From the looks of it, not many people decide to read this fanfic, but I love the premise. I also love of the characters, so I must press on xp. From this chapter forward, I have built it on premises and ideas that never fully developed on the site. Enjoy! And as always, any reviews are helpful ones. (: They are motivators for sure! Hope you enjoy the rest of this little series. -Hot Mess 12

As much as Akaya wished she could stop training, she knew it wasn't an option. Her ankle had healed over the days she was unconscious, but it was still stiff. Most of her cuts and bruises had been tended to as well. She weakly smiled knowing Tajek did that. As her shoes touched the slippery, wet ground, she caught a glimpse of Shin standing tall in the distance. He had a calm demeanor, and somehow, that made her uneasy. It was as if he feared nothing. But Akaya knew everyone feared something. Demons were no exception. He was just good at hiding it.

Suddenly, Akaya heard the sound of metal being released from his pocket. She quickly pulled out her windmill shriken and deflected the kunais that approached her from the front and right side. By habit, Akaya knelt down and picked them off the ground and shoved them into her pocket. