15 - Rebuild
The wind swirled around Akemi while he stood in a clearing surrounded by a dense forest, his bang fluttering over his right eye and chakra brimming on his fingertips.
He waited. His breaths were even and measured, senses stretching in every direction. The Uchiha didn't bother looking around, already locked on his opponents' chakra signatures. They were aware he was monitoring them, which was why one finally forwent hiding and shot out of the bushes with their fist careening towards his head.
Akemi's chakra strings leapt up to catch the sickle his opponent had thrown up—as if he wouldn't notice that—while his hand caught Saisu's fist before it could hit him.
Yet the spiky-haired boy smirked and Akemi's eyes widened when he sensed a chakra signature underneath him.
Akemi jumped as the earth cracked under his feet and flung Saisu down when Hana burst out of the dirt. The girl cried out, Saisu dropping on her and knocking them both down. However, she quickly shoved him off with a glare.
"You said you'd distract him, baka!" she hissed, already rising and pulling out four shuriken.
Akemi touched down on a tree branch above, but his chakra strings whipped the sickle down at his friends.
Saisu glared at Hana. "I did distract him!" He leapt back, dodging the sickle so it struck the earth without looking away from the girl.
"Yeah," Hana growled, sarcasm rich in her voice while she looked up and threw her shuriken at Akemi. "For like a second!"
"It was three seconds!" Saisu snapped, ripping his sickle from the ground, slipping out a kunai with ninja wire tied around the handle, and stabbing it into the tree Akemi was in.
The Uchiha wove left and right to dodge Hana's shuriken. Yet the girl threw eight kunai immediately after, forcing Akemi to toss his own kunai to counter them. Their blades clashed midair beneath him, but Akemi's eyes widened as smoke exploded around the kunai—one of her blades must have been a henged smoke bomb.
"Wow, three seconds," Hana said from below the smoke cloud and Akemi's senses confirmed she was still under him. "How amazing—"
"Shut up, dog breath!"
Akemi smirked, hearing Saisu behind him on another tree, and took out a kunai while he turned.
His eyes widened, seeing a black walkie talkie taped to the other tree. He quickly sensed Saisu's chakra signature behind him and whirled around, throwing chakra strings from his left hand to wrap around the boy's wrists and ankles.
Saisu froze with a kunai raised over Akemi's head, another walkie-talkie gripped tightly in his other hand as he jerked against the invisible strings. "Very clever using your voice to throw me off." Akemi raised his kunai and pointed it at Saisu's throat. "I'm guessing it was Hana's idea."
Saisu stopped struggling and grinned cheekily. "Why don't you ask her?" He looked over Akemi's shoulder pointedly. "Was it your plan, mutt-girl?"
Akemi rolled his eyes, though he made sure Hana's signature was still beneath them near the ground. "I'm not falling for—"
A hand stuck the back of Akemi's neck and he choked, releasing Saisu reflexively while clutching his throat as he wheezed.
"I take it back, you're actually a great distraction." Hana smirked from behind them, and Akemi felt the wind shift at his back. Yet before Hana could kick him, he threw out his chakra strings and caught her ankle.
"Woah!" Hana teetered on one leg. However, suddenly a force yanked on Akemi's ankle and his eyes widened as he was dragged off the branch while Saisu swiftly cut through his chakra strings with his sickle to free Hana.
Akemi fell, yelling as the ground approached him fast and throwing out chakra strings from his hands. They wrapped around a thick branch and Akemi jerked to a stop midair, but the pull of his leg continued so he ended up feeling like a rope during tug of war.
He looked down and saw ninja wire coiled around his foot—had he stepped in a trap?
His thought cut off when shuriken sliced through his chakra strings and he was suddenly falling again. However, eight kunai flew at him and speared into the edges of his his red shirt and khaki shorts, the force of impact knocking him into a tree.
The boy hissed as his head hit the trunk hard while the kunai pinned him like a bug upside down against the bark.
"Yesss! We finally got him!" Saisu cheered from somewhere above, and Akemi was going to reach him with his chakra strings when a gray puppy with a white underside appeared beside his head on a branch.
He looked at it in shock while the puppy—a summon—growled and bared his sharp teeth. Genuine fear sparked in his heart because summons never liked him, and he quickly said, "Okay, I concede, you win, now let me go rápido!"
The dog's brown eyes narrowed and it moved to bite his neck when Hana landed in a crouch beside it. She quickly picked up the dog and settled it on her shoulder. "Good work, Haimaru!"
Akemi breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled, though the dog continued growling lowly. "This is Haimaru," Hana patted the dog's head. "My new ninken."
The Uchiha frowned, noticing the chakra emitting from the puppy. "He has your chakra signature…wait, no, not quite." He scowled. "That was him on the forest floor, somehow mimicking your signature—"
"While I hid my chakra and snuck up behind you." Hana giggled, clearly pleased with herself as she reached to remove the kunai pinning his sleeves to the tree. "And Saisu tied ninja wire around your feet—"
"Which was tied to that kunai down there," He looked to the kunai Saisu had stabbed into a tree near the forest floor, "And he held the other end of the wire in his hand beneath the walkie talkie so I wouldn't notice him holding it. Now I don't have to ask."
He smiled while Hana tore the last of the kunai from his legs and he moved his feet to stand against the bark, circulating chakra so he wouldn't fall as she removed the ones in his sleeve. "I know only you could have thought of a plan this good."
Hana stopped, dropping a kunai, and Akemi winced when the blade sliced down his arm as it fell to the earth below. The girl gasped, quickly apologizing, "Sorry! My h-hand, um, slipped!
Akemi frowned, noticing the blush adorning her cheeks—she was really embarrassed by her mistake, huh? Ah, kids, adorable.
He shook his head. "Don't worry." He rotated his wrist to pull out a kunai from his trapped sleeve, handing it back to her. "It's just a paper cut."
She frowned, hastily taking the other blades out of his other sleeve with nervous twitching, and Akemi was going to reassure her more when Saisu dropped down next to her. "Got ya, Akemi-san!"
Hana started and scowled at the boy while Saisu sneered in Akemi's face. "You totally didn't see my plan coming!" He pointed his thumb at himself.
"Your plan?" Hana raised a brow while Akemi stood up on the tree trunk. "You were just the distraction in my plan."
Saisu glared at her. "Like a dog brain is smart enough to make a plan—"
Haimaru turned sharply to Saisu, his growling now directed at him, and the boy hastily raised his hands. "I meant Hana, not you!"
The girl scoffed and Akemi chuckled. "Alright, guys, you both got me." He smiled, unbothered at losing since he could have beaten them with his Sharingan if he could use it. "But I've got to head to work."
Saisu frowned, yet soon grinned. "We know." He smirked. "I'm just glad we beat you for once!"
Akemi faux-glowered. "Enjoy your single victory out of what—twenty rounds?" He smirked and Saisu stuck out his tongue.
Akemi playfully shoved him back and turned to walk down the tree, but Hana caught his elbow. He blinked while the girl leaned in by his ear, lips curving down. "Are you okay?"
Akemi grinned. "Yeah, the cut doesn't even hurt—"
"No." Hana shook her head. "I mean, you've been...tired or something lately. I know you're busy, but you don't laugh like you used—"
"I'm no more tired than any medic-nin." Akemi gently pulled his arm free before looking past her to Saisu. "See you guys later!" He started running down the tree and jumped to the ground once he was close.
Hana watched him jog away, face falling. "You've noticed too, haven't you?"
Saisu frowned behind her and crossed his arms. "He's probably just tired with all that medic-nin stuff." He sniffed, though concern shown in his dark eyes while he watched Akemi disappear in the forest.
Hana didn't respond, unsure what to say when she wasn't even sure what was wrong with Akemi, but eventually she sighed. "Boys are dumb."
Saisu, for once, conceded. It was true enough this time.
.
It was workshopping hour. Akemi sat on a stool in the empty laboratory, clothed in a white lab coat, mask, clear goggles and latex gloves. It felt like high school chemistry class all over again, but he swiftly dismissed those memories as he lifted the glass beaker filled with a honey-brown liquid.
He poured the urushiol into five vials sitting in a plastic holder on the steel countertop, and set the beaker aside once they were filled. Grabbing some corks off the table, he sealed the vials with them. Then he picked up the vials and pulled ninja wire out of his coat pocket, securing them together.
Akemi stuffed the bundle in his weapon pouch and glanced at the clock over the glass door. He smiled under his mask, seeing it was six minutes till noon. Soon Biwako would come, they'd test out his monthly workshop project, and finally she would teach… Hyuga?
The boy eyed the lab entrance, sensing a Hyuga heading his way. It had to be someone he'd encountered before, but not someone he knew well enough to identify.
Akemi narrowed his eyes for a second before shrugging and deciding to focus on cleaning up since the person's chakra held no ill intentions. Rather, it was warm and sunny like a garden in summer.
He hopped off his chair and went to the sink, turning on the water to rinse the beaker. Once it was clean, he left it to dry on a cloth and started removing his gloves. He tossed them in the garbage and was removing his mask when someone opened the lab's glass door.
Akemi turned around and his eyes fluttered in shock. Hiashi's wife smiled from under a cream white cap matching her full body-covering uniform that had red kanji reading—Doctor—emblazoned over the chest.
Her dark violet hair was pulled up in a bun, though a few strands fell over her forehead as she regarded him. "Hello, Akemi-kun." Her tone was pleasant. "There's been a change of plans, Biwako-sama was called in for an emergency surgery."
Akemi deflated, heart sinking. "But we were going to practice medical ninjutsu, like actual medical ninjutsu." He sighed because he'd been looking forward to this day for months.
"Yes," the kunoichi smiled. "Which is why she asked me to teach you instead."
Akemi perked up, hope brightening his ebony orbs. "You will?" He wiggled excitedly in place.
The woman seemed amused, probably finding his childish antics adorable. "Yes, though I must first assess the new tool you made during workshop."
Akemi grinned, taking off his lab coat and tossing it in a yellow decontamination bin. "That's fine, let's go!" He stopped, recalling his manners. "Thank you for this, Hyuga-san." He bowed.
The woman waved him off. "You don't have to be so formal. When we're at work, I'm just Himari."
