14 - Recovery
Akemi flung himself off the bed and to his feet, yet his left leg wobbled, knee bending and nearly toppling him over. He growled and caught the dresser edge to keep standing, ignoring his ankle's buckling as he stormed towards Orochimaru.
The man smirked, the flames outside dyeing his face blood red while the Uchiha lurched at him and grabbed a fistful of his chunin vest.
"Are you out of your mind!?" Akemi thundered, voice strained and chest heaving as oxygen rushed in and out of his lungs.
He shoved Orochimaru back against the window, anger erupting when the man's smile became crooked with glee. "I'm just following orders," he said, amusement crinkling his pale eyes.
The Uchiha bared his teeth. "I don't care." He jabbed a shaky finger at where fire blazed against the night sky and people scattered around chunks of flaming mountain debris, children cowering in their parents' arms. No shinobi were in sight, which made Akemi's anger burn brighter because Orochimaru was harming civilians.
"I can't stop it." Orochimaru shrugged, still using the overly cheerful voice of Hyuga Hikari that was discordant with his callous words. "The bombs were set on a timer, I no longer have control over them."
"You're a legendary Sannin," Akemi snapped, grip tightening on Orochimaru's vest. "You're really trying to tell me you can't stop a few bombs?" he snarked, though his heart was pounding.
Orochimaru chuckled, seeming pleased. "Of course I could, but Akemi-kun," he rose from the window and Akemi lost his grip on him, staggering back while the man leaned into his face, "Why should I?"
The Uchiha froze, fear and sensibility pouring over his anger like water to fire as he finally recognized his predicament. He couldn't force Orochimaru to do anything, not on a good day and certainly not when he was injured like this. His golden Sharingan wouldn't activate, Akemi could sense his chakra and natural energy were still too drained from punching that boulder.
Akemi gripped the dresser, thinking frantically. Okay, so he couldn't use brute force to get what he wanted, but he still had his mind and the unorthodox ideas it gave him even back in his first life.
Whether it was the painkillers or he was just that desperate, he didn't know as he blurted the first thing he could think of. "Because there's another way to protect Konoha without destroying Kumo."
Orochimaru raised a brow, clearly intrigued, and Akemi carried on before he could regret it. "We could blackmail them."
"With what information?" Orochimaru asked, though he sounded eager. "It would have to be something grand to get Kumo to heel."
Akemi swallowed, but every second he wasted could be costing some innocent their life, so he bowed his head and asked, "Would holding one of Kumo's jinchūriki hostage be enough?"
Orochimaru's eyes widened while Akemi raised his steely gaze. "I already know the Eight-Tails was sealed in the Raikage's brother because Minato-sama used to tell me stories about fighting him during the Third War, but I sensed another beast in a girl when we first arrived in Kumo," he stuttered, praying the snake assumed it was from his nerves and not because he was lying.
"I have enough chakra to make a genjutsu with my voice, so as long as I can track down one of them we could make Kumo do whatever we want." He smirked, though it was a lifeless thing on his face. "Don't…don't you want to see if I can pull it off?"
Orochimaru looked surprised. Then a broad, manic smile spread over his lips. "Oh, Akemi-kun," he laughed lowly, "I am dying to see what you're capable of!"
Akemi smiled a grin that was all teeth. "Stop those bombs and you got yourself a deal."
He offered his hand and resisted shuddering when Orochimaru accepted it, his fingers gripping his hand tight. "I'll turn off the bombs, and leave the fate of Konoha and Kumo in your hands." Akemi's face shuttered, eyes going blank while a tidal wave of fear ran over him. "Try not to die."
The Uchiha frowned, but didn't say his own potential demise was the least of his concerns as the screams outside reverberated through the air like a death knell.
.
The boy dropped down onto the stone street spotted with puddles—they must have used water jutsu to put out the fire—and held up the ram while starting to jog.
"Come on," Akemi whispered as he threw out his senses and glanced around.
Smoke grayed the entire district ahead, coughing people dusted with soot and hair gray with ash stumbling from it, so he turned into an alley that was clearer. Still, he squinted against the ash carried along the bitter wind, his throat and nostrils burning while he inhaled some smoke.
He coughed and scanned for an unusually large chakra signature, but nothing was standing out to him as he sped onto a bridge over a frozen river, his bad leg dragging behind him. Wasn't the Raikage overprotective of Killer B? He might have forced the Eight-Tails into hiding in that case, so his best chance was finding the Two-Tails jinchūriki.
Akemi raised his good hand and shot out chakra strings to a platform on a nearby mountain, yet only two threads formed on his fingers—dang, not enough chakra for that. Unable to swing, Akemi released the strings and looked down at his injured arm. He watched his hands fumble to weave signs for a wind jutsu, fingers numb and slow-moving due to the pain killers. On the last sign, his fingers went the wrong way, and he hissed as he had to start over. Hurry...hurry...finish now.
It took a full minute for him to complete the signs, and he sagged in relief when chakra finally coursed through his hands. He straightened up as wind billowed from his palms and aimed his hands down so it launched him up into the sky. Akemi didn't consider how painful the landing was going to be while he formed the ram sign, searching the ground below for a glimpse of either Kumo jinchūriki.
A blue light glimmered on a distant mountain top and his eyes widened—the Two-Tails!—before he directed his senses there.
Akemi gasped when a dark, overwhelming chakra signature bowled him over like a ten-foot tidal wave and the wind ceased moving from his hands as he lost focus. He started to plummet, but quickly threw out a gust of wind to shoot himself up at an angle.
He flew high, gaze on the mountain top with the blue light. The Two-Tails jinchūriki, she had to be there!
Sweat dripped off his brow, chilling his skin while his vision wobbled as he flew over a smoke cloud. Soon the wind billowing from his hands weakened, and he dropped lower and lower until his feet touched a large fountain.
He splashed into the short water, stumbling from the force of his landing and dropping to his knees when his bad leg gave out. His chakra reserves were dangerously low, but he needed to reach the Two-Tails somehow.
Akemi pushed himself up in the cold water, body heavy with exhaustion and bottom half of his black pants waterlogged and freezing. Still, he climbed onto the fountain ledge and looked up at the mountain half a mile away. The blue light was now a clearly definable shape of a blond girl aglow with blue chakra, and carrying what looked like three injured, unconscious people.
He would have to jog as fast as he could, using short burst of wind jutsu to meet her at the bottom of the mountain. Or maybe use some smoke bombs to get her attention. Just something, anything, because in his state there was no way he'd be able to climb up to her without assistance.
The Uchiha stepped to the ground, chest heaving while he focused on taking one step after another—vamos, Aurelio!
Yet as he went to take another step, his foot stopped midair and he backpedaled before even registering the strong chakra stretched out in front of him like an electrical fence. He quickly called on his Sharingan, uncaring if anyone saw when the entire world was at stake, and his gaze flickered golden for a second, stinging his eyes painfully. However, it was enough for him to see the electrical web on the ground. He recognized the jutsu right before a shadow fell over him, and he instinctively threw himself into a roll while a man crashed down and stabbed a kunai where he'd been.
Akemi stopped in a crouch, breathing ragged as he twisted back. He gaped, seeing Motoi rising on trembling legs, left arm hanging limp with the arm guard torn over it, scarf missing, blood dripping from under his hair to his forehead, and left eye swollen and black.
"What," Motoi rasped, glaring heatedly. "Type of monster did Konoha send to my village?" He threw his kunai at him and Akemi quickly pulled out his own, knocking the blade away.
Yet Motoi pulled out four shuriken, blue lightning sparking across them, and Akemi's eyes widened because lightning-infused weapons could cut through stone and moved incredibly fast—his rubber arm guard couldn't protect him against a direct hit!
Akemi stood up, pausing when the world blurred, but he soon steadied himself and said, "You're right, Orochi—Hikari came here to harm Kumo, but I didn't know he—"
"Are you their jinchūriki?" Motoi demanded, coughing a bit. "The Nine-Tails jinchūriki, right?"
Akemi shook his head, but it made his vision swim so he stopped. "No, I'm telling you I'm not here to hurt anybody. I want to help—"
Motoi pulled back his shuriken, but his movement was slower than usual, granting Akemi time to throw several smoke bombs at his feet and a kunai towards the man. Motoi glowered when the kunai landed in front of him, the boy having missed, and tossed the shuriken blindly into the smoke. Akemi threw himself flat on the ground and raised his arm guard over his head while a dull pain rang through his injured arm under him.
Something hot sliced over his guarded wrist, brushing over the skin beneath it, but Akemi didn't focus on the pain as he quickly picked himself up. The smoke was thinning so Akemi ran, tearing out a kunai with a paper bomb from his weapon pouch and chucking it up before rushing out the smoke.
His plan worked, and Motoi was staring at the bomb exploding in the sky before he noticed Akemi was running at him. The man bared his teeth, and grabbed another kunai right as Akemi leapt up and kicked him in the chest.
The man fell back, grunting under Akemi's weight while the Uchiha fell on his chest and reached for his kunai.
The Kumo-nin dodged his hand and went to stab the child's head, but Akemi leaned back far so the knife sliced over his nose. Yet this made the boy overbalance and fall on his back, rolling off the man.
"Monster!" Motoi flung himself up and drove the kunai at Akemi's neck, but stopped, jerking back like he'd hit a wall.
"What?" Motoi tried yanking his hand forward, yet instead, his wrist twisted to the left and the kunai turned to himself. Slowly the blade inched towards his good eye, which widened while his entire arm shook as he fought to hold back his kunai.
"I'm done playing nice."
Motoi looked over his knife and saw Akemi glaring at him, standing up with a hand raised and fingers pulling a thin ninja wire hooked around his digits. He followed the wire to the ground and saw it was looped through the hole at the end of the kunai Akemi had thrown at him. And at the other end of the wire was his hand holding his kunai—the boy must have wrapped the wire around his fist when he reached for Motoi's blade. Meaning the smoke hadn't been just a cover, but a misdirection so he wouldn't notice the ninja wire.
"Did you know I play piano?" Akemi growled, fingers trembling as he fought against Motoi to drag the kunai closer to his eye. "It actually helped improve my dexterity and is the reason I'm so good with chakra strings and wire traps."
His face hardened and Motoi paled as his own kunai neared his eye, eclipsing his vision. His other arm was too busted for him to grab his tied hand, and since he was sitting, he couldn't use his full strength to hold the kunai back—that was why Akemi kicked him down, to destroy his center of gravity.
"I've missed the Two-Tails thanks to you." Akemi stared hard at him, teeth gritted while he fought to hold the kunai a centimeter away from Motoi's eye. "So tell me where the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki is."
"I'll never tell you," Motoi snapped, the kunai tip wavering right under his eye.
Akemi grew frustrated. "It's important, I'm trying to save—"
Motoi scoffed. "You can't fool me anymore, not when I saw your golden eyes." Akemi stiffened. "And Dragon said that was natural energy you unleashed, but there's no way a seven-year old is a Sage." He glowered. "So what are you?"
Akemi exhaled harshly. "Fine, so you saw me. Then lets trade secrets, I'll tell you why my eyes turn gold and you tell me where the Eight—"
"No deal," Motoi spat. "I won't let you hurt him."
Akemi shook his head. "For the last time, I'm not going to hurt him!"
"I don't believe you." Motoi sneered.
"Stop interrupting me!" Akemi exploded, and the kunai scraped under his eye, making Motoi's face twitch with pain.
Akemi didn't notice or didn't care because he continued shouting, "The entire world is going to fall apart because of my mistake and you are not important enough to the plot for me to care if you die!"
Motoi frowned. Important to the plot? Did he mean he wasn't a part of their plot to destroy Kumo?
"So you either tell me where Killer B is or I'm going to shove this kunai through your eye and into your skull!" Akemi's face warped with wrath. "And I've learned enough medical jutsu to know that won't kill you immediately," his voice darkened, surprisingly menacing despite its childish lit. "No, you'll feel your skull shattering bit by bit if I hit you with the right amount of pressure."
Akemi stared him down and Motoi couldn't see any hint of deceit. He meant it, the boy would kill him slowly and painfully if he didn't give him information. However, Motoi had meant what he said too.
His resolve likely showed on his face because anger flared even brighter in Akemi's eyes and the boy stepped back, yanking the wire so Motoi's hand twisted down and the kunai sliced over his eye, blood flowing down and blinding him slightly.
"Actually, I think I'll carve your eyes out first." Akemi sneered. "Give you a chance to change your mind…"
The boy stopped, his entire body stopped, and for a second he didn't even seem to breathe.
Then Motoi's hand was falling onto his lap and the wire fell from Akemi's fingers, the boy looking stunned.
Soon all the colored drained from the boy's face and he choked. "I…lo siento." He backed up like Motoi was holding a bomb. "I didn't mean..."
He cut himself off with panic coloring his expression and turned, limping to a dark alleyway between two shops. Motoi raised his kunai to throw after him, but his arm flopped back down and barely twitched in his lap. He had lost quite a lot of blood when ANBU Headquarters blew up, so maybe he should rest...yes, just rest for a moment…to regain strength.
Motoi's good eye rolled back as he collapsed on his side and sprawled out on the ground.
.
Akemi glanced over his shoulder at Motoi while the man slumped onto the floor, unconscious, dead, dying, didn't matter. Point was, Akemi almost killed him—almost murdered someone.
His breath shuddered while he fell back against the stone wall, his eyes flickering golden while he slid down to the floor. He'd almost killed someone, anger roaring in his ears and trampling his conscience until he almost forced a man to stab his own eye. And he didn't even verify the Kumo-nin had the info—what were you thinking, Akemi!?
Yet, should it really surprise him he came so close to killing? He'd thought himself better than that, that the shinobi world's ruthless society couldn't taint him...but that was foolish. Everyone changed the older they got. He'd known that for a while yet still believed he'd be himself when he went home to his world... Ridiculous, naive, what a foolish dream!
Akemi slammed his good hand against the wall, glowering. Though soon his face fell and he brought his hand in front of him, eyeing the blood dripping off the tattered remains of his rubber arm guard, which was black in the darkness.
Motoi had been trying to kill him, and technically Obito tried to kill him too, but at least he had his chakra and natural energy to protect him back then. This time he'd been out of chakra, too injured to fight, and desperate...desperate enough to kill.
Akemi sucked in a shuddering breath, tears pooling in his eyes when a voice said, "Don't worry."
The Uchiha whipped around to an ANBU a couple yards away, sitting against a trashcan.
"Motoi...is alive," the kunoichi whispered between pants, half her mask missing though the visible side of her face was shadowed. "I sense his chakra...you didn't kill him," she whispered.
Akemi's eyes widened. "Dragon?" He scrambled against the wall, dragging himself up. "Is that you?" He stumbled towards her, pushing himself along the wall. "Can you help me..."
Akemi stiffened above the woman, and gazed down to see his sandals dipped in a dark puddle while the scent of iron assaulted him. He followed the blood to the ANBU and his mouth dropped. There was an empty space under Dragon's knees, a stained green scarf wrapped around the stumps where her legs had been.
"No," Akemi covered his mouth, falling to his knees while Dragon's dark eyes watched him evenly. "Your legs..." He couldn't go on, throat locking up.
"I don't…think…anyone's coming." Dragon bowed her head. "I've been flaring my chakra…for ten minutes," she said like she was gathering enough breath to speak every couple seconds. "Seems Motoi…saved me…for nothing."
"Don't say that," Akemi said brokenly, reaching into his weapon pouch for bandages. He could stop the bleeding, buy her more time. Maybe give her a food pill to replenish chakra—
"You can't save me." Akemi looked up as Dragon's hand that was missing her pinky cupped his face. "It's okay...I'm a shinobi." Her thumb stroked his cheek. "Our lives are lightning, we strike the earth…with brilliance...even if we don't last long..."
It sounded as if she was quoting a song or saying, but regardless, her words made tears spill down his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered while her hand slid off his grimy cheek. "I didn't mean to cause this."
Dragon didn't assure or deny him, and Akemi stared at the floor because a woman was dying in front of him, somebody about his age. Twenty-two wasn't very old, even his technically twenty-nine wasn't and it hurt watching someone who was barely an adult dying while he had nothing eloquent to say.
"Can you tell my little sister something?" Dragon asked with sudden strength, closing her eyes to help her cultivate the last of her energy, and Akemi nodded immediately.
"Of course," he promised, wiping his tears so he could see her clearly—because she should be remember as more than a blurry shadow.
"Tell…her that…I'm…"
Dragon exhaled softly and Akemi thought she was considering her final words, but the seconds ticked by and the silence continued. Akemi's eyes grew big and darted to her chest. Yet her torso was still.
"Dragon?" Akemi whispered, setting two fingers against her neck though he knew what he would find.
No pulse throbbed under his hand and he pulled back, forming the ram sign just to be sure.
Her chakra was unmoving and faint like a candlelight dying away.
Akemi got up, staring at the corpse of a woman who had closed her eyes just so a boy from an enemy village wouldn't have to see her lifeless gaze. Fresh tears coursed down his cheeks and he wiped them away, smearing the blood on his wrist across his nose.
Dragon's family had just lost someone they probably loved and the ANBU had died unable to tell her sister what she wanted. It wasn't fair, even if Dragon was never going to survive to the anime's original timeline, it wasn't fair.
Akemi leaned back against the wall, but the world wouldn't even let him grieve as suddenly a towering, inhuman chakra signature shoved him to the floor. He grunted, catching himself, and whirled towards the alley entrance.
Killer B, looking younger than most of his vision showed, stood without a scratch on his white Kumo uniform and dark lenses hiding his eyes. Akemi blinked, wondering if he was hallucinating because he couldn't be so fortunate, but soon remembered Dragon had been flaring her chakra…and help had come too late for her, but not for Kumo.
"B-sama," Akemi said while crawling to the man who couldn't be older than twenty-two. "I need your help to save our villages."
He bowed his head to the ground. "The Konoha-nin I came with has attacked Kumo and told me he won't stop bombing places unless I capture one of Kumo's jinchūriki."
His tongue fumbled as he rushed out, "I obviously can't do that even if I wanted to, so I need you to help me trick him into thinking I hypnotized you with my Sharingan." He clenched his teeth, accidentally biting his lip so it began bleeding. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I…I can see the future!"
Akemi raised his head, though his neck quivered from holding it up, and Killer-B's brow rose. However, Akemi hurried before he could talk. "I also have visions of the past, which is how I know your childhood best friend was Motoi, and when you first became a jinchūriki, he shunned you…he even tried to kill you. But you pretended to turn so your sword handle blocked his kunai and offered him a fist bump. You've never talked about it because he's too ashamed, though you both know what he did."
Killer-B's brow rose even further and Akemi felt lightheaded since he'd forgotten to breathe during his rant, so inhaled and continued. "And the Eight-Tail's real name is Gyūki, which you probably learned on that island that's actually a turtle at the Falls of Truth!"
He broke into a coughing fit, throat dry from his shouting, but looked to the Kumo-nin who was gazing at him expressionlessly.
He wasn't sure if B believed him, but couldn't give up so said, "The war between Kumo and Konoha was supposed to end after your Head Ninja failed to kidnap the Hyuga heir. However, I interfered with that event and now our villages are going to destroy each other."
Tears pricked his eyes. "Because there's someone who wants to destroy all the shinobi villages and the only way we'll beat him is if Kumo works with Konoha one day, something that won't happen if we don't stop fighting each other now."
Killer-B frowned, but his expression was thoughtfully as his mouth opened to speak—
A kunai struck the earth between them hard enough to crack the stone and a curse was hissed behind Akemi. The boy looked back to see Motoi in the alley by Dragon, his good eye narrowed at him while he pulled out another kunai. "You killed Dragon!"
Lightning sparked over his blade, and Akemi wouldn't be able to dodge, he was just too tired. So he watched Motoi raise his blade and accepted his fate, knowing he'd damned the Naruto world as the man flung the kunai at his heart.
Wind brushed over Akemi's face and the Uchiha's eyes widened as he found B standing over him, the electrified kunai gripped in his hand. He'd caught it!?
Motoi's mouth dropped. "B-sama?" he said, just noticing the other Kumo-nin.
Killer B glanced between Motoi and Akemi. Then he said—
"Yooo, woah! Yooo, woah! Yooo, woah! Yo—stop fightin'!"
Akemi and Motoi's eyes doubled in size.
"You got me tossing up blades and crying!" Killer-B's body jumped with his rap beat.
"We all need to calm down and listen, yo! 'Cause the world falling apart, though our kunai still clashing and it's all too much so you got me going yooo, woah, yooo, woah, yooo, woah, yooo!"
He stopped, hands still posed over his chest like a rapper getting photographed for his album cover.
Akemi gaped. Motoi gawked. Killer-B stared back at them.
After a second, Akemi blinked. "That…was actually kinda fire."
"Fire?" Motoi looked around, seeming to think he meant literal flames.
Akemi didn't bother explaining as he looked to B. "So you believe me…and you're going to help me?"
"Fool, ya fool, we talkin', ain't we?" B threw up his hands like he was dancing at the club. "Not killing', ain't we? It's all good cause this ain't a park for gamin', but a race we runnin' to save yo home, Kumo, the world!" He crossed his arms and posed as if he was on stage.
Akemi glanced at Motoi who looked back at him. Gradually the man's expression eased. "He means 'yes'," he said quietly.
The boy looked between the two Kumo-nin in disbelief, yet soon a grin spread across his face. "Okay," he raised a hand towards Killer B, "Let get started."
