7 - Reassess
Akemi sat cross-legged in the open field. The summer humidity made his hair cling to his forehead, but the heat was tempered by the billowing wind.
Biwako, sitting across from him with her hands on her knees, grinned genially at him. Though her brow furrowed when a brown sparrow landed on Akemi's shoulder, the boy seeming not to notice it.
"Something wrong?" Akemi cocked his head, unaware of a second sparrow landing on his other shoulder.
Biwako, deciding it wasn't important, shook her head. "No, it's nothing." She smiled again. "Now how about we start with introductions? I know we're already aquatinted, but after today we'll be working with each other in a more formal setting, so there's a few more things I'd like to know about you."
"You mean what are my likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future?" Akemi smiled cheekily.
Biwako paused. "That's…oddly specific, yet entirely correct. How did you know?"
Akemi shrugged. "Good guess." His expression remained neutral, but there was a hint of a smirk curving his mouth like he was recalling something amusing. Once again Biwako let it go—she had a feeling many strange things were going to happen around this boy, so she might as well get used to it now.
"Regardless," she carried on, "Please tell me about yourself."
Akemi straightened up, and with a winning smile, boasted. "My name is Uchiha Akemi! I like to draw, jam on my piano, listen to sweet beats, and read sappy romance novels. I also enjoy spending time with my brothers, cooking, and taking photographs of cute or neat things."
His forehead scrunched together. "Uhh…I dislike people who hurt my family or friends, and when I do something incorrectly since I'm a perfectionist." His expression suddenly twisted with disgust. "I also hate bugs, they're gross." His head dropped, hanging low as crocodile tears started streaming down his face. "That's why I can't hang out with any Aburame. I'm just not strong enough..." He mourned.
Biwako sweatdropped when he continued to lament for a solid minute, but eventually prompted. "And your dream?"
Akemi sobered, expression growing serious. "I want to fulfill my role as Itachi's brother."
Biwako's forehead knitted together, perplexed by the ambiguity in his answer, and Akemi noticed so clarified. "I want to support my big brother as the future leader of our clan, and do everything I can to ensure Itachi succeeds in his dream so he can be happy. Maybe once I have then I can go back—" He stopped, seeming to want to say more, but suddenly unwilling to speak.
"Akemi-kun?" Biwako asked, concerned.
The boy blinked, coming back to himself. "Nothing, that's all." His tone was a tad too stilted for her to believe him, but the woman saw no reason to force him to explain, so moved on.
"Well," Biwako clasped her knees, "That was very informative, and your answers will help me adjust my lesson plans to fit with your wants and needs." A wicked gleam entered her eyes. "However, I require further information in order to properly assess your skill level."
Akemi frowned. "But couldn't you figure that out from my Academy test scores?"
Biwako bobbed her head. "Probably, but it wouldn't be as fun as this."
"As fun as wha—"
Biwako punched the earth and the ground split apart in a jagged line that zipped towards Akemi.
The boy threw himself up with a gasp, the sparrows flying off his shoulders as he leapt away seconds before the fissure could reach him.
He landed in a crouch two feet away from the cracked earth and gawked when he saw that the fissure stretched twelve meters down. Eventually dragging his wide eyes up to Biwako, who was still seated, Akemi exhaled. "How did you—!"
In a blur the woman vanished from in front of him, and reappeared behind him, her leg swinging up to strike his back. "Medic-nin: Rule Three!"
Her sandal brushed over Akemi's hair as the boy ducked, only for the earth to rise like a pillar beneath him, forcing the Uchiha back up so his head collided with her foot.
He cried out, tumbling off the dirt column and landing on his back in the grass, but Biwako punched the pillar's foundation with her enhanced strength so it started to tip over him. "A medic-nin must be the last of their team to die!"
Akemi, gasping, rolled away before the pillar could crush him and lurched to his feet, scuttling backwards.
"So prove to me you can avoid death!"
Akemi flew into a fighting stance, only to wince and rub his bruised head while Biwako pulled a golden stopwatch out of her weapon pouch. "You must survive the next twenty minutes without losing a single drop of blood," she clicked the start button and the countdown began as she put the watch away, "Or I will deem you unworthy of being my apprentice," she hissed.
Akemi tensed, his hand falling from his head as he raised his face, expression grim. "I see." He reached down for his weapons and Biwako smirked. "Then how about I—" He stopped short, eyes bulging and hands patting his sides frantically when he found no pouches on his person.
"You should pay closer attention, Akemi-kun." Biwako smiled coyly, pulling Akemi's pouches out from the folds of her haori and tossing them up and down tauntingly.
Akemi frowned. "When did you—"
Biwako dropped the pouches and sped through the dog, horse, and bird hand seals. "Fūton: Breakthrough!" She blew a strong gust of wind straight towards Akemi.
The child reared back, but couldn't move fast enough as the gust slammed into his gut, knocking spit out of his mouth and tossing him yards away. Biwako ended the jutsu, allowing the boy to fall, only for Akemi's body to pop upon hitting the ground.
Biwako gasped. "Shadow clone?" The boy's Academy records hadn't indicated he knew such an advanced technique.
"So you can use wind and earth jutsu?" Akemi's voice drifted up from beneath her and Biwako's head whipped down right as small hands latched onto her ankles. "And you used chakra scalpels to cut off my pouches while I was trying to duck under your leg."
Biwako's eyes widened at the sight of Akemi standing inside the fissure, his legs braced against the dirt walls. "Trust me, Biwako-sama, I was paying attention." He grinned victoriously, and yanked her into the fissure, letting her fall headfirst into its depths.
Immediately Biwako's hands flew through six signs and the water particles in the air converged at the bottom of the ravine to form a large bubble. Biwako flipped around so she landed feet first on the bubble, partially sinking into it before being launched up and out of the fissure.
The medic-nin dropped onto the field in a crouch, one hand splaying on the grass and her kneecaps creaking as she stood. "Such cunning." Biwako smiled to herself, noticing Akemi had taken his pouches back and was fleeing into the distance, though the boy had nowhere to hide when the land lacked any hills or vegetation taller than a shrub. "But there's still sixteen minutes to go." She sped through the tiger, hare, boar, and dog seals, using a shunshin to get in range, then slammed her palms on the earth. "Doton: Mud Wall!"
She watched the earth rumble and rise directly in front of Akemi, the dirt wall unavoidable as it stretched nine yards in every direction. She expected Akemi to crash into it—Taji certainly had—but the boy simply sped up and ran right up the wall.
Biwako's jaw dropped, not expecting Akemi's chakra control to be so advanced, but she quickly got over it and raised her hands, tugging at the chakra in the air until wind currents twirled around her fingers. She motioned her hands back, and the wind following her direction, pulled back towards her so fiercely it ripped some of the grass out of the field.
Akemi was quickly caught in the windstorm, trying in vain to cling to the top of the mud wall while his body flapped in the wind like a flag, but eventually his hands slipped and he soared backwards. However, he twisted around and Biwako immediately dismissed her wind jutsu when she saw him hold up the Tiger seal.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Even without Biwako's wind jutsu to enhance his fireball's speed, the woman barely leapt out of the way in time as the fireball crashed into the earth, scorching the ground and burning the grass. Biwako squinted when the natural breeze carried the ashy remains up into the sky, graying the surrounding area until she could barely see her own hands in front of her.
Biwako realized this was Akemi's intention when the boy's chakra signature winked out of existence. She stretched out her senses, but failed to detect him, meaning Akemi had either ran out of her sensing range or suppressed his signature so masterfully even an experienced jonin couldn't pinpoint him.
The latter proved true when her limbs suddenly seized up like ninja wire had been slung around her wrists and ankles, and Biwako angled her head back to see Akemi standing a good distance away, hands up, fingers arched, and an intense look of concentration on his face.
"Ah, the Puppet Technique," Biwako's lips curved upwards, her tone cheerful despite her predicament. "So your mother has taught you the ninjutsu which earned her the name Mikoto of the Blood Dance." The medic-nin briefly dwelled on the memory of the teenage Uchiha standing atop a hill, the full moon luminous behind her as blood ran down her arms and coated her nails like scarlet polish. Her sharingan eyes ablaze, Mikoto watched coolly while her last enemy dropped dead upon the blood-slicked earth.
"Really?" Akemi sounded genuinely curious, though his voice was strained. "I didn't know Mom made a name for herself."
"Well, you wouldn't." Biwako shrugged. "It was long before you were born."
Akemi, arms shaking as the chakra strings drained him of his reserves, grinned. "Still, I'd love to hear the story behind that."
"Maybe I'll tell you one day," Biwako faced frontwards, smile turning wicked, "Assuming you're not bitter over failing this test."
Akemi frowned, wariness trickling into his gaze. "You're sounding awfully confident for someone who's trapped."
Biwako smirked, huffing. "That's because a good trick has more than one use."
Akemi's brow furrowed right as he sensed a rapid gathering of chakra next to his legs, though it took him a second to realize it was coming from inside his weapon pouches. Immediately Akemi released his chakra strings and yanked the pouches off, tossing them high into the air seconds before they exploded.
Free to move now, Biwako leapt out from directly beneath the resulting shower of Akemi's shuriken and kunai.
"You snuck paper bombs into my weapon pouches!?" Akemi squawked, looking indignant though his voice was shaking while he hurriedly caught one of the falling kunai and started using it to bat away the other weapons raining down on them. "You could have blown my legs off!" He shouted without facing her.
Biwako cocked a brow, pulling out her own kunai and easily knocking aside the final falling shuriken. "I did say you must prove to me you can survive." She tightened her grip on her weapon and charged Akemi who quickly swung back to block her attack with his kunai.
Their blades clashed and scraped against each other, metal groaning and sparks flying as Biwako's kunai inched closer to Akemi's chest only for the boy's trembling arm to force it back towards the woman in a gradual push and pull motion.
"No enemy ninja will coddle you," Biwako glared. "Nor shall I!" She released her kunai and stepped aside so Akemi, not expecting the loss of pressure, overbalanced and fell forward on his hands.
"Test over!" Biwako slapped her palms together, lining them finger to finger, and blue chakra scalpels jutted out from each of her hands.
Akemi twisted around as Biwako's chakra scalpels suddenly flared out, the blue chakra glow expanding and elongating until the two scalpels merged. Akemi's mouth fell open at the sight of the blue chakra sword hanging over him.
"Sorry, Akemi-kun," Biwako apologized sincerely while she swung her joined hands down, bringing the chakra sword towards Akemi's stomach.
Only to freeze three inches away, the woman's face paling as she gasped while below her Akemi threw out the strongest wave of killing intent he could manage. It didn't last long, not against a jonin, but by the time Biwako recovered Akemi had scrambled to his feet and was sprinting away.
"Clever boy." Biwako smirked, pulling apart her hands so the chakra sword dispersed. "But there's nowhere to hide," she taunted loud enough for the wind to carry her voice. "You've lost most of your weapons, and I suspect you're almost out of chakra if you've resorted to wielding killing intent." Her hands formed the snake sign and she slammed her palm on the sooty earth. "Doton: Mud Wave Jutsu!"
The earth started rolling like the tides of the sea, the jutsu quickly reaching Akemi and making him stumble. The boy waved his hands wildly to regain balance, and Biwako took advantage by flinging a shuriken at him, but Akemi managed to knock it aside with his kunai. She was going to try again when suddenly Akemi dropped his kunai so his hands could flash through several signs. She expected an attack, so ended her jutsu to raise a kunai in front of herself, but was unprepared to see Akemi release a gust of wind beneath his feet and launch himself straight into the air.
Biwako quickly sprung up after him, throwing five more shuriken midair when she saw Akemi about to summon another fireball. Yet Akemi either dodged or knocked back her shuriken with his kunai. Exactly like Biwako expected him to.
The boy yelped when ninja wire suddenly coiled around his body and squeezed him while Biwako yanked down on the wire tied to her fingers and connected to the shuriken she'd thrown. "Like I said..." Biwako's face fell as she landed on the ground and the boy plummeted, unable to catch himself with how tightly he was bound. "Test over."
Akemi gasped when Biwako caught him, the impact still strong enough to knock the air from his lungs. "No..." He choked out when she summoned a single chakra scalpel and unhesitatingly sliced a shallow cut into his forearm, drawing a thin line of blood.
"I'm sorry." Biwako was genuinely sympathetic as she lowered the shell-shocked boy to his feet and untied the wire from his body. "You didn't pass."
"B-but..." Akemi's lips wobbled, crystal liquid building in his eyes and hands curling into his fists.
"Rules are rules." Biwako shook her head, heart heavy as an anvil because she had been eager to take the Uchiha under her wing—perhaps too eager if he couldn't even survive twenty minutes. Had she read him wrong? Had Taji's memory blinded her to the truth?
"Was I…even close...?" Akemi despaired, breaths growing haggard.
"Akemi-kun..." Biwako sighed, not wanting to tell him, but before she could speak, the stopwatch rang, answering the boy's question in the worst possible way because Akemi merely needed to have lasted a few seconds and he would have passed.
She looked up to console him, but stopped at the sight of the child's beaming face. For a moment she thought Akemi was suffering from a psychotic breakdown when he shouted. "Got ya!"
"What?" She hadn't finished the word before Akemi's form shimmered and the blood disappeared from where she'd cut him, the boy's skin untouched.
Biwako gasped. "How—!"
Akemi smirked. "Henge." He shrugged. "Made it look like my limbs were a couple centimeters thicker than they actually were. I figured you wouldn't outright stab me—even though you did try to blow me up," he groused briefly before his tone evened out again. "So when you tried to make a surface level cut, you ended up just cutting through air."
Biwako blinked owlishly, but soon elation spread over her face. "Congratulations, Akemi-kun!" She grasped his shoulder. "You passed."
The boy beamed and pumped his arms in victory. "Yes! Now I can do this!"
Biwako tilted her head aside. "Do wha—"
Akemi dropped like a stone and passed out on his face.
...
Gradually the seven-year old regained consciousness.
His eyes fluttered open, and the feeling of someone else's chakra mixing with his own warmed his chest as he took in the blurry white and brown figure above him. Rapidly the colors solidified into Biwako who was crouched beside him, her hands aglow with healing jutsu while she ran them over his arms.
She stopped when she saw Akemi was awake, and asked, "Do you feel alright?"
Akemi blinked sluggishly. "Yeah." His voice gained some strength. "I no longer feel like my teacher tried to blow my legs off."
Biwako raised an eyebrow and mused. "You're really not letting that go anytime soon, hm?"
Akemi cracked a smile. "Not in this lifetime."
Biwako chuckled. "Always so dramatic, aren't you, Akemi-kun?"
"I prefer the term 'extra' actually." The Uchiha turned to the side, examining his new surroundings. They were in a forest, he was propped against a tree and if he squinted, he could make out buildings in the distance, meaning Biwako had brought him back to the Village.
Akemi lit up, head snapping back to his teacher while his eyes sparkled. "You sure are tough, Biwako-sama!"
The medic-nin was taken aback, but soon grinned. "Ah, and you were rather impressive yourself."
Akemi instantly shook his head. "Yeah, right, you were going easy me. Otherwise, I'd be dead." Before she could respond, the shine in his eyes intensified. "I mean, you cracked the earth like the Slug Princess Tsunade! I didn't know anyone else could do that! How'd you learn?"
Biwako opened her mouth to speak, but Akemi was still gushing. "And you made a sword out of chakra! I didn't even know that was possible—or was that really just a super large chakra scalpel?" He shook his head, not even noticing Biwako's attempt to reply. "Either way, it was awesome! And that's without mentioning how cleverly you used your earth and wind jutsu! Can use the other elements too—"
Biwako burst into laughter, and the boy's mouth clicked shut out of surprise before he began. "Oye—" Akemi cut himself off, hastily returning to Katonese. "I mean, what's so funny?"
Biwako shook her head, chuckles tampering off. "Oh, nothing really, it's just refreshing having someone compliment my non-medical ninjutsu. Most people seem to forget medic-nin aren't mere healers, but trained shinobi too."
Akemi nodded. "I know what you mean, my whole clan thinks the medic-nin profession is 'unbecoming' for a true shinobi." He turned up to the sky where the clouds lazily drifted pass. "One day, I hope to change their minds, and get more Uchiha to enter the Medic Corps." He turned back to her. "After all, we have the best eyes for it, second only to the Hyūga."
Biwako's eyes widened, remembering something suddenly. "That reminds me." Her dark orbs bored into Akemi's. "Have you developed your sharingan yet?" A strange look flashed over Akemi's face before he schooled it, and she assumed it was embarrassment. "It's fine if you haven't, just let me know when you do. Like you said, the sharingan allows one to see chakra, so once you develop it I'll have to adjust your lessons to compensate for your new abilities."
The boy's expression eased. "Oh, well, I'll let you know when that happens." His eyes glittered again. "When I start using my sharingan, that's when you'll teach me how to crack the earth with my bare fists, right? And show me how to make that cool chakra sword?" His body trembled with anticipation.
Biwako huffed, crossing her arms. "You're getting years ahead of yourself, child." Akemi shrunk, deflating, but the woman kindly added. "I'll teach you the more advanced jutsu once you have the chakra reserves for them—"
Akemi's head snapped up, starlight in his eyes. "Really!?"
"But first..." Biwako reached back and pulled out a stack of papers. "Homework!" She dropped the thick packet on his lap.
Akemi stared uncomprehendingly at the stack, so tall he could barely see over it. "Huh?"
Biwako stood and set her hands on her hips, grinning. "That's a list of all the textbooks I want you to buy. You'll be following along in them while I give you lectures, and completing weekly reading assignments in them, so remember to bring them with you every Friday."
"Lectures?" Akemi's eyes grew large.
"I also gave you a list of all the gardening tools and plant seeds you need to buy before I can teach you how to cultivate a herb and poison garden."
"Gardening?" Akemi broke out in a cold sweat.
"And there should be a map there marked with locations where you can complete your one thousand hours of community service before the end of the year. I'll introduce you to all the personal running the places, starting with the Konoha Orphanage next week."
"O-one thousand..." Akemi's eyes glazed over.
"And let me know if you don't understand the directions for your medical research paper, which you must write, edit, and publish within the next three years. Of course, we don't have to worry about that just yet." She patted the catatonic boy's shoulder, Akemi merely making a guttural noise in response.
"Anyway, take some time to look over the packet, and I'll see you next week on Monday, ten o'clock PM in front of the Konoha Orphanage." She leaned in towards him, her smile razor sharp. "Goodbye, my apprentice." Biwako turned and left with a pleasant grin on her face, pretending not to hear the screech of despair behind her.
Oh, Biwako was certainly going to enjoy torment—training a young mind again.
.
The front door slid open, and Akemi entered the genkan shouting, "I'm home!"
His mother echoed his greeting from the living room while he removed his sandals and placed them on the shoe mat. He was closing the door behind him when the thundering of little feet crossed the corridor ahead, and Akemi turned back right as a tiny body ran into his leg.
"Kemi!" Sasuke threw his arms around his brother's calf and beamed at him with rose-colored cheeks. "Kemi home!"
"Yes," the seven-year old grinned and bent down to ruffle Sasuke's hair, making the toddler giggle. "Akemi is home." He suddenly scooped Sasuke into his arms, and the toddler shrieked with delight as Akemi squeezed him. "And he missed his tomatito so much!" He pecked Sasuke's forehead with an exaggerated smacking sound while he stood.