The Uchiha's brow rose, hearing the woman's name for the first time. Yet he shook off his surprise and smiled. "Okay, Himari."
The woman's face brightened and she held open the door. Akemi went out and she followed him into the hallway, walking at his side.
Companionable silence reigned between them for a while, but as they neared the staircase, Akemi began, "So you must know healing jutsu and how to make chakra scalpels, since you managed to save Hizashi-san."
The woman's chakra spiked slightly before smoothing out, and Akemi's eyes narrowed, the emotional spike too brief for him to discern what emotion she'd felt. "Are you still assisting him as he heals?" he asked, stuffing childish innocence into his voice.
"Yes," Himari said, tone flat though not unkind. "He's having a rough time recovering due to the nature of his injuries."
Akemi frowned, not discerning any lie in her words. Well, at least this confirmed Hizashi was still alive—something Akemi had started to doubt after not seeing the man for three months. However, if Hizashi was alive, why hadn't anybody outside the Hyuga clan seen him since the accident?
The eight-year old looked to the woman worriedly. "Does he blame me for his injuries? Is that why he won't see me—"
"He's ashamed," Himari cut in swiftly, and Akemi bowed his head to hide his smirk as her chakra spiked with guilt—but was it guilt over lying or guilt for not being able to help Hizashi more? "He thinks his injuries are an embarrassment he should have avoided, that's all." Her eyes crinkled with sympathy, tone softening. "So don't blame yourself for that night Akemi-kun. You did nothing wrong."
Sincerity rang in her voice and Akemi felt a bit bad tricking her into thinking he was guilt-riddled, but clearly something was wrong with Hizashi for him to still be recovering after six months. And he couldn't help the Hyuga without knowing what was wrong. However, with how tightlipped Hiashi was being, he might have to take drastic measures to learn the truth.
Akemi shook off those thoughts as they arrived on the first floor and Himari pulled out a bronze key, approaching a metal door labeled—STAFF ONLY—with a hazard sign underneath it. She put the key in the lock, turned it till there was a click, and opened the door.
Himari entered the hall, heading down the stone steps that gleamed under the white high bay lights. Akemi walked after her, trying not to shiver from the cool air in the underground floor. He didn't have access to this level yet, but didn't mind since crafting and testing out bio-weapons wasn't his priority—though it was admittedly fun to experiment.
The Hyuga stepped down onto the concrete floor and into a corridor that had eight doors. She passed the first two and opened the third stamped with a large orange three. "For luck." She smiled at him.
Akemi cocked his head. "I thought eight was a lucky number?"
Himari laughed slightly. "Yes, but three is just an eight that hasn't been completed, no?"
Akemi blinked, yet the woman was already going into the test room, and he quickly did the same. The room was completely white, from top to bottom to sides. The only exceptions were the black line on the left and the one on the right as well as the red circle in the middle where Himari stood.
"Let's begin." Himari crossed her arms, smirking. "Type and level?"
"Trap, level 3." Akemi smiled, going to the line on the left and stopping. "You look eager."
Himari flashed her teeth. "It's not often medic-nin get to fight." She stretched out her arms and bent her knees in the Gentle Fist pose. "On the count of five, try to get past me to the other side."
Akemi stuck his hand in his weapon pouch, wrapping it around a black rubber ball and two smoke bombs. "I'm ready." He pulled out his orange googles with his free hand, set them on his face, and took up a running stance.
"Five," Himari started. "Four, three, two—" The veins bulged around her eyes, Byakugan flaring. "One."
A cyclone burst around her and Akemi raised his arm to brace against the chakra and wind.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
Akemi's eyes widened because wasn't the Hyuga clan head the only one who should know this technique?
The eight-year old scowled and took his hand out his pouch. Well, change of plans then.
He ducked his head, focusing on his feelings of shock and worry, and allowing them to expand until his heartbeat sped up. The natural energy shifted in his body, and he grinned, sensing it around his core. Now like a Sage used their chakra to pull in natural energy from the world, he used his chakra to guide his natural energy up to his eyes.
It was getting easier to control his energy now that he knew it was attracted to his chakra, especially when he was emotional—perhaps because chakra was connected to one's emotional state? However, his natural energy never seemed to stay in the same place so he had to let himself get a bit emotional to find it before he could mould it. Otherwise, he might release too much natural energy with his jutsu, which is what he had accidentally been doing for years.
And it was all thanks to that boulder almost killing him that he'd realized his natural energy followed his active chakra. Though he still wasn't sure why using natural energy drained him so much—maybe because he'd been born with the pocket of energy so his body wasn't used to losing some of it? Or why his natural energy liked clinging to his Sharingan—perhaps because natural energy normally flowed around the eyes?
Regardless, Akemi was at the point where he could easily activate his dōjutsu and siphon natural energy into it. So he kept his head bowed while his Sharingan turned golden, and covertly looked up to examine the whirlwind of chakra around Himari, which seemed to be moving a lot slower thanks to his dōjutsu.
The cyclone reached the ceiling and nearly touched the walls, but the sphere wasn't perfect and the space it occupied fluctuated. That meant there had to be an opening…somewhere… There!