B grasped his hand and pulled Akemi up onto his shivering legs. "This won't be easy," his gaze ran over Motoi and B, but stopped on Dragon. "But if it works, Kumo and Konoha will never fight again…no more of us will have to die."
Motoi looked surprised while Killed B bobbed his head, smiling. And Akemi couldn't undue the damage already done to Kumo or bring back the people who'd died in the explosions, but he could stop another war from brewing between Konoha and Kumo.
Because Akemi was a shinobi, and sometimes that meant he did things he didn't want to, maybe even hurt people. Whatever it took to go back home.
.
Akemi heaved himself across the wooden bridge, a white-knuckled grip on the thick rope railing. His eyes were on Kumo's main square down ahead while he breathed in and out, in and out because it was all he could do to keep going.
Yet he jumped and nearly fell to his death when Orochimaru landed on the rope by his hands, still using that cheery voice while saying, "You look like you're on your last leg."
Akemi glared. "And you look like a psychotic, sociopathic and whatever else means crazy snake," he hissed.
"My, my," Orochimaru grinned, "Someone's in a foul mood."
Akemi seethed. "I've had a long day."
"Certainly, that's true," Orochimaru hummed as if he wasn't the reason Akemi was barely standing because Danzo's orders or not, the man could have just ignored the councilor. Though he wondered if the Sannin had gone along with the orders because he wanted to push Akemi to his breaking point, just to see how he reacted.
"I found the Eight-Tail's jinchūriki and put him under my control." Akemi's expression soured. "Though I might need help getting to the park—"
Suddenly a needle was in Akemi's arm and Orochimaru was pushing the plunger before he registered the sting. "H-hey!" Akemi gasped while the man pulled out the needle with a smile.
"A shot of adrenaline," Orochimaru explained, tucking the needle in his weapon pouch. "It should keep you on your feet until you're done," his smirk widened, "But it won't last long."
Akemi's pupils dilated, breathing easing as his airways expanded and even his chakra levels increased. The fog around his mind cleared and his brow furrowed while he asked, "But won't it make the painkillers wear out faster?"
Orochimaru cocked his head. "Like I said, you should hurry."
Akemi scowled. "You're the one who said you'd get the Raikage." He started jogging across the bridge, bad ankle only wobbling a bit while the square peeked through the smog covering the village. "Yet I don't see him."
Orochimaru walked easily on the rope handles beside him, and Akemi had to resist the urge to push him off as the man said, "Really? Why don't you take another look?"
Akemi stopped when the man's chakra spiked, and he glimpsed Orochimaru's hand moving right before an explosion rumbled the square. He whipped back to it and his lips parted, seeing the potted trees in flames and broken cement pieces scattered over scorched uniforms and other clothing.
The Uchiha glared heatedly at Orochimaru. "I thought our deal meant you'd stop blowing up places."
Orochimaru smiled all too innocently. "I only agreed not to set off the bombs I'd already placed, I just set those paper bombs in the square ten minutes ago."
Akemi closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and exhaled when really he wanted to scream. "And this will bring the Raikage, how?"
Orochimaru hopped off the end off the bridge, touching down at the top of the stone steps leading to the square. Akemi strode next to him as the man said, "The square is overlooked by the Raikage's office." He pointed up, and through the smog Akemi barely made out the kanji for lightning on a tall mountain in the distance.
Akemi cocked a brow until Orochimaru added, "Since I put out all the fires, this one should attract his attention."
Akemi was going to express doubt when blue lightning surged brilliantly in the sky and struck the square, sending bricks flying up.
"Who did that!?" A voice roared and Akemi realized there was man where the lightning was fading. "Show yourself!"
Akemi looked back to Orochimaru and started when he saw the Sannin gone, but of course he'd leave him to sort out his mess.
The Uchiha's face hardened, and he looked down to the raging Raikage. "Okay," Akemi swallowed, noticing a few ANBU flanking the Kumo leader. "Showtime."
He took a deep breath and threw out chakra strings with his left hand, latching onto the stone welcoming arch at the square's entrance and pulling himself up to it. As he touched down on top of the arch, the ANBU with bright red hair pointed at him.
"Up there!"
The Raikage turned to him, fists clenched with blue lightning sparking over his knuckles and highlighting his glower. His killing intent sizzled Akemi's skin and he held in a wince, forcing a cool expression on his face.
"Hyuga-san caused the explosion," he said loudly, and A's eyes narrowed while he started striding towards the arch. "I, however, had a separate mission—"
"You think you can destroy my village!" A moved faster than his eyes could track, and Akemi reared back from the electrified fist that suddenly appeared in his face. "You—"
A hand caught A's wrist and the Raikage's eyes widened as he was thrown back to the square with ease. The Kumo leader landed in a crouch, skidding a foot while gaping at Killer B who stood stoically beside Akemi.
"B?" A's expression flooded with rage and he bellowed. "Get out of the way!"
Killer-B didn't react and Akemi smirked, crossing his arms. "He can't, he's under my genjutsu."
An ANBU gasped and the Raikage bared his teeth, pointing at him. "That's impossible—"
"Because the Eight-Tails would disrupt his chakra to free him from genjutsu?" Akemi raised a brow and the Raikage's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, that might have worked if I was a normal seven-year old."
"What do you mean?" A demanded.
"Raikage-sama!" Motoi staggered into the square suddenly, and A's eyes slid to him for a second before returning to Akemi. "That golden light we saw, he's not a Sage," he stuttered in his haste to speak, "He's a jinchūriki!"
"What!?" A whirled towards Motoi. "He can't be, Dragon checked his chakra."
"The Nine-Tails is very good at hiding himself when he wants to," Akemi cut in, tone reeking of smugness.
The Raikage actually looked startled and the ANBU tensed around him.
"He's telling the truth," Motoi said hurriedly. "Dragon confirmed it before she passed."
Akemi couldn't hide his frown because using the woman's death to further his plan felt wrong, but he quickly got over it and asked, "How else do you think I destroyed that boulder? I can control the Nine-Tails just as well as your two jinchūriki, and the Fox's chakra amplifies the power of my Sharingan. So are you ready to talk or would you like me to destory the rest of your village?"
The Raikage's eyes burned with indignation. "You dare threaten me!" He punched the ground and the ANBU and Motoi leapt back as cracks formed under the Raikage's hand.
Even Akemi stumbled on his perch as the ground shook, but straightened while the man went on. "The people of Kumo will never bow to you! Even if it kills us!"
"If that's what you want," Akemi shrugged, expression nonchalant because he hadn't expected the Raikage to just go along with what he said. "I'll just leave B with orders to destroy Kumogakure, and even if you manage to kill him, your village will have suffered quite a few losses including the loss of the Eight-Tails and Killer-B."
Akemi shook his head with feigned sympathy despite the Raikage looking ready to charge him. "I guess this is the end of Kumogakure, and here I thought we could make a deal."
"Why would you want to make a deal!?" Raiakge scowled, expression suspicious. "Don't mock me!"
"I'm not." Akemi pouted. "After all, I don't want the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails to be lost before Konoha can obtain their power." He sighed. "So how about instead of you killing your brother and the Eight-Tails, you end the war between you and Konohagakure so my village can have time to figure out how to capture your Tailed Beasts?"
A's teeth clenched, but he didn't speak, and that meant he was considering it. Akemi's heart thunked hard in his chest, the boy almost faint with worry, yet he maintained his smug expression and leaned on B's arm like he had all the time in the world.
"Why not just take B and run?" Motoi questioned like they'd rehearsed, and Akemi stared him down while the Raikage eyed Motoi.
"Because we want both jinchūriki and if the Eight-Tails rampages we might lose the Two-Tails in the chaos." Akemi's eyes narrowed. "And let's stop pretending you didn't send your Head Ninja to try and kidnap the Hyuga heir, just like we came here to steal your jinchūriki by passing me off as a regular genin."
Akemi rolled his eyes. "That makes us even if you stop the war now, but it's up to you." He stared hard at the Raikage though his vision was starting to waver. "End the war and give us both time to prepare for our next battle or we'll make Kumo into a fireworks display."
Raikage glowered, and his gaze moved from Akemi to B. "I don't care if you captured my brother." He glared. "I'll do what's best for my village—"
"He's lying."
Everyone turned to Orochimaru as the man slunk out from behind a pile of burning rubble, his smile revealing elongated teeth. "About giving you a choice, I mean." His tone deepened more than it ever had while he pretended to be Hikari. "I merely deactivated my bombs, but I can reactivate them at any moment."
"Is that a threat!?" A demanded, and Akemi frowned, straightening up because what was Orochimaru doing? He was supposed to stay out of this!
Yet saying something could make things worse, so Akemi kept quiet as the Sannin said, "No, I'm just explaining." He tugged the band from his hair and the black strands fell free. "If you don't end the war then I'm going to activate this seal," he raised his arm and pulled down his sleeve to show red inked symbols on his skin. "And Kumo will be crushed by the very mountains that protected it—"
The redhead ANBU launched herself at Orochimaru, kunai electrified in her hand as she brought it down on his arm. Yet she jerked to a stop midair and Akemi's eyes widened while the Raikage gaped.
The redhead inhaled sharply as the tongue coiled around her forearm dropped her on the ground, and she quickly backed up while the tongue snapped back into Orochimaru's mouth.
"You're..." The redhead ANBU whispered fearfully, and Orochimaru smirked before throwing his head back to laugh, wild and loudly like he hadn't for days.
Killer B released a surprised grunt and the Raikage raised a clenched fist, expression guarded, while Orochimaru spoke in his usual voice. "Who?" His hand clawed at his forehead and raked down his face to shred Hikari's skin to pieces. "Who am I?"
"Orochimaru," the Raikage growled, looking like he was prepping to fight. "The Sannin."
Orochimaru grabbed the remains of his mask and yanked it off, throwing it to the fires behind him. "Exactly, so tell me, do you think I'm bluffing when I say I'll destroy your village and let my snakes have their way with any survivors?"
Anger blistered across the Raikage's face, but he didn't answer, and Akemi hesitated, yet soon waved at Killer B who gave a subtle nod. Together they jumped to the ground and flanked Orochimaru as the man said, "You should be honored, I don't leave my Village for just any mission." His yellow eyes slid over to Akemi. "But who could resist watching the Nine-Tails in action?"
Akemi didn't face him while he steeled himself and marched up to A, sneering. "So, what's your choice Raikage-sama?"
Motoi and the ANBU turned to the Kumo leader, and the Raikage looked to the ground. For a moment, no one said anything while the fires crackled around them.
Then A's head whipped up and he yelled, "I'd rather die than submit to Konoha!"
"It's not a submission." Orochimaru smiled. "It's a massacre." His eyes lit up manically. "Or a ceasefire the Hokage will agree to if only so we can obtain both your jinchūriki."
Akemi tilted his head so his bang covered his face from Orochimaru while his eyes flashed into his golden Sharingan. "Your choice," he taunted.
The Raikage stared into his golden irises, unafraid of his unusual Sharingan, and Akemi forced himself to take slow, even breaths while the man seemed to search for something in his gaze. Soon the Raikage's jaw clenched and he looked to Orochimaru.
He bared his teeth. "Let B go and leave my village!" His demand echoed into the sky.
Akemi didn't move, though his eyes were burning, until a hand fell on his shoulder and Orochimaru said, "If that's what you wish."
The Uchiha waved towards Killed B and the jinchūriki jolted like he was shaking off a genjutsu as Akemi's golden Sharingan, the boy not having the energy to retain it.
"The Hokage will contact you later—"
"LEAVE!" A snarled, stomping the ground and adding cracks to already broken earth, eyes scarlet while they reflected the inferno around them.
Akemi scoffed like he wasn't impressed, but really, he could hardly see as his vision went gray. It was getting hard to breath and he wasn't even sure his feet were touching the floor while he turned and started walking away.
"Seems the adrenaline has worn off," somebody muttered, a hand maybe grabbing his shoulder, and Akemi wasn't sure why, but it made him scowl.
"Shut up, snake," he said in English or Spanish, he wasn't sure as pain burst in his head and the world went white.
…
Akemi's eyes fluttered, and he found himself surrounding by snow. His back was against a log, a frozen lake in front of him. He blinked groggily, the bite of the cold keeping him up, yet he was too tired to move. No, he was comfortable right here…
"Awake again?"
Orochimaru's feet came in front of him and the man crouched, smiling, though he was thankfully no longer using that dumb Hikari voice.
The Sannin frowned, appearing offended. "I thought it was a pretty good imitation, but I suppose I'm not the best actor. Infiltration always was more of Jiraiya's hobby," he muttered.
Akemi stared blankly at him and the man seemed to understand. "Oh, yes, you're still feverish and probably don't remember how we got here…"
His voice dropped into a low murmur and Akemi heard no more while he shut his eyes again. He was probably just dreaming anyway.
…
"Your eyes."
Akemi slowly cracked open his eyes to see Orochimaru's face far too close. He ducked against the man's back, trying to get away. Wait, why was he being carried? Weren't they on a mission? He should be working.
A voice in the back of his head whispered the mission was done and he shouldn't worry about it anymore, but he barely registered it as Orochimaru smiled. "I never finished telling you about your eyes, back at the library."
Akemi glanced up, gaze dull and mind addled by barely there thoughts.
"Behind all that cute there's someone who doesn't belong."
Akemi tried cocking his head, but it merely flopped to the side since he couldn't hold it up. So cheek smushed against Orochimaru's back, he exhaled. "And…why does that matter?"
Orochimaru's smile widened. "It matters because I'd like to meet that person…" An eager gleam entered his gaze. "The one with the golden eyes."
Akemi's brow furrowed because his eyes were black, yet alarm bells were going off in his head. Orochimaru shouldn't know that, this was bad.
The boy tried to speak, but all that came out was a soft groan while darkness shadowed over everything.
"We should talk about this some…ime…late…A…li…san."
Who's Alison? Akemi wondered right before he drifted into oblivion.
…
The Uchiha woke up a third time, but the haze was gone so he shot up in bed, eyes wide, heart beating a mile a minute and hair sticking up every which way.
"The one with the golden eyes."
Akemi's breath hitched and he scanned the dark room frantically, but Orochimaru was nowhere under the threads of moonlight peeking through the window blinds. The boy grasped his hair with his good hand, loose navy hospital shirt making him feel vulnerable without his shinobi gear.