Sasuke unabashedly kissed him back on the cheek and Akemi's smile widened, but then he noticed the child was wearing a navy blue yukata and his hair smelled like strawberries. "Already had your bath, huh?" He eyed the child suspiciously. "Did someone sneak out of bed again?"
"Nu-uh!" Sasuke shook his head, pouting. "Tachi no home!"
Their mother entered the genkan before Akemi could reply, a hand on her hip and fond exasperation curving her lips as she sighed. "You're right, Akemi. Your otouto was supposed to go to bed twenty minutes ago." She sent the toddler a stern look, but Sasuke merely puffed up his cheeks in defiance, and Mikoto couldn't stop a chuckle from leaving her. "But he's so determined to wait for Itachi he keeps slipping out of bed the second my back is turned." She crouched to pat Sasuke's head, beaming. "Already a sneaky little ninja, aren't you?"
Sasuke blinked, unable to fully comprehend his mother's words, but seeing he was being cooed at, his pout melted into a sunny grin. "Hai!"
"Don't worry, Kaa-san." The woman looked at Akemi. "Itachi will be here soon."
Mikoto frowned, confused. "Oh, I didn't know you two were training together."
Akemi shook his head. "We weren't. I just sensed him entering the compound a few minutes ago. He's almost here." His eyes flicked to the doorway.
"Ah," Mikoto brightened with understanding. "Your sensory abilities have been improving lately." She pinched Akemi's cheek affectionately, causing a pleased blush to spread over his face. "Keep this up, and by the time you graduate all the team leaders will be fighting to have you." Her kind eyes bored into his, and Akemi was touched the woman treasured him so. He knew she was only going out of her way to praise him because of the insecurities he'd revealed to her over a week ago, but he appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
The front door slid open, startling his mother into releasing him and standing, but Akemi merely turned back and chirped. "Hi, Nii-san!"
"Tachiii!" Sasuke lurched forward, reaching for his older brother and nearly slipping out of Akemi's hold in the process.
Itachi blinked, surprised to see so many family members in the genkan, but quickly recovered and nodded at his twin and mother. "Akemi, Kaa-san." A smile spread over his lips as he faced Sasuke, the boy moving so the toddler could grasp the front of his shirt while he reached up and poked Sasuke's forehead. "Hello, Sasuke."
"Tachi! Tachi home!" Sasuke tugged at his shirt as Itachi retracted his fingers. "Play now!"
"Oh, no, you don't." Mother swooped in and pulled Sasuke into her arms, causing the toddler to cry out. "It's time for bed, Sasuke."
"Nooooo," the child wailed, tears springing from his eyes and arms flailing in a desperate attempt to reach his brother. "Tachi! Tachi!"
Itachi felt a knife slice across his heart at the sound of his littlest brother's cries, but before he could face a moral dilemma, Akemi stepped forward. "How about I tuck him in, Kaa-san?"
Their parent eyed Akemi curiously, but soon nodded, and Akemi swiftly retook the toddler who immediately buried his face in Akemi's neck, sniveling. "There, there, Sasukito, it's okay. You can play with Itachi tomorrow."
Sasuke shook his head. "Play now!"
"But Sasukito," Akemi lowered his voice like he was telling a secret, "You have to go to bed…because Tomato-san misses you."
Sasuke paused his sniffling, raising his head to see Akemi frowning. "Toma...miss Sasuke?"
"Yes, Sasukito," Akemi's frown deepened, "Tomato-san is sad because you left him on your bed and he misses you."
Sasuke's forehead scrunched up, clear worry in his misty eyes. "Can Sasuke help Toma?"
Akemi nodded, slowly walking down the hall while his mother and brother watched. "Tomato-san will be happy if Sasuke goes to bed, so how about it? Will you go to bed, Sasuke?"
"Hai-hai!" The toddler agreed emphatically, his voice drifting from the staircase and bringing a smile to Itachi's face.
Mikoto noticed the tender look adorning her firstborn and warmth blanketed her chest. It was rare to witness Itachi smiling so openly, and even rarer for such a look to appear in her presence.
Mikoto's lips slanted down. Not that Itachi hated her, but it took a special person to make Itachi light up like that, and she simply wasn't one of those special people. Though this saddened her, and a part of Mikoto mourned how Itachi wouldn't let her mother him like his siblings did, she was glad Itachi at least felt he could ease up around his brothers.
As if sensing her thoughts, Itachi turned to her and his smile dimmed until he was expressionless. "Thank you."
Mikoto's eyes fluttered, taken aback. "For what?"
Itachi bent down to remove his sandals, and gaze on the floor, stated. "For what you said to Father about Akemi."
Mikoto's blood ran cold, the woman recalling how she'd thought she heard someone downstairs the night she argued with Fugaku. So one of her children had been listening in after all? Perhaps it was an accident, maybe Itachi had simply been getting a glass of water when he overheard them. Or maybe Itachi wanted to know if his mother shared his father's opinion, if she too was a potential threat to his twin's happiness...
Itachi was observing her, features giving nothing away, and though Mikoto was saddened to see her son hide his feelings from her, she forced a smile. "You're a good brother, Itachi." Mikoto looked away. "And I like to think I'm a good mother, and a good mother takes care of her children."
Itachi stared at her, and for a second his features loosened into something young and appreciative, but then the moment passed and he merely nodded before heading to the staircase.
As Itachi went to his bedroom, he paused by Sasuke's partially opened door and peeked inside. The room was dark, but the moonlight streaming in through the curtains highlighted his slumbering younger brother who laid under the covers on his bed, curled up beside the tomato-shaped beanbag Akemi had taken to calling "Tomato-san".
Itachi smiled, wishing he could linger, but he'd performed quite a few D-rank missions in people's yards today, and his clothes were crusted with dirt so he went ahead to his bedroom.
He took a quick fifteen minute shower in his personal bathroom, and came out to find his twin dressed in his nightclothes and sitting on his bed.
Itachi didn't so much as blink at the sight, knowing their talk was long overdue. They had tried discussing Akemi's sharingan in-depth the first couple of nights after Itachi's graduation, but Father had been home and neither felt comfortable broaching the subject with him nearby. Then the following week both Akemi and Itachi found themselves too tired to talk thanks to their new training schedules.
In Itachi's case, the team-building exercises his genin team was being put through, while physically easy, often proved to be mentally-taxing. Not that Itachi's teammates were unskilled or lacking, but they were prone to bickering, and for some reason Tenma kept trying to goad him into strange competitions. Itachi had been hoping his twelve-year old teammates would take things more seriously, but they seemed hardly better than the children at the Academy.