The eight-year old frowned because the opening was already closing after a second—not enough time to go through it even with a wind jutsu.
Akemi continued watching the whirlwind, tomoe darting around and locating several other openings. He counted how long each one stayed open, and found the larger openings closed faster—at around half a second—while the smaller ones could stay open for three seconds. So he'd go through a smaller opening. Yet that put him at higher risk of brushing against the rotation and being flung into the wall.
Okay, some extra protection would be wise. He formed the clone sign and two Akemis appeared behind him in clouds of smoke. "You guys know what to do?"
"Hai!"
"¡Sí!"
Akemi glared at Santiago and the shadow clone glowered back. "You again? I swear if you don't stop speaking that language—"
"¿Harás qué?" Santiago challenged, hands balling up, and Akemi twitched at hearing the Spanish. What was wrong with his clone? Didn't he know there was no point in speaking a language that barely existed in this world? He might as well forget it—
Akemi shook his head, he was getting off track, and refocused on the cyclone. "On the count of three, start the plan." He deactivated his Sharingan and so did Santiago, though his first clone kept his on. "One."
"Two," his clone said.
"Tres."
Akemi scowled, but then Santiago was on his back, arms wrapping around his neck, and he was jumping up high. His first clone performed five signs and sucked in a deep breath, chakra building in his throat. Yet he waited until a small opening appeared before blowing out the wind gust.
Akemi didn't look back, but heard the shriek of wind before it crashed into him and launched him towards the cyclone. Santiago spread more of his body around him and Akemi's lips drew to a line as he saw the opening already starting to shrink.
"Ay, dios m—"
Santiago's voice cut out as he popped, the opening having closed on him while Akemi sailed on untouched.
The Uchiha hurtled towards the black line on the left side of the room. Yet Himari stopped her rotation and twisted back, Byakugan eyes narrowing. She sprang towards him and Akemi smirked, whipping out the smoke bombs and ball.
He threw them back as he descended towards the black line, channeling chakra to his legs for the impact. Himari chopped the smoke bombs away in a blur of movement, but when her hand hit the rubber ball, it cracked and yellow slime leapt out of it and onto her hand.
She threw herself back, but Akemi formed five signs and heat billowed in his mouth before he spat out fire. She turned to evade the flames when the slime suddenly expanded up her arm.
Himari fell to the ground and Akemi landed on the black line, smirking while the woman stared curiously at the slime. She tried pulling it off, but the slime was like limestone trapping her right arm.
"I see," the woman huffed, smiling. "You used heat to make the slime expand and harden so it immobilizes the target's hand. Then they can't use jutsu unless they know one-handed signs."
She didn't seem upset over his trapping her, but rather fascinated. "That's quite creative, Akemi-kun. I'm sure Biwako-sama will be happy to hear your weapon passes inspection. Though I'm curious about how you got past my rotation." Her Byakugan receded. "Since it is the Hyuga clan's ultimate defense."
"Oh, you know," Akemi flapped his hand dismissively. "I used my sensory abilities to find space between your rotation and the walls." He started walking towards her, pulling out a dropper of acid.
Himari frowned slightly. "I suppose my rotation isn't as good as my husband's considering I taught myself the Palm Rotation," she said idly as he poured two drops of acid on the woman's slime-covered arm and immediately the yellow slime started cracking and breaking off.
"Still," Akemi looked up, putting the dropper away. "It's amazing you learned such an advanced technique by yourself."
The woman smiled. "Actually, my proficiency is all thanks to Hiashi. When we were younger, he happened to see me practicing it and became very upset, started lecturing me about all the ways I was doing it wrong."
Akemi chuckled slightly. "Seriously? What'd you do?"
"I called him some words you're too young to hear." Akemi burst out laughing. "But once he left, I calmed down and thought about what he said. His advice actually helped me improve a lot. However, I was so prideful back then I didn't have the courage to apologize. So I just made him some udon and left it on his bedroom window without a note, I'm not sure he ever even realized it was from me."
"That was sweet, of you," Akemi gushed, hearts in his eyes. Himari raised a brow and he stilled, frowning. "What? Can't a guy love a good romance?"
The woman chuckled, mirth in her eyes. "Well, enough of that." She brushed off the remains of his slime and flexed her freed hand. "It's time for you to learn medical ninjutsu."
Akemi's eyes glimmered. "What are you going to teach me?" he asked, almost breathless from excitement.
"What do you want to learn?" Himari asked. "Biwako-sama didn't tell me what I should to teach you, so you can learn either chakra scalpels or healing juts—"
"Healing jutsu!" Akemi shouted, hands balled up in front of his chest and shaking excitedly.
The woman blinked at his enthusiasm, but soon nodded. "Alright." She straightened up, expression growing serious. "Listen closely, this jutsu even at the beginner level should not be taken lightly. Few medic-nin are capable of performing it not because its hard, but because they lack chakra control."
Akemi nodded, expression grave. "I know, Himari-san. Too much chakra in a wound could send a patient into a coma or even kill them."
"It sounds like you took your studies seriously. Do you remember all the steps?" Akemi inclined his head. "Good, so all that's left is for you to practice," a kunai slid out of her long-sleeve and into her hand, "On a live specimen." Akemi gasped as she sliced her own palm. "Heal this." She offered her hand to him, blood starting to weep from the thin cut.
Akemi bit his lip, excitement turning into nervousness. "Are you sure? I mean, shouldn't I try it out on like a dog or something firs—"
"You won't be healing dogs," Himari said not unkindly, gaze steady and tranquil. "Unless you're planning to become a veterinary medic-nin."
Akemi frowned. "No, I'll…I'll do it," he whispered, taking her hand and gently lowering it to his level. He stared at the blood, itching to call on his Sharingan, but he was too close to Himari to hide it from her.
"Just give me like a second," Akemi stuttered, mind whirring while he stared at the blood in her palm. He slowly raised his hand over hers and a small amount of glowing green chakra fell over his hand.
Start small if you're unsure how bad the wound is, then gradually increase the chakra if the wound doesn't react, a voice likening Biwako's said in his head.
The Uchiha lowered the chakra around his hand, sweat beading on his forehead under his goggles. A part of him wanted to take them off because seeing the world tinted orange was the last thing he needed right now. It was just he wasn't sure how his natural energy was going to react to medical ninjutsu? What if it treated the techniques like his Sharingan and came out whenever he used healing jutsu?
Akemi shook his head and sighed harshly. No, no time for doubts. Either the natural energy would come out or it wouldn't, and he'd just have to deal with whatever happened next.
The boy lowered his glowing hand over Himari's wound, waiting a few seconds to see if it would close or if golden flecks would shine in his healing jutsu. Neither happened, so he increased the chakra flowing out his hands, aiming it towards the middle of the palm.
Himari gasped slightly and Akemi's heart jumped, thinking she saw gold in his chakra until he noticed her skin closing around her cut. It…it worked? He was actually healing someone?
"This is awesome!" Akemi sensed Himari's chakra coursing steadily under his healing chakra and ended the jutsu, realizing her cut was healed.
The Hyuga took her hand back, taking out a cloth from her pocket and wiping off the blood. Then she turned it back to show Akemi her unmarred palm. "See?" She smiled wide. "I'm better than ever." She wiggled her fingers jokingly.
"I'm so happy—" Akemi froze, memories from his shadow clone slamming into him. Himari cocked her head, noticing, and the boy quickly said, "Uh, it looks like I need to get home. Mind if we cut this lesson off early?"
Himari frowned, but soon held a finger against her lips and winked. "I won't tell if you don't."
"Thanks, you're the best, Himari!" He held up his hand in farewell then turned it into the tiger seal. The wind whirled around him as the image of him flickered before he shunshined out of the room.
Himari dropped her hand, face scrunching uncertainty. The boy seemed nice, though he was even stranger than her husband had described. However, there had been something off about his healing jutsu.
She activated her Byakugan and looked down at her healed palm, zeroing in on her chakra. She gasped.
Orange energy glittered around the blue chakra in her hand, but she blinked and the orange flecks disappeared. Her pale eyes widened while she whispered, "What…was that?"
.
Itachi sat across from Akemi in the frozen field beside the towering stone with red kanji reading—SHINOBI. It had been two years since they'd hiked here together and it almost made him nostalgic to see the border of Konoha again. However, they were at the remote location for a reason.
"I have visions of the future and the past," Akemi said from where he was leaning back on his hands, cross-legged. "And I mean really far into the past, like back before humans had chakra." Itachi's jaw dropped while Akemi smiled at his reaction. "But for the future, I can only see up to Sasuke's early thirties."
Itachi reeled back and Shisui let out a whistle from the long-range radio clipped to his waist, the older boy having been unable to come since he was out on a mission. Though he was thankfully close enough to Konoha to be in range for the radio.
"Sasuke? Thirty? I can't even picture that," Shisui's voice crackled from the bulky device. "I mean, when I try to I just imagine Sasuke's head on some tall guy…with a fake mustache."
Itachi balked at the image, and scowled at the radio, though his friend couldn't see it. Shisui knew him well, however, and sighed, "I can feel you glaring."
"And the problem is," Akemi went on, unable to hear Shisui from where he was sitting. "There's quite a few bad things in this world heading our way. Technically, I don't have to prevent them, but I can't help trying to fix things, to fix them."
Itachi frowned, recalling Shisui's words from years ago.
"Constantly carrying the weight of the future and deciding on matters of life and death…"
Itachi hugged himself, rubbing his burgundy coat sleeves and hoping his brother assumed he was just cold when actually he was feeling guilty. He should have offered to help his twin the minute he'd suspected Akemi tried preventing the Nine-Tails Attack. Yet he'd been so focused on his training and goal, his brother went to fix things alone and nearly gotten himself killed not once, but three times!
Itachi's grip tightened on his biceps. At least he'd asked Shisui for help with the Hyuga Incident, but a bitter part of him wondered why hadn't he asked him?
"I didn't want you to worry," Akemi said, sympathy in his gaze as he seemed to read Itachi's mind, always so perceptive of his feelings. "And I can't actually tell either of you about my visions anyway, even if I need your help. Just warning you about an event would change the way you act or cause you to do something you wouldn't have in the original timeline until—"
"Your visions become useless because too much changed," Itachi said, lips a line.
Akemi frowned, looking away. "More like it already has." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just the fact I've tried to change things have caused some events not to go like my visions showed, which have made some of my plans riskier than I planned."
He raised his head, eyes narrowing with resolve. "But I'm not going to make that mistake anymore. Now I'm going to be prepared for anything at anytime, and I will go to you guys for help if I need it."
He frowned, face falling. "Just please don't be upset when I don't warn you about things, or if I don't come to you for help every time. I know you care about me and I appreciate that, but there are going to be a lot of people counting on you in the future…I can't risk losing you without endangering many others."
The radio crackled with a grunt and thud like someone dropped down onto the ground. "Itachi," Shisui whispered seriously. "I know you probably want to tell Akemi to stop." Itachi stiffened because that was what he was going to do, grab his brother and shake sense into him because his twin shouldn't have to shoulder the whole world—only older brothers should bear such a responsibility.
"But we both know he won't listen," Shisui sighed and there was a rustling sound—he must have been using a shunshin. "And since we can't tell anybody about his foresight, it would only be us versus him and Akemi is more stubborn than he appears."
"Nii-san?" Akemi asked, expression fraught with nervousness while snowflakes drifted around him, and Itachi realized he should answer him but…
"If we don't support him, he'll do it alone and probably get in over his head like he did in Kumo."
Itachi grimaced, yet Shisui was right. So he forced his tone and expression to remain calm as he said, "We'll help you anyway we can, just promise me you won't do anything alone unless you have no choice."
Akemi brightened, and nodded almost desperately. "Okay, I promise." He pushed himself up, wobbling on his ankle brace, and in a flash, lunged at Itachi.
Itachi's eyes widened as he was tackled to the ground, grunting while his brother hugged him tight. "I love you, Nii-san!" He rubbed his cheek against Itachi's like a pleased cat.
"Heeey, what about me?" Shisui whined over the radio, and Akemi grinned before making kissing noises at the speaker.
Shisui cackled, laugh crackling like popcorn over the signal, and Itachi sighed as he gently patted Akemi's back. However, his twin looked to him, smile dimming into a serious expression. "I really will be more careful, Nii-san," he whispered. "So please don't worry… I don't want to leave you either."
Itachi's heart ached at the raw honesty in his brother's raven gaze, and he reached to hug his brother back tightly. "I'll always be there for you," he swore like he had half a lifetime ago.
And Itachi was doing his best to uphold that promise, much more than he ever had. Now whenever he was free, he wouldn't go straight to training, but would skim through newspapers to see if anything big was happening or watch a news channel. He even had his crows lookout for anything that might be of interest to him, and if something interesting did happen, he'd tell Akemi about it.
Akemi seemed to appreciate the effort, a smile crawling onto his face whenever he told him about recent events or sometimes a considering look, which Itachi suspected was when he heard something connected to his visions.
That was why Itachi was on alert when going home after a mission, traveling through the trees, and noticed someone down on the cobbled road despite it being early dawn. Izumi stopped, looking around the closed Uchiha shops with a nervous expression, and Itachi quickly stepped out from behind the branches hiding him.
She noticed him and sighed in relief as Itachi leapt down beside her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He rose from his crouch.
"N-no," Izumi stuttered, face cherry red like it always was when they talked. "It's okay, Itachi-kun. She waved him off, blush receding. "I'm just jumpy."
"Jumpy?" Itachi asked, worry settling on his face while he started walking to his house.
Izumi joined him, running her fingers through her bang over her purple high collar. "It's nothing, or well, it's silly." Itachi stared at her, expression blank because maybe it was nothing if she thought so—
"It's just," Izumi chewed her lip, "Sometimes when I'm here in the compound…I suddenly feel scared." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And I'm not sure what's scaring me…"
Itachi frowned while Izumi hugged herself. "It's stupid, I kno—"
"I feel the same way."
Izumi looked up, brown eyes big. "Especially around the adults in our clan." Itachi's face hardened. "It feels like they want to say something or do something, but they're holding themselves back, and it makes me tense like I'm bracing for a blow… Even my parents give me that feeling when they think I can't see."
His gaze fell to the floor. "But I don't think people our age are supposed to know, so you shouldn't tell anyone about this." He looked to her, face softening though his tone was stern. "My brother feels the same way, if you ever need someone to talk to about it, he's a good listener."
Unfortunately, his brother could only be a listener, as Itachi was pretty sure Akemi's visions had revealed to him why all the adult Uchiha were on edge, but his brother couldn't tell him without risking the future. Itachi understood, though he found it frustrating his twin was keeping secrets—even if he did the same.
Izumi's lips parted, surprised by the offer, but soon she smiled shyly. "Y-you're a good listener too, you know."
Itachi was taken aback by the compliment, but then the girl looked aside and he saw her house a few feet away. "I should go, I got to clean up before school starts." He suddenly noticed dirt stains on her pants—had she been training?
"Oh!" Izumi gasped. "And congratulations on getting your Sharingan!"
The boy blinked, but soon grinned—the warmth on her face far outweighed his father's flat praise, like his gaining the Sharingan was merely a task he'd fulfilled. Izumi sent him a parting smile before running to her house and hurrying inside.
Itachi's smile fell, and he resumed his trek home. It was annoying, frustrating, and even a bit scary knowing something was wrong with the people around him yet being unable to know exactly what was wrong. The unknown was a terrible thing. However, considering the burden his twin carried, maybe the known was worse.
That was what he thought at the dining table when their mother had congratulated him on his team's upcoming mission to escort the Fire Daimyo. Akemi stopped, his entire body stopped while he was picking up a fried pepper with his chopsticks. He resumed eating a second later, but Itachi saw the recognition in his brother's eyes.
That was why the next morning Itachi was on alert when they retrieved the daimyo from the Land of Fire's capital, despite the fact two of the Twelve Guardian Ninja were right behind the palanquin that muscular servants were carrying the daimyo in, and four ANBU were following them from a distance. Tenma glaring at the back of his head certainly didn't help his nerves either.
That was a whole other issue, which had began a couple months ago. Tenma hadn't started being mean really, though his good-natured jibes had been less than good-natured as of late. Rather, the boy started avoiding him and no longer sought him outside of missions unless Shinko invited them both somewhere.
Itachi hadn't understand why the boy suddenly seemed to dislike him until Shinko grabbed him by the collar and set him on a tree stump, laying a hand over her face. "You're pretty dense for a genius," the thirteen-year old girl groaned in the flicker of the campfire. "Don't you know Tenma's clan are genjutsu-specialists?"
The Uchiha blinked. "Yes, like my clan."
"No," Shinko said firmly, expression serious. "Not like your clan," she set her hands on her hips, "Tenma's family doesn't have a Kekkei Genkai, just secret techniques."
Itachi didn't see her point and Shinko rolled her eyes. "Baka! You have the Sharingan now, a dōjutsu that makes powerful illusions." Her face fell. "Tenma might not have mastered his clan's techniques, but he's always been the genjutsu expert on this team…"
Itachi's eyes widened, realization slamming into him. "He's jealous?"
"Yes, but I also think he's hurting." She looked up at the starry sky. "He's always wanted to catch up to you, if not beat you, but now that you have those eyes," she exhaled. "He doesn't stand a chance."
Itachi frowned back at Tenma on the palanquin's right side, and wasn't surprised to find the boy glaring at him before swiftly looking away when Itachi met his gaze. The Uchiha's heart clenched. He needed to fix this, reassure Tenma before he lost his teammate—no, not just a teammate, a friend.
"Mo-mo!" A childish voice called and Itachi tensed, head whipping forward while Tenma snapped to attention.
Immediately the servants carrying the gold and scarlet palanquin stopped and Itachi's jonin teacher stepped in front of them, face more serious than he'd ever seen. Itachi moved his hand to his weapon pouch and tentatively stepped up to see around his teacher.
A man wearing a swirly orange mask and loose white obi around a black cloak covering every inch of his body from the neck down was crouched ahead in the dirt road.
"Mo-mo, are you heeere?" The man called, shaking a plastic bag of cat food.
"Who is this clown?" Tenma whispered behind him, brow cocked.
However, Itachi couldn't help recalling Akemi's face when he had mentioned this escort mission. Something was going to happen, and this man might be the source of that happening.
Though Itachi second-guessed himself when the masked man suddenly popped up and gasped, his lone dark eye raking over them. "People! Finally, I haven't seen anyone all day!"
Their jonin instructor frowned. "Yes, that's because this road is closed today, Oji-san," he said uncertainly. "You shouldn't be here, I'm not even sure how you got here."
The masked man cocked his head much like a curious child. "Oh, I was just chasing my kitten Mo-mo." Shinko released an excited gasp at the mention of a fluffy animal. "See?" He raised the bag of cat food, shaking it while—
The air trembled.
Itachi's chakra spiked as a genjutsu brushed over it, and his eyes flashed into his Sharingan, the boy crying, "Sensei—"
His teacher dropped like a stone, eyes closed. Itachi gaped as the palanquin crashed to the ground, tossing up dust while several other bodies dropped with a thump.
Itachi shifted into a defensive stance, but didn't reach for his kunai—couldn't as he took in the masked man who dropped the cat food while his eye regarded him like one regarding a worm.
"Sharingan?" The man questioned, voice deeper and harsher than before. "No wonder my genjutsu didn't affect you." His eye moved past Itachi. "But you are a surprise."
Itachi stiffened, realizing he wasn't the only one still standing right as Tenma raced past him.
"What did you to my team, freak!?" Tenma screamed, running with a kunai in each hand, but Itachi saw the man moving to intercept with his Sharingan so threw himself at the boy.
Tenma crashed into the palanquin, shock clear on his face as Itachi gripped his arms tight. "Tenma, he'll kill you!" he hissed, gaze locked on the masked man.
Yet Tenma scoffed. "Don't be such a scaredy-cat," he growled, shoving Itachi off him. "He's a joke—"
"Then where are the ANBU?" Itachi snapped, and Tenma's brow rose. "Don't you think they'd be here by now unless—"
"I killed them."
Itachi and Tenma stared at the man who sounded like he was smiling behind his mask. "How discerning of you, Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi stiffened and Tenma's eyes widened before he glared. "How do you know his name!?" He moved defensively in front of Itachi and the Uchiha wanted to stop him, but his thoughts were running over each other and he couldn't think.
This stranger was clearly a threat, one Itachi didn't have the strength to defeat even with Tenma's help, so what were they supposed to do? Run? No, the man might catch them, so maybe stall him until help arrived? Akemi should be coming right? As long as his twin brought help they'd be okay—
"Because I'm here for you, Uchiha Itachi."
The eight-year old flinched. "What?"
Tenma, however, threw a kunai at the man, and Itachi could see the kunai flying slowly with his dōjutsu until it sunk into the man's chest.
And flew out the other side without hurting the man. Itachi's mouth dropped and Tenma's eyes popped. "N-no way. How?" He swallowed. "Is this a genjutsu?"
"No," Itachi said breathily. "My Sharingan saw his chakra spin when your kunai touched him, like a vortex."
"What does that mean?" Tenma cried, clearly panicking.
Yet Itachi couldn't reply as the man the man began walking towards them. "I want you to come with me, Itachi."
Tenma threw another kunai, which flew right through the man's throat and into the field behind him.
Itachi again saw the man's chakra swirl in his neck when the kunai should have hit him, but he couldn't analyze what was happening as the man said, "If you don't come with me."
A visible vortex swirled around the man's eye and his image warped, fading into transparency to the point even his Sharingan could no longer see him.
"I'll kill him," the man's voice echoed while he disappeared like a ghost.
Itachi and Tenma swiveled around, but the man was nowhere to be seen. What type of jutsu did he use? And why did he threaten them only to leave?
Tenma shook his head. "He left…" His tone was skeptical, eyes darting everywhere in disbelief as sweat dripped down his face. "Why'd he leave?"
Itachi suddenly remembered Akemi was probably on his way. If the man was a sensor, maybe he'd noticed Akemi and whoever he brought to help rushing over, so decided to leave. The boy turned to Tenma. "I think help is coming…"
Itachi went rigid, scarlet eyes on the barely visible outline of the man behind Tenma, his fist sticking out the older boy's chest.
"Tenma," Itachi whispered, and the boy followed his gaze down right as the arm solidified.
A crunch resounded in the air. Tenma's eyes went blank. Blood welled around the arm in his chest and soaked his gray shirt.
For a horrible second, Itachi thought Tenma was dead.
Then the boy's lips parted with a wretched scream.
.
Akemi's nose scrunched with disgust at the odor coming off the green sludge streaming under him in the darkness. He ran along the sewer's brick ceiling, hair pressed down under the night vision goggles strapped to his head. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he slowed to a stop in front of a round metal hatch in the ceiling.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter, scanning the message again—three snake seals and one rat.
The boy frowned, feeling like the seals were a message in themselves before forming the signs. Then he laid his hand on the hatch and black seals flashed over the metal. Akemi reached for the handle once they'd receded, and easily threw open the hatch, peeking his head through the opening.
It was pitch-black, but the goggles revealed he was in a closet stuffed with tall metal shelves full of scrolls. He sighed and crawled through the hole. "Alright, enough with the theatrics." He stood and crossed his arms, hiding his nerves. "My clone found your letter at the orphanage. Now what do you want?"
The lights turned on and Akemi hissed, eyes snapping close against the light flooding his goggles. "Gah! Warn a guy, will you?" He swiftly yanked the goggles off, squinting in the dim light.
"Didn't you read my message?" Orochimaru asked from where he leaned against the wall, smirking slightly.
Akemi glowered. "Yes, you said if I didn't come I'd die." Exasperation leaked in his tone. "You know, you should really make up your mind. First I'm too interesting to kill and now you—"
"I didn't say I was going to kill you," Orochimaru said, sounding oddly subdued.
However, Akemi had better things to deal with than the Sannin's mind games, so asked, "Can this wait? I have a family thing soon." More like he needed to get a move on if he wanted to intercept Obito before he could attack his brother and the Fire Daimyo. He still had a few hours before his brother would reach the capital, but at this rate, Akemi might not catch up to them until the daimyo was on the road to Konoha.
"It can't." Orochimaru gazed strangely at him.
"So you are going to kill me?" Akemi raised a brow. "Come on, enough with—"
"Danzo wants you dead."
Akemi froze, and Orochimaru smiled, though his gaze was cool. "He's been hunting you for weeks." Akemi's mouth dropped. "And he plans to get rid of you by the end of the night."
The eight-year old's breath hitched, and he swallowed. "Well, um, I guess I can make some time to talk after all."
Orochimaru was going to speak, but stopped, his head whirling to the closed door. The man muttered something under his breath and Akemi frowned. "What? What's wrong?"
"They're here." Orochimaru's gaze sharpened. "You were followed."
Akemi went to speak, but heard a low hissing and looked down to see a purple mist rushing in from under the door. His face filled with horror when he recognized the poison right as it went up his nose.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed and everyone else supporting this story! This update was for all you awesome people and I hope you enjoyed the chapter 😃
Next time: Akemi and Itachi are on a deadline, but to save their precious people, sacrifices must be made…
Stay safe, everyone!