involved, which was something still planned for the future.
The only exception for isolation so far, though, was an archangel who had a very young child with him. Akuma found the pair hiding a year ago. The daughter was ill, so to save her life, Akuma cared for her from a distance by providing food with medicine in it until she was healthy again. Afterward, the father grew more trustworthy of the one stranger. Keeping them both together was the only way to not break that trust, so Akuma chose to personally watch over them both in this underground shelter. That way, the father would not feel that his child's safety was being threatened by the presence of any other subordinates working in Project Archangel.
Pausing in his work, Akuma listened for any echoes in the shelter. It was so quiet that he felt as if he truly was the only inhabitant inside the walls. The child must be asleep right now.
Akuma settled down his pencil and traded his grasp for a wicker basket with food in it. He might as well make a round in case the father was hungry during his time of peace. But he also just wanted to see the little girl again. She was less than a year old. Watching her grow normally without any issues was rewarding for him.
Finding the correct door, Akuma knocked lightly three times before entering the room. Lanterns in all four corners lit the proximity. The male archangel sat against the wall, disinterested in the makeshift bed or chair Akuma had available for him to use. Hearing the familiar knocks did not alert him as he cradled the napping baby wrapped in a blanket.
"Hungry?" Akuma wondered aloud, showing him the basket.
He lifted a hand in response, indicating he wanted to take the contents inside.
Officially invited in, Akuma came closer to give him what he wanted. Then he remained to squat in front of them to peer at the baby. Her small patch of brown hair was already showing hints of curls, and her small chubby cheeks showed a successful weight gain since recovering from the illness. There was no worry radiating from the father, but he still wanted to check.
The father kept his gaze fixed on Akuma while consuming a small piece of meat. The medical shinobi reached a hand forward to brush his palm against her soft forehead. The temperature was normal. He then shifted his palm to gently rest against the baby's chest. Her breathing was steady. Feeling a little bit deeper, he found her heartbeat to be steady as well.
"Healthy," he communicated with a smile, removing his hand from the offspring. It had been this way for the last few days without any change. Happy relief filled his senses.
As the father brought his daughter closer to himself to keep her warm, Akuma felt a tug to ask him the same single-word question once more. "Name?"
He glanced up for a brief second but dropped his blank eyes just as quickly. The familiar grief made Akuma's smile dull. The absence of the baby's mother was more than obvious. Akuma had no choice but to assume she was dead based on the emotional turmoil this archangel was experiencing. He was not exactly sure why, but the child had no name as a result. Perhaps the mother was going to name her?
When guessing the age of the infant, Akuma had the misfortune of pairing the date of birth with the destruction of the final archangel cave. If the mother perished that day, then the harsh grief of losing her was sensible. The medical shinobi was very empathetic of those emotions. So, he respected his decision of keeping the baby nameless for now. Hopefully, that would change soon, and then he might learn the father's name, too.
Suddenly, the entrance to the archangel's room was flung open, alerting both of them. "Akuma!" Kyojin exclaimed with panic in his voice. "You have to get out of here! Now!"
"What's happened?" he inquired, standing in front of the two archangels.
The father wanted to bear his fangs but was stopped when the baby let out a frightened cry from the loud noises.
"It's Lord Orochimaru. He's been discovered by the Leaf. The ANBU and Hokage are after him, and he's ordered everyone to flee the Land of Fire."
Panic filled Akuma. Danzo was supposed to keep everything Orochimaru was doing under wraps! What had happened to that shield? There were several different hideouts designated for Project Archangel scattered around the Land of Fire. If the archangels in them felt that their safety was threatened, they could attack the people trying to protect them. Looking down at the father as he comforted his startled offspring, he wondered what he could do to ensure everyone's safety. But the situation was not good regardless of how he planned the best possible outcome.
"Kyojin, travel to the hideouts in the east and help everyone escape to the Land of Lightning. I'll have everyone in the west escape to the Land of Grass. Hurry."
"Right," he replied, disappearing.
Akuma reached a hand down to the archangel. "Come," he beckoned, hoping he would understand.
He gazed up at Akuma with an unreadable expression on his blank face.
For the sake of your little girl, please understand what I need from you, he desperately thought.
To his relief, the archangel took his hand and was helped to his feet. "Follow," Akuma continued, leading the way out of the hideout. Their footsteps were quick as the baby's whimpers lessened. They both stopped when the sunlight struck them from above. Feeling the warmth pleased the father for a split second, but it was quickly interrupted by the sound of shinobi closing in on them.
The panic intensified inside Akuma. Kyojin was nowhere in sight, so he prayed that he would escape with his head start. But now there was no guarantee that the three of them would share the same fate. If the Hidden Leaf got a hold of the two archangels, they would either imprison and separate them or kill them on the spot. A repeat of what the Hidden Stone did to eradicate the Tenshi Clan was something Akuma wanted to avoid at all costs. To his dismay, he realized that he would have to release the two he was meant to protect. The chance of finding them again was a slim one, but if it secured their skyward escape, he was willing to make that gamble.
He pointed to the sky as it remained enshrouded on the other side of all the leafy branches, looking the father directly in the eye. "Fly," he told him.
The archangel blinked twice before gazing up to where Akuma was pointing. He was aware that something was wrong, but Akuma's request did not translate well for his lack of vocabulary.