"Can we talk?" Akemi asked, bringing him out of his thoughts, and Itachi nodded, moving to flick off the lights and close the door before sliding into bed alongside him.
Akemi pulled the covers over their legs, awkwardly starting. "So about my sharingan—"
"You didn't know you had it," Itachi said, having realized from Akemi's surprised expression.
"Yes—well, it's a bit complicated." Akemi scratched his head. "I figured I had a dōjutsu, but I wasn't sure it was the Sharingan because my eyes' hypnosis ability was unusually powerful."
"You hypnotized someone?" Itachi asked, alarmed.
Akemi bobbed his head. "Yeah, I didn't mean to, but I had just developed my sharingan and..." He quieted, bitting his lip and fidgeting as he debated how to explain.
Eventually he sighed, and with a determined scowl, admitted. "I gained my sharingan during the Nine-Tails Attack." Itachi gasped. "The Hokage told me not tell anyone this, but I know you can keep a secret."
Itachi wasn't too surprised to learn his twin had been attempting to prevent the Nine-Tails Attack—he'd always suspected that was the case—but he was shocked to hear that a man with a sharingan had taken control of the fox and maneuvered the beast into attacking Konoha. Akemi was insistent the man was not an Uchiha of Konoha, but perhaps a Kekkei Genkai thief. However, Itachi was stunned to learn Akemi's newly-awakened sharingan had been powerful enough to hypnotize a man with a fully-mastered sharingan.
Itachi frowned, mind whirring. "Maybe whatever makes your sharingan so powerful is also the reason it looks different."
Akemi angled his head, thinking it over. "You said my sharingan was gold and has two tomes, but was there anything else strange about it?"
Itachi nodded. "It made the skin around the corner of your eyes gold too."
Akemi raised a brow. "Really? That kinda sounds familiar..."
He muttered to himself, but when he didn't elaborate, Itachi asked, "So you can't control your sharingan?"
"Nope!" Akemi tossed up his hands, shaking his head. "I can't even figure out how to turn it on."
Itachi's frown deepened. It wasn't safe for Akemi to have a sharingan he couldn't control. If it accidentally activated and he couldn't turn it off, Akemi could suffer chakra exhaustion, or overextend himself trying to adjust to the sharingan's enhanced vision, leading to him being seriously injured. Also, considering how strong Akemi's hypnosis was, and potentially his other sharingan abilities too, Akemi might endanger others without realizing it.
"Shisui can train you." Itachi decided, making Akemi look up. "He already knows about your visions, and figured they might be the result of a mutated sharingan, so you can trust him to keep it a secret."
Akemi immediately agreed. "That's a good idea. Next time you see him, could you ask if he would be willing to train me?"
Itachi nodded, glad his brother was being reasonable and would soon have his dōjutsu under control, even if a small part of Itachi was upset his twin had gained his sharingan before him.
Some of his disgruntlement must have showed because Akemi suddenly smiled. "Don't worry, Nii-san. Even if I can't train with Shisui, we'll be able to train our eyes together pretty soon." He winked while Itachi gasped at the implication he would be gaining his sharingan in the near future. "But I guess there's nothing we can do about it right now." Akemi flopped back on his pillow. "So let's get some rest, I've got a late night meeting with Biwako-sama tomorrow and—"
"Why did you start studying medical ninjutsu?"
Akemi stilled, surprise flashing over his face before he turned towards Itachi. "Uhh, that's a random question," he gave his brother an inquiring look, but Itachi just stared at him, so Akemi's lips flattened into a line as he grew serious. "I want to help people, and I like studying biology." He turned away, voice softening. "And I want to help you achieve your goal."
"Why?"
Akemi frowned, sitting back up and eyeing his twin. "What's with the questions? I'm your brother, of course I want to help you—" Itachi's face crumpled, stunning Akemi into silence.
"Akemi," Itachi looked at him with pity, making Akemi's heart race, "I'm glad you want to support me, but I just don't understand how you can...when you hate being a ninja."
Akemi's eyes widened. His mouth parted, but no words came out and Itachi's heart snapped in two because Akemi really did hate being a ninja.
He'd only recently realized it after Shisui encouraged him to test his stealth skills by following more experienced ninja without getting caught. This included shadowing his parents, his squad leader, other adult Uchiha, and Shisui himself. However, Itachi decided to add Akemi to that list due to his twin's exceptional sensory abilities.
So Itachi started following Akemi while his twin was out completing mundane tasks such as visiting his friends or borrowing books from the library. The first couple of times Akemi had noticed Itachi, so he had stepped out and pretended like he was intentionally seeking Akemi for something. However, the third time Itachi managed to follow Akemi to the private Uchiha training grounds without any signs of his twin noticing.
Cautious at first, Itachi remained at a distance behind some bushes, but he eventually edged closer until Akemi twitched and started glancing around. Itachi stayed hidden up in a tree, wanting to see whether Akemi had heard him or sensed him.
After a minute, Akemi relaxed and Itachi realized he had been heard, not sensed, meaning his chakra suppression ability was improving!
Akemi moved in front of a target board, and Itachi made to leave when his brother sighed. "Here we go again."
Itachi paused, hearing the absolute loathing in Akemi's tone. It was rare for Itachi's twin to be anything but chipper, so concerned, Itachi had remained, watching his twin toss kunai at the target, switching the hand he used periodically and throwing the knife from different angles. Akemi almost always hit dead center, even when he flipped through the air and tossed two kunai simultaneously at target boards set on opposite sides, both hitting the black center dot at the same time. This didn't surprise Itachi, he knew Akemi's shurikenjutsu was as advanced as any Uchiha's, but what did surprise him was Akemi's expression.
His twin's eyes were cold and distant as if he wasn't even seeing his targets, and his jaw was set with grim determination. Akemi never looked like this during practice with him and Shisui, so Itachi assumed his twin was having a bad day. Except Akemi looked exactly the same the next time he trained by himself, and when Itachi really thought about it, weren't Akemi's smiles a tad too wide whenever they trained together?
The longer Itachi pondered it, the more evident Akemi's distaste for shinobi training became. Like how whenever Itachi and Shisui sparred, Akemi always stood back and spent his time practice throwing shuriken or using his wind and fire jutsu to smash logs. Sometimes Akemi even sketched or took candid shots of Itachi and Shisui. Also, while Akemi didn't seem to mind Shisui showing him new taijutsu or ninjutsu moves, he always tried them out on practice dummies, not actual people.