"He knows," he exhaled shakily, frantic thoughts crashing into one another while his expression warped with horror. However, he hissed as a cramp ran up his side and he clutched it, falling back on the bed hard enough to knock the pillow to the ground.
"Please be a dream, por favor," he gasped through the pain, squeezing his eyes shut.
Yet he knew he wasn't that lucky and Orochimaru had seen his golden Sharingan, as well as the power it leant him when he destroyed that boulder. Though what the man planned to do with this knowledge, Akemi didn't know, which was what scared him.
"Dang it!" Akemi growled, eyes snapping open and fist flying down on the mattress. Only for something orange to clatter against the bed railing by his head.
He turned and found his orange goggles. Surprise filtered over his face, the boy having thought it had been destroyed, and he slowly reached to pick them up.
For a moment, he imagined Obito's grinning face behind the goggles, eyes alit with mirth. Yet Akemi quickly shut his eyes and laid the goggles on his chest as he turned his face into the mattress. Obito was gone, Rin, Minato, Kushina...maybe Aurelio too.
And how was he supposed to save anyone when he wasn't even sure who he was?
Tears dribbled down his face to dampen the mattress, and Akemi wasn't sure if he was mourning the ones he didn't save or the man he used to be.
.
Itachi sighed as he came upon the front of his house. He'd just completed an eight-day long escort mission in a town so far down south he saw the ocean. It was midnight, and Itachi was glad Sasuke was already asleep because he was too drained to indulge his littlest brother since his teammates had decided to visit the beach before returning to Konoha.
Maybe Itachi should have protested, but he recalled Akemi warning him not to alienate himself from others. So he went along with his team's decision, helping them pat down the chilly sand to create a giant sandcastle and accepting Tenma's dare to see how far out they could walk on the frozen water without cracking it—he would never forget how Tenma yowled when his foot dipped into the frigid water. He even wove seashell necklaces with Shinko.
His team left the beach, giggling and rosy-cheeked under their scarves, and Itachi had to admit it wasn't that bad hanging out with them. However, all that socializing had drained him so the Uchiha headed straight to bed after telling his parents goodnight.
The next morning he didn't see Akemi when he left to train, but assumed his brother had an early shift at the hospital. Therefore, it wasn't until that night when Sasuke ran up to him in the genkan and stopped, looking disappointed, that he realized something was amiss.
"Kemi isn't back?"
Itachi's eyes widened, realizing he hadn't seen his brother once all day, and after putting Sasuke back to bed, he rushed downstairs.
"Where's Akemi?" Itachi asked the second his mother stepped out the laundry room, making her jump since she couldn't see him behind the tall basket in her arms.
However, his mother recovered quickly and smiled. "Your brother got his first escort mission while you were away, but he should be back in a few days."
Fear slammed into Itachi's chest because his brother had only been a genin for a couple of weeks, he wasn't experienced enough to complete a C-rank mission. And he could barely control his Sharingan and natural energy, so what if he accidentally revealed his powers to whoever he was escorting? They could kidnap him or worse!
"Don't worry, dear." His mother shifted the basket to rest on her hip so she could pat his head. "He's with a jonin medic-nin, so even if he gets in trouble he will have help and someone who can heal him."
Itachi's tension didn't ease because the jonin might be a problem if Akemi revealed his powers from him, but he nodded for his mother's sake and thanked her before going up to his room. He didn't really sleep that night, merely pacing for hours or tossing and turning in his bed until sunlight peeked through his window.
He immediately went out to train, not even bothering to grab a snack. However, his shuriken-throwing skills suffered from his lack of sleep so he just regathered his kunai from the target boards—and occasional tree it hit instead—before packing them away.
Reading might be easier on his sleep-deprived mind, so he slunk off off to the library and found himself a nice quiet spot between two shelves in the back. He managed to read half of the book on tanto wielding despite how his thoughts kept drifting to Akemi and what might be happening to him—a foreign-nin stabbing a kunai into his twin's heart, or an avalanche washing his brother off a cliff.
Yet as the library closed and Itachi shuffled home, a crow cawed from the sunset sky and circled him. His eyes widened because he'd told his summon to be on the lookout for Akemi, so he broke into a sprint towards his house.
Itachi reached the door and shoved it open right as his mother's eyes flew open wide while she stared at his twin. "Akemi," she gasped, and Itachi didn't know what was wrong until his brother turned to him.
"Oh, hey, Nii-san!" Akemi waved his left hand, the right one in a sling—broken—and left ankle wrapped in a black brace—sprained.
Itachi quickly searched for more injuries and noticed the strained look in Akemi's eyes behind his orange goggles and the way he was holding his backpack loosely like he was tired of carrying it.
Yet his brother forced a smile and said, "It's not that bad, I just tripped and took a tumble down a hill…and got a mild infection from a cut." He shuffled nervously.
"That's what your father told me when he went to pick you up from the hospital," his mother said, lips pursing. "But these injuries look far worse than he described." She moved to inspect him closer when a voice rang.
"Akemi is home!" Sasuke came barreling towards his twin and Akemi stepped back in alarm as Sasuke jumped up to hug him.
Itachi caught Sasuke around his middle and pulled him back, the toddler blinking as he found himself in his arms.
"Nooo, want gift!" Sasuke cried and Akemi winced.
"Y-yeah, your gift." Akemi dropped his bag and carefully lowered himself, unzipping it. "It's, uh, in here, hopefully didn't lose it in that fall."
Itachi instantly realized Akemi forgot whatever gift he promised Sasuke, and was opening his mouth to cover for him when suddenly a smooth rock fell out of his bag.
Akemi stared at it blankly. "What…" His eyes brightened like it did whenever he sensed a chakra signature. "There's chakra…in the rock?"
Mother's face lit with interest as she plucked up the stone, turning it over and tossing it slightly to test its weight. "Oh, this is chakra-absorbing metal, very rare." She frowned. "Don't tell me that's how you fell, grabbing this off a summit."
Akemi looked wide-eyed for a second, but soon nodded. "Yeah, I know it was reckless," his gaze fell to the floor, "But when Hyuga-san pointed it out, I remembered promising to bring Sasuke something special."
Mother frowned, seeming ready to lecture, but Sasuke lurched for the stone. "Mine, my toy!"
Akemi grinned at the toddler, limping over to him. "Yeah, it's yours, but I have to fix it up before you can take it, okay?"
Sasuke pouted. "I want it now."
"You'll have it soon, Sasukito." Akemi combed his fingers through Sasuke's hair and turned back to their parent.
"I know you want to lecture me, but the painkillers are making me drowsy and I just really want to go to sleep." He stared beseechingly at her.
"Okay," Mother sighed, yet handed him the stone. "It looks like you learned your lesson anyway." She smiled a little. "I'll bring a cup of tea to your room in a little bit."
"Thank you, Kaa-san," Akemi bowed his head, and started to walk away.
Yet Itachi quickly handed Sasuke to his startled mom and hurried after his brother. He opened his mouth, but without looking back, Akemi waved him down. Seeing his brother understood he wanted to talk, Itachi stayed quiet.
Akemi perched on the edge of his bed, dropping his backpack, while Itachi closed the door. "You wouldn't believe the trip I've had!" Akemi threw out his good hand. "I'm surprised I made it back with only minor—"
"Where did you really go?"