"Please. Go," he tried prompting. All he had to do was bring out his fleshy wings and take advantage of all the atmosphere he could to find a new place to hide.
Over Akuma's shoulder, the archangel spotted a stranger wearing an animal mask burst forth from the foliage. Then another one. And another. Each one halted abruptly upon seeing the snow-white man with no face standing in a beam of sunshine, but weapons were drawn. The archangel instinctively bore his fangs with a threatening snarl, unleashing his unholy appendages and thrusting his daughter into Akuma's arms.
Before Akuma could even blink, he accepted the baby, and he felt his feet leave the ground. The archangel switched roles as the protector when he wrapped his arms around Akuma and flapped his muscular wings hard enough only once to propel all three of them up through the canopy of tree branches. The team of ANBU stood in shock as the creature reached a realm they could only dream of being in.
Astonished by the stunt, Akuma hugged the baby deep into his chest as the earth loomed far underneath them. They were very safe now as long as grips were not loosened. The sound of wind rushing past their ears was the only thing disrupting the ominous silence among them. Akuma could not understand why the archangel included him in their getaway. The only inference he had to go on was that it was a tradeoff; Akuma saved the infant daughter's life, so the father was going to repay the favor. Although the medical shinobi was more than thankful for the selfless act, he could not help but feel a pit develop in his stomach.
His journal. It was still sitting at the table with the single candle illuminating the hand-written contents scribbled on the crinkled and ripped paper. The Hidden Leaf's ANBU were probably inside the underground shelter now and confiscating anything relaying information of Orochimaru's experiments. All of the research he worked hard to gather was all gone now.
The breath left his lungs defeatedly as he gazed up to where the archangel was taking them. The entire world was up for the taking. This was what true freedom was like. What a gift it was to possess such a kekkei genkai. A pained smile crossed Akuma's face. A lot of his work was gone, but at least he did not lose the father and daughter. He made an internal promise to the father at that moment that his child would be the beginning of the Tenshi Clan's prosperous rebirth. After all, that was the least he could do to atone for his past sins.
Leaning his back against the wooden wall, Akuma stood with his eyes closed and arms crossed underneath his concealing cloak. Next to him stood Sasuke, and between them was a closed door. Sasuke kept his gaze straight ahead toward the rest of the small harbor town, not paying much attention to anyone who passed them. He wondered how much longer they were going to wait for Kyojin and Yume to just sign papers. But he also took the time to go over what all the conversation included back on the boat.
He already knew that an Akatsuki member being added to their group was a possibility. But he did not know that their next destination was the Hidden Sound Village. After traveling there with Orochimaru on many occasions, he never encountered anyone named Kemono. Either he was not much use to Orochimaru, or he was someone who preferred to stay in the shadows. The Snake Sage shared many secrets with Sasuke over the last three years, but there were still many things he did not know about.
"Akuma," he began, "is there any use Kemono or this Deidara guy will have? We're using Kyojin and Yume as a cover, but what about them?"
He kept his eyes closed as he answered: "I'll tell you all that when we're in the clear."
Understanding, Sasuke fell silent.
Not long after the brief exchange, the door between them opened back up. Kyojin and Yume both emerged with a scroll that held legal documentation of their new marriage. "Congrats," Akuma said, pushing himself away from the wall.
"Thank you! I guess we'll be on our way now," Yume replied, taking her new husband's hand without hesitation.
"Alright. Kemono will just roam the village until he finds you."
"Sounds like a plan–" She tugged his hand to turn around "–It's honeymoon time!"
Before getting too far away, Kyojin cast a thankful glance over his shoulder at Akuma. He still was unsure if Akuma knew if this was a dream come true for them, but regardless, he was going to relish the time alone with Yume. Then maybe when all this is over, they can continue this life under Lord Orochimaru's leadership.
Akuma and Sasuke began walking down an adjacent path through the seaside village. The four subordinates were all going to the Land of Fire, but it was best if they separated now. Two were traveling toward the central and two were traveling more north.
Once they left behind the wooden buildings in exchange for trees, Akuma felt they were secluded enough to properly tend to Sasuke's curiosity. "Kemono was recruited by Orochimaru as a child. He's developed his skills in building technology ever since. In Project Archangel, he assisted in making the underground hideouts for us to keep archangels in. As a thank you, I gave him a pair of wings. When Project Archangel was canceled, he was moved to the Hidden Sound to help Lord Orochimaru build the village. As for Deidara, I helped him forge a forbidden jutsu when he was still a Hidden Stone ninja. He uses it for the Akatsuki, and it allows him to fly, but I believe Kemono can whip something up for him make his attacks have a longer range."
"Is that why you're not occupied with a time limit?"
"Well, that's part of it. But I just don't see the point in rushing anything in all honesty. The best possible outcome for this situation is Danzo just handing the girl over when nobody is paying attention. If that turns out to not be possible, then we can possibly infiltrate and retrieve her ourselves. Right now, I'm preparing for the worst possible scenario, which is fighting for her. Regardless of what the future holds for us, timing is not important."
Sasuke did not press anything else after that. He understood Akuma's personality more now. The man was smart and had his intentions thoroughly inspected before acting upon them. That was why his trust in his comrades did not waver. He claimed that doing this would improve his standing with Orochimaru, but the more Sasuke was around him, the more he recognized the lie. How could someone with a sincere heart work for someone so monstrous and hungry for power?