Yet none of this really added up until yesterday on Sasuke's birthday when Mother presented toy shuriken to their little brother. Itachi barely reigned in a grimace as Sasuke took to the wooden shuriken like a moth to a flame, hating the reminder that one day his precious sibling was going to be apart of the shinobi world. That Sasuke's unbridled smile would wane and his hands would be dipped in red.
Itachi looked away, unable to stomach the image his head had formed, and thus ended up catching sight of Akemi's outraged expression before Akemi hid it away. Immediately Itachi understood Akemi felt the same, that neither of them wanted Sasuke to become a shinobi, though it was already inevitable.
However, it was while thinking this that Itachi also realized Akemi had given Sasuke's toy shuriken the same look he gave his real shuriken when he trained by himself. Akemi didn't just want Sasuke to never become a ninja, he himself didn't want to be one.
Akemi shrank back on the bed, wide-eyed, but Itachi quickly caught his shoulders, and ignoring Akemi's flinch, said, "I'm not angry."
Akemi looked away. "Nii-san—"
"I don't want you to be a ninja either."
Akemi swiveled around, mouth dropping open. "Y-you don't!?"
Itachi's eyes crinkled as he smiled a painful grin. "I don't want either of my brothers to be in danger." Sympathy welled in his eyes. "Or to have to do something they don't want to."
Akemi's eyes turned downcast. "It's okay, Nii-san. I know my role in this life, and there's nothing you can do to change it, so don't worry about it."
Itachi hated how tired and worn Akemi sounded, clearly having come to this realization long ago. It was true that as a clan heir Akemi could not escape the shinobi lifestyle. Unlike a less prominent member of the clan, who was free to enter the civilian population if they so pleased, Akemi had to be trained in case something happened to Itachi or Sasuke and he needed to take over as the future clan head.
"I don't hate being a shinobi, by the way," Akemi picked at the lint on his bedsheets, frowning, "It's not my preferred career choice, but at least as a medic-nin I'll help more than I'll harm." He spoke in that world-weary way of his, something Itachi attributed to his visions. No doubt any child would mature rapidly if they were born self-aware with a head full of knowledge.
Akemi laid back down, turning away from Itachi, and recognizing his twin didn't want to talk anymore, the eldest laid down beside him without a word. However, after a couple of minutes, Itachi turned, leaned towards Akemi, and whispered. "When I'm Hokage...I'll make it a choice." He grasped the bedcover tightly in his fists, having never dared to speak of his dream out loud, but knowing Akemi knew about it anyway, he resolutely said, "No one will have to be a shinobi if they don't want to be... Then you'll be able to do whatever you want, okay?"
Akemi didn't answer, and Itachi wondered if his words had been wasted until Akemi rolled over and burrowed into his side, arms sliding over Itachi's shoulders. No words were ever spoken, but between the two of them there never really needed to be.
.
Two months passed before Fugaku saw Orochimaru again.
To be fair to the Snake Sannin, Fugaku was so busy the first month he didn't even notice that so much time had gone by until he came home for lunch one afternoon and found Akemi at the table sporting a new look. His front hair was longer, the strands brushed to the side in a bang, and for the first time in his life, Akemi looked distinctively different from Itachi.
Mikoto gave him an odd look when he brought up Akemi's hair change, which made sense once his wife explained Akemi had been wearing his hair like that for weeks. It was then Fugaku realized Orochimaru hadn't contacted him for over a month, and outraged, the Uchiha had attempted to hunt the snake down, but the Sannin was out on a long-term mission and Fugaku did not have time to chase after him. Not when his clan was constantly demanding he do something to fix their ever deteriorating status, and every week it got a little harder to placate them. Pretty soon there would be no pacifying his fellow Uchiha, but Fugaku didn't want to think about that eventuality so instead drowned himself in his Village assignments and even put extra hours into the Police Force, personally finishing up all their crime reports so they could be submitted to the T&I Division in a timely manner.
One early morning Fugaku was doing just so inside Police Force HQ when he had to go downstairs and double check the date of an old cold case, only to stop short as he found a tall, pale figure sitting on a swivel chair, drumming his fingers idly on a metallic table full of empty flasks.
Fugaku gritted his teeth when Orochimaru had the audacity to raise a brow at him as if asking what took him so long to show up.
"This building is on Uchiha district property," Fugaku marched over to the man and loomed over him with folded arms, though this just seemed to amuse Orochimaru. "Any non-Uchiha entering the building without explicit permission is committing a crime."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru asked, feigning consideration before he smirked. "Well it's a good thing you need me then, hmm?"
"It's been two months," Fugaku growled because he didn't have a rebuttal.
"Now, now, Fugaku-san." The Uchiha's jaw clenched at the Sannin's patronizing tone. "We could throw accusations about who stood up who all morning, or we can discuss what I've uncovered about that little boy of yours." A curious gleam entered his eyes. "If Akemi can be labeled as such."
Fugaku stilled, anger draining away because there was an implication there, Orochimaru knew something.
The older man revealed his teeth when he saw he had Fugaku's attention, and airily explained. "I understand now why your forensics team struggled to find abnormalities in Akemi's bio-samples. That's because there are none, Akemi's body is perfectly human."
Fugaku scowled, stretching the tear troughs on his face. "I thought you said you found something," he spat. "Or were you lying—"
"At least," Orochimaru cut him off, "Akemi's samples appeared normal until I appraoched them from a new angle."
Orochimaru paused, clearly baiting the Uchiha, and as much as it stung his pride, Fugaku gave in and asked, "What did you do?"
Orochimaru's smirk broadened. "The problem is Akemi's body is no different from any other human's, so that is what all our tests showed. However, when you compare Akemi's samples to another person's…especially to someone who derived from the same zygote as him." A manic giddiness illuminated his face. "Then the abnormalities become clear."
Fugaku's eyes flashed red. "You have samples of Itachi!? How!?" He demanded, mind already conjuring images of the Snake Sannin stalking his son, but the pale man merely laughed.
"No need to panic." Orochimaru waved him down. "I have total access to the Konoha Hospital's records, and simply borrowed a few samples from Itachi's file."
Fugaku wanted to stew in his anger over the Hokage allowing such a snake to have easy access to private hospital records, but his need for answers took precedence. "What did you learn?"
Orochimaru's mouth curved up. "Akemi and Itachi have one hundred percent identical DNA."
Fugaku didn't speak, certain he'd misheard. Eventually though, he got his jaw working again and sputtered. "Of course they do—they're twins!" His chest heaved while he wondered if the Sannin's warped mind had finally taken a toll on his intellect.
Orochimaru frowned, looking equal parts offended and disappointed before he asked in his blandest tone, "You don't know much about identical twins, do you?"
Fugaku stiffened, realizing he was missing something, and refolded his arms as his eyes narrowed. "Identical twins come from the same fertilized egg, technically they were the same person until the zygote split into two eggs within their mother's womb."
"Yes, that is correct," Orochimaru faux clapped, clearly unimpressed.
Fugaku bristled until the man continued. "Twins do start life with identical DNA, however, once the twins are born, things begin to change." Fugaku's forehead scrunched together, uncertain where this was going. "They eat different things, take in different nutrients, and participate in differing activities, all of which impacts their height and weight among other aspects. This is why you can compare two twins and find one slightly shorter than the other, having a different shoe size or even suffering from a genetic disorder the other twin doesn't have."
Fugaku, frustrated by the long-winded explanation, demanded. "Just what are you saying, Orochimaru?"
"I'm saying," Fugaku flinched at the wave of white-hot killing intent that brushed over his senses, the Sannin glaring at him for his impatience, "Identical twins shouldn't have identical DNA after they're born. Yet Akemi's DNA is a perfect replica of Itachi's."
Fugaku paled. "You mean Akemi is a copy of Itachi?"
Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, pleased the younger man was starting to understand. "Yes, at least his body is. I even compared their fingerprints to be sure and—" Beads of sweat formed along Fugaku's brow while Orochimaru smirked. "Perfect match."
Fugaku's breath hitched, the man well aware as the leader of the Police Force that no two people had the same fingerprints. It was something that set every human apart from each other.
But Akemi wasn't human, was he?
Fugaku stared at the floor, hiding his expression as his heart raced. "But what could this mean?"
The Sannin shrugged. "If you want my opinion, Akemi is not Itachi's twin so much as he is a creature that copied Itachi's body while your son was still in the womb."
Fugaku had been thinking along similar lines, but hearing it aloud made it feel so much more real. "Akemi copied my son's body…" He exhaled harshly. "Did...did he not have a body before or... Why would he..."
Orochimaru was unfazed as he mulled it over. "Perhaps whatever creature Akemi is does not have a solid body, maybe he needed one so he somehow split Itachi's egg while it was in your wife's womb in order to give himself a host body. Perhaps your wife was just conveniently pregnant at the time or—" A cruel smirk curved Orochimaru's mouth. "Maybe Akemi wants something from your clan."
Fugaku's legs turned to jelly, and he took a seat beside Orochimaru before he could fall, squeezing his eyes close because it was as if everything he'd feared was being confirmed by the scientist.
"What can I do?" Fugaku hissed through his teeth, folding his hands on his lap to keep them from shaking. "Even with this evidence, Akemi has endeared himself to so many I doubt anyone will listen to me."
For a moment the Uchiha despaired in silence, but soon a voice whispered. "I could get rid of him for you."
Fugaku's head shot up. "What?"
Orochimaru smiled, but his eyes were cold. "Regardless of the creature's abilities, Akemi is still confined to the body of a seven-year old child that hasn't even graduated from the Academy. It would be easy for me to get him alone and...remove him from your life."
Fugaku was too numb with shock to be sure, but he thought he was mildly horrified as he asked, "You want to kill Akemi?"
Orochimaru angled his head, feigning confusion. "Well, of course, Fugaku-san. Akemi is an unknown threat, we can't just let him run free. Who knows what he's capable of or what he's planning. If we don't get rid of him now, Akemi could become a threat to not just your clan, but all of Konoha."
Fugaku massaged his forehead, but didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. He didn't know what to do, it was all happening so fast. Just an hour ago he'd shared a meal with his wife, bid her goodbye, headed to work, all everyday things, and now here he was contemplating murdering his son—No, Akemi wasn't his son…but that didn't make it any better, did it?
Regardless, the Sannin was right, callous and cruel maybe, but still correct. Good shinobi eliminated threats to their Village, no matter what form they took…and if Orochimaru got rid of Akemi, Itachi and Mikoto would grieve, but they would get over it one day…and Sasuke was so young he wouldn't even remember enough of Akemi to mourn.
Fugaku tried very hard not to remember Mikoto's tearstained face back when they thought one-year old Akemi may have drowned in the lake. Or the blind panic he felt when Mikoto told him Akemi was missing.
Fugaku sucked in a sharp breath of air, ignoring how the Sannin was watching him with all the focus of rattlesnake who had cornered a rat. "I need time," he admitted quietly. "To think over my options."
"I understand," Orochimaru inclined his head. "Take all the time you need." He got to his feet and stared down the Uchiha. "You'll find me when you're ready." He started to walk away, footsteps making not a sound. "I know you'll do what's right for the sake of your clan."
With that, Orochimaru's presence disappeared from the building, and Fugaku was left alone with his thoughts and choices.
.
Crickets chirped from their hiding place in the grass beside the dirt path Akemi was walking along. The boy could barely make out the Orphanage ahead through the shadows of night until he was standing right in front of it, pausing a moment to examine the school-shaped building curiously before climbing up the concrete steps and knocking on the door.
He waited a few seconds, but soon the door creaked open and Biwako's stern face greeted him.
"Hi, Biwako-sama." Akemi grinned, unbothered when Biwako's face didn't lessen in severity as he stepped in.
"Rule One." Akemi flinched, recalling how Biwako began their battle last week with similar words. "A medic-nin must never give up on treatment until their patient's dying breath."
Akemi's eyes fluttered and he cocked his head. "I'm mildly concerned by the amount of times you mention death around me."
Biwako didn't respond as she turned and shuffled down the hall. Akemi followed after a second, his senses on high alert even while they entered the lobby where a short woman wearing a black and white kimono, which reminded Akemi of a nun's outfit, smiled at them from behind a square oak table.
Biwako introduced Akemi to the caretaker called Keiri, a senior staff member, before leading him down the corridor to where the children were sleeping. Akemi calmed down once Biwako introduced him to a couple other caretakers, rationalizing that his mentor wouldn't attack him so close to slumbering children, and soon all his worries faded away when Biwako mentioned they were going to see the nursery.
The Uchiha was so busy wondering if he'd run into a certain blond toddler that he missed the sympathetic look the gray-haired caretaker shot him after Biwako ushered the man out of the nursery and waved Akemi in. The seven-year noticed Biwako didn't follow him into the dark room, but the cries of upset and hungry babies quickly distracted him. Akemi had to squint to see since only four bare windows allowed moonlight into the room, but eventually he could make out about two dozen cribs organized into four neat rows with spaces between them acting as aisles.
"This is where they keep children sixteen months and younger," Biwako explained unnecessarily, considering at least half of the babies were bawling at the top of their lungs. "I expect you to treat every infant in this room until they fall sound asleep."
"What?" Akemi whipped around but already the door was closing.
"I'll check on you in two hours!" Biwako called cheerily from behind the wooden door while what sounded like a heavy lock turned, ensuring Akemi couldn't leave the room.
For a minute the boy just stared slack-jawed at the doorway, but soon he slumped, and running a hand down his face, sighed. "Aye, yai, yai!" He muttered to himself in English. "She left a seven-year old alone in a room full of babies, what is wrong with the adults in Konoha?"
He shook his head, exasperated with the Village's lack of child endangerment laws, before approaching the nearest sobbing child. "Good thing tengo veintidós años actually."
Akemi fixed a smile on his face and reached down into the crib, carefully cradling the bawling infant dressed in a pink onsie. "Alright, let's see if we can get you fed."
…
Biwako returned to her office in Konoha Hospital, sitting down with a heavy exhale as she eyed the stacks of paper cluttering her desk. Some of them were reports on hospital management while others were requests for supplies or approval of new Hospital staff.
For thirty-nine minutes the head of the Hospital skimmed through paper after paper, signing off on some and stamping a handful.
Eventually she stopped to flex her cramped right hand, turning to gaze out the window until she stopped seeing floating statistics and kanji. Somewhere out there her husband was also going through mountains of paperwork, that or he had weaseled his way out of work, which he was prone to during the weekend.
Biwako clicked her tongue ruefully, resolving to give Hiruzen an unexpected visit and a talking to if she found him slacking. After all, why should Biwako be the only one to suffer?
A soft knock on the door brought the medic-nin out of her daydream, and idly she said, "Come in."
Biwako's eyes widened when Akemi poked his head in and smiled. "I'm done!"
Biwako stared at him. "D-done?"
Akemi's smile melted into confusion. "At least I assume I'm done, or did you want me to treat the older kids too? I checked on them, but they were all sleeping and the caretakers seemed to have it under control so I—"
Biwako held up her hand, and he quieted. "You mean...I left you in a room full of crying infants, and you got all of them to calm down and fall asleep...in forty minutes?" She gawked.
"Well, it was more like thirty-five since it took time to get here..." Akemi trailed off, noticing the woman was in shock. "I'm going to assume you meant for it to actually take two hours."
"How did you finish so fast?" Biwako demanded, recalling that even Taji had needed seventy minutes to settle all the babies, and by the end of it her clothes had been rumpled and her hair resembled a rat's nest.
Akemi's lips drew to a line, and in a deathly serious tone, he said, "I have a younger brother with the energy of a thousand suns and the lungs of an opera singer. Trust me, this was nothing."
Biwako blinked, but eventually just took his word for it. "I see."
"So is that all for tonight?" Akemi smiled again.
"Yes, Akemi-kun." The medic-nin rose. "You're done, and I can walk you home—"
Akemi shook his head. "There's no need, I'm only a shadow clone." Biwako's eyebrows inched towards her hairline because she hadn't even noticed Akemi's chakra was cut in half as a result of him splitting into a clone. "I'll pop myself so the real me knows he can leave the orphanage." He turned, but when his hand touched the doorknob, he stopped.
"By the way," he looked back over his shoulder with a contemplative look. "Do you know if they have any leads on the masked man from that night?"
Biwako blinked, surprised by the topic change. "My husband hasn't mentioned anything." Her mouth slanted down while she struggled not to recall that terrible night or that glimpse of a bright red eye gleaming from across the room. "And he would have told me if he did."
"Just like he's told you about the watchtower they've set up to spy on the Uchiha."
Biwako's jaw hit the desk, her eyes blown open. "What?"
Akemi examined her, then nodded in approval. "So you didn't know, why doesn't that make me feel better?" He muttered.
"Akemi-kun," her eyes narrowed dangerously, "What are you talking about?"
The Uchiha pinched the bridge of his nose, looking almost pained as he glared at the ground. "ANBU has been spying on my clan, they've even got a tower full of telescopes, maybe even surveillance cameras to watch us.
Biwako shook her head, heart thudding in her chest. "No, you must be mistaken—"
Akemi's features morphed into a stern yet somber frown, a look better suited for someone her own age. "I've sensed multiple ANBU's chakra signatures lingering outside the Uchiha compound, and even if I didn't, my father and the other adults are well aware we're being watched." His expression hardened. "We're shinobi too, ya know, did the Hokage really think we wouldn't notice?" His tone was bitter, but mostly sorrowful.
"Akemi..." Biwako's face pinched, the woman truly at a lost.
The shadow clone shook his head. "Whatever, it's not your fault. I just wanted to know if the Hokage believed me about the masked man not being an Uchiha, but clearly he doesn't trust me."
Biwako rounded her desk, but didn't reach out as the boy forced a smile. "Well, no matter. I'll see you on Wednesday, Biwako-sama. Night!" He nodded before he popped and left the woman staring at the space he'd occupied. Eventually she returned to her desk just to fail at focusing on her paperwork for the rest of the night while she pondered what she'd just learned.
...
Sitting on the steps of the orphanage, Akemi twitched as the memories of his shadow clone filled his mind. For a second his face crumpled, but then he steeled himself and stood.
"So that's how it is, huh?" He turned to stare up at the night sky, a contemplative frown marring his face.
Akemi had been hoping his words would have at least made the Hokage doubt Uchiha involvement with the Nine-Tails Attack, but after nearly two years, it was clear the Hokage hadn't been swayed.
Yet already they had passed the halfway point to the Uchiha massacre, and though no one but him knew it, the clan only had six years remaining. As someone who'd existed for twenty-nine years, Akemi knew how fast those six years could pass if he let them.
But Akemi wasn't going to sit back and let his brothers suffer, so no more viva la vida.
Time to get to work.
It took me eight weeks to update, but it's another long chapter so I hope that satisfies everyone!
Also, I am truly amazed by how much this story has blown up in the last few weeks, and I'm glad so many people are enjoying Akemi's journey in the Naruto world! I can't even describe how great it felt reading all of your kind reviews, and know that I appreciate how much time and effort you put into writing them :)
Next time: The calm before the storm... Fugaku learns how Hiashi met Akemi, and makes his final decision. Meanwhile Akemi prepares a dangerous move to prevent the massacre...
To Forgot my name: Yes, I am the same ethnicity as Akemi/Aurelio, thanks for reviewing ;)
By the way, all reviewers are welcome to comment in English or Spanish, I'll understand you either way/Les invitamos a revisar en Español o Inglés :D
Stay safe, everyone!