Akemi paused and considered him, appearing more wary than surprised. Yet Itachi persisted. "It wasn't just some escort mission, you're not reckless enough to fall and not catch yourself."
Itachi was certain because unlike their mom he sparred with his brother and seen Akemi's expertises with chakra strings and ninja wire. He wouldn't have failed to catch himself unless he was incapacitated, and no C-rank mission would involve enough danger for that to happen.
Akemi smiled, but it wasn't a nice one. "Well I could lie, probably should," he shrugged, "But I don't care what the Hokage thinks." His expression turned grim. "I was altering the future."
Itachi's eyes widened while he continued. "I haven't really explained to anyone before, so sorry if this sounds confusing, but my visions show me things from the past and the future. And I mean really far into the past, like pre-ninjutsu days." Itachi's mouth dropped. "But only like three decades in the future."
"You see that much!?" Itachi gasped, but Akemi didn't seem to hear him as he carried on.
"So I had a vision where Kumo and Konoha kept fighting for years until a much stronger enemy appeared and destroyed us both." Golden light bloomed in Akemi's eyes, Sharingan spiraling. "So I decided to intervene, you see."
Itachi inhaled sharply while memories that weren't his soared into his mind and suddenly he was no longer in Akemi's bedroom, but on a snowy mountainous landscape he'd never seen before.
"The Kumo Head Ninja came to Konoha to kidnap the Hyuga heir and steal her Byakugan, but when a Hyuga killed him, Kumo threatened to resume the war."
Hiashi manifested in front him like a gust of wind whirling into a person, wearing his full jonin uniform under the moonlight. "Kumo wants vengeance for the death of their Head Ninja and a dōjutsu, so I will take the blame for the Head Ninja's death and give Kumo my life in exchange for peace."
Itachi could only blink before the Hokage was over him, grim-faced in his office. "Do you accept a mission to enter Kumogakure under false pretenses at risk to yourself…?"
Itachi's mouth moved without his instruction and he realized he was Akemi in this memory. "Yes, sir."
Alarm erupted in Itachi's heart because this couldn't have happened. Why would the Hokage send a seven-year old barely genin on a mission to Kumo?
As if hearing him, Akemi's voice drifted from above. "I convinced the Hokage to let me travel to Kumo and prevent the war, but a lot happened that I didn't anticipate."
Itachi choked as he witnessed the disguised Orochimaru traveling with him to Kumo, fighting the ANBU Dragon, and the gigantic boulder that came so close to killing him. Only for him to wake up to Orochimaru setting Kumo on fire, watching Dragon die, and fighting Motoi before being forced to confront the Raikage.
He was tired and injured, and everything was weighing on him convincing the Kumo leader, but somehow he did. Yet there was no relief as pain wracked his body and he woke up much later to Orochimaru in his face, smiling.
"The one with the golden eyes."
Itachi gave a strangled cry, eyes bulging and grasping his head while he dropped to his knees on. "Orochimaru, knows about me—you," he corrected breathlessly as he recalled those were his brother's memories, not his. "What are we going to do!?" he asked, eyes burning while tears from stress and fear blurred his vision.
Akemi's Sharingan gradually dimmed to black and he stared at him sadly. "I'm sorry for doing that." He crouched beside him and squeezed his shoulder. "But it was better than you watching your friend die."
"What?" Itachi croaked, and Akemi gently guided him into a stand.
His twin led him inside his bathroom, flicking on the light and pointing at the mirror. Itachi followed his hand and froze.
Bright Sharingan eyes stared back at him, two tomoe in each red iris. Itachi gawked at his reflection as Akemi muttered. "Consider it an early birthday gift."
Itachi turned to him. Then his legs shook and he dropped onto the bathtub edge, gripping it and taking several deep breaths.
"Why?" he whispered once he'd calmed somewhat.
Akemi sat beside him, staring sadly at the tiled floor. "You were going to get them this summer anyway." He reached up to massage his temples. "And…" He sighed heavily. "I just wanted to prove I could change the future without messing up, just once," he hissed, closing his eyes.
Itachi couldn't respond, too overwhelmed by his Sharingan, Akemi's memories, and realizing his brother was far stronger than he thought as a shinobi and a person.
Yet somehow Itachi found the strength to wrap his arm around his brother and pull him into a loose hug. "Thank you," he says for his Sharingan, the war Akemi prevented, and all the other things Akemi had probably done to help the future without him noticing.
"Don't mention it," Akemi whispered while blinking away tears. "It's what I'm here for."
They stayed like that until Mother came in to find Akemi sleeping with his head on Itachi's lap while her eldest stared at her with Sharingan eyes.
"I guess I was more worried about Akemi than I thought." Itachi smiled a little while his mother nearly dropped the tea in her hands.
.
"You're late."
Akemi flinched in the middle of the hospital hallway, then inhaled sharply as the motion jarred his sore shoulder. He grasped it with gritted teeth while turning around. He'd gone lighter on the painkillers than he should have because they numbed his arm and fogged his mind, but he would need every ounce of his focus and dexterity to pass his teacher's test.
Assuming she didn't kill him first.
Akemi smiled, releasing his shoulder. "Biwako-sensei—"
"Am I?" Biwako cut in, glowering from the other end of the hall, and Akemi's mouth snapped shut. "Your sensei, I mean. Because that would make you my student." She stared him down. "And normally a student informs his teacher when he'll be out of town."
Akemi's expression turned sheepish. "Uh, well, I thought with the Hokage giving me the assignment and you being married to him—"
"I'm the head of Konoha Hospital." Biwako glared, and Akemi cowered. "You expect me to notice something as little as who the Hokage assigns missions to when I'm in this building more than I'm home most days?"
Biwako's gaze raked him down. "And you come back looking like a carriage ran you over," she said like his injuries personally offended her.
Akemi knew she had no idea he'd been in Kumo, so like his mom, assumed he got hurt from being reckless. Yet he had no choice except to go with the lie, so exhaled, "I know I should have told you, but it seemed like a good opportunity to practice my technique for the test."
"You expect to complete my test with your injuries?" Biwako scoffed, and Akemi frowned.
"You mean I don't have to?"
Biwako glowered and the boy realized that was the wrong thing to say when she marched over and towered above him. "No," she said low and dangerously. "You don't have to because only my student needs to take that test, and I don't have fools as my students."
Akemi's eyes widened, hurt splaying across his face, but the woman remained unmoved.
"So…" Akemi swallowed, looking away. "You're saying I'm fired?"
The woman didn't say anything and maybe that was answer enough, but Akemi had faced the Raikage, a man who could kill him with his pinky, and he'd punched a ginormous boulder into oblivion. He couldn't back down just because the woman was angry, he needed this job.
"Fine!" Akemi scowled, balling up his good hand while Biwako arched a brow. "I won't be your student anymore!" Surprise lit the woman's face. "But once I'm healed, I'll apply for the position again because I know you won't be able to fill it with anyone better than me."
He smirked, though his lips were shaking. "And when I come back, I'm going to be even better than before!" he boasted proudly, meaning every word. He really would train himself to death if it meant getting back his apprenticeship because his brothers were going to need him one day, and he might not be as skilled as Itachi or would have amazing dōjutsu like Sasuke, but he was smart and creative, and mixing that with medical-jutsu guaranteed he'd be an absolute horror on the battlefield.
Biwako eyed him, and gradually the harshness faded from her face. "Oh, who am I kidding?" She reached over and set her hands on Akemi's shoulders, the boy gasped while a refreshing coolness washed over his arm muscles. "All my students are pigheaded and foolish at first, but you all learn your lessons in time."
Akemi's mouth dropped when the coolness wrapped around his broken arm and he felt pieces of the bone shifting into place. He tried speaking, but nothing came out except a shuddering exhale because this strange yet wondrous feeling was indescribable. It was just one minute his arm was a mass of bruised tissues and broken bones, and the next, it felt better than ever.
"You can heal like the Legendary Sannin Tsunade?" Akemi gasped while slowly removing his sling and unwrapping the splint around his arm. He dropped the pieces on the floor and flexed his hand, watching in awe as his fingers waggled with ease.
"I'm not as good as her, nor do I have the chakra reserves needed to heal your ankle." Biwako sighed, taking her arms back and looking him over while Akemi suddenly realized his ankle still ached.
However, he smiled and shook his head. "That's okay, I can manage a little sprain." His expression grew serious. "So, about the test—"
Biwako's expression grew stern. "Why do you think I healed you, boy?"
Akemi beamed and hurried to the exit door behind him because with his healed arm there was no way he couldn't pass. He pushed open the door and walked out as fast as he could with his sprained ankle, eyes trained on the tower in the field.
Once he was beneath the stone tower, he glanced back at Biwako who cocked a brow. "Well?" She crossed her arms. "Destroy it with one chakra-enhanced punch."
Akemi nodded and pulled out his orange goggles from his weapon pouch. He set it on his face, then formed hand signs while the woman watched curiously. After all, Biwako only specified he had to destroy the tower with a chakra punch, but never said he couldn't use any jutsu beforehand.
The Uchiha finished with the bird sign and wind gusted out his hands, shooting him straight up until he passed the top of the tower. Soon he was surrounded entirely by blue sky and the Village resembled a miniature train set below. He ended the jutsu, and for a moment, hung weightless and free among the clouds.
Then he dropped. Wind billowing through his hair and roaring in his ears as he held his breath, unable to breathe with the pressure on him. Yet he kept his orange-tinted gaze on the tower while he allowed all his hope, anxiety and excitement to roll inside him.
His natural energy responded to the emotion, warming like water boiling as the tower came into view below him. Akemi dragged chakra laced with natural energy to his good foot and his Sharingan flared for a brief second, slowing the world around him so he could adjust his leg up in just the right position.
His Sharingan flicked off, time resumed at a normal pace, and his good foot surrounded by blue chakra came smashing down on the tower's edge. A loud rumble deafened him for a second, stone pieces blotting out the sun and leaving him in darkness. Instinctively he closed his eyes, but opened them when he something bumped beneath his feet.
He looked up to see himself standing on a tall pile of crushed stones, light gray dust swirling through the air and his teacher grinning a few feet away.
"Tell me," Biwako said with pride in her eyes. "What did this test teach you?"
Akemi smiled. "That there's always more than one way to solve a problem, and sometimes you just have to look at things differently, maybe even take a few risks to achieve the solution." He went to step off the rubble, but nearly fell when Biwako caught his arm.
"You used all your chakra, hm?" Akemi nodded, eyes half-lidded and feeling a bit breathless. "I'd be worried if you hadn't," the woman huffed.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Akemi smiled tiredly, leaning his weight on her while she helped him to the ground. "Biwako-sensei."
The woman beamed and Akemi's eyes shined. He'd messed up the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, but saving Biwako was the best mistake he'd ever made.
.
The seven-year old wandered down the dirt road, yet stopped when his stomach growled. He sent it a mournful look, rubbing it. "What I wouldn't do for a hamburguesa americana, always sucks when I crave something I can't make," he muttered.
His shoulders drooped while he resumed walking right as a chakra signature arose behind him.
He waited for the man to say, "I'm surprised you came back in one piece."
Akemi shrugged. "I didn't actually, but Biwako-sensei showed mercy for once and healed my broken bones."
He glanced at Shikaku, his hands stuffed in his pockets and slouching while he walked alongside him. "Must have been bad if she was willing to do that."
"Nah." Akemi looked ahead to the plaza. "It was more like she can't break me if I'm already in pieces so had to heal me."
Shikaku snorted. "I guess Biwako-sama's reputation isn't as exaggerated as I thought. Tell me, does she really test out poisons on the nurses?"
"She laces the staff room coffee machines," Akemi answered easily. "Says it helps us build immunity, and according to her, sweetens the coffee flavor."
Shikaku's eyes widened. "I was joking."
"But I'm not." Akemi winked.
Shikaku was wide-eyed for a second before grinning. Though as they entered the plaza, which was mostly empty since kids were at school and parents at work, the Nara said, "I take it everything went well."
"l think so." Akemi paused to examine two food stands on the plaza corners. One vendor was a teenager boiling rice behind a sign that advertised tamago kake gohan while on the right was an Akimichi woman selling burritos with fish or chicken—clearly using the recipe he gave the Akimichi clan head years ago.
"But it's not like I can predict the future, so we'll just have to see," Akemi said a little absentmindedly as he looked between the two stands—both costed about the same, but which did he crave more?
"Yeah." Shikaku stared up at the clouds gently rolling in the pale blue sky. "That's all we can do." His expression grew serious and he glanced at Akemi. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask…" The boy turned over his shoulder. "What is your name?"
The Uchiha stiffened.
"Your name in your previous life, I mean," Shikaku scratched the back of his neck, tone a tad uncomfortable. "It's just I've been thinking how hard it must have been when you first got here and everyone called you Akemi when you went by a different name your whole life." He frowned. "So if you want, I can call you by your original name."
Akemi's lips twitched before he opened his mouth and said, "It doesn't matter."
Shikaku's face lit with surprise while Akemi turned. "I'm not that guy anymore," he said lightly. "So just call me Akemi, okay?"
Shikaku grimaced like he knew what Akemi was really saying, and disagreed, but he nodded. "Sure, if that's what you want."
Akemi inclined his head. Then he walked up to the food stand on the left, pulling out some money from his weapons pouch and handing it to the teenager who grinned. The boy went to grab a fresh bowl of tamago kake gohan and set it along with chopsticks on the counter.
The Uchiha got seated on the stool, and waved goodbye to Shikaku. He sensed the man leave while he broke the chopsticks and stirred the raw egg on the soy-flavored rice. Finally, with his back to the tortilla stand, he picked up some of the rice and took a bite.
Well, this story is officially 2 years old, so happy anniversary!
Thank you all so much for supporting me with your lovely reviews and more over the years 😃 They really do make my day!
And I hope you enjoyed this chapter, which is the longest one yet. We're now about a third of the way through Part II of Iluso del Alma and I hope everyone is enjoying Akemi's journey.
Next time: Akemi gets a little older and peace seems within reach, but tensions are rising in the Village and an old enemy reappearing can only make things worse…
Btw, no one came close to guessing Dragon's true identity, so here's a hint: Dragon wasn't born in Kumo and her described appearance shouldn't be trusted.
Take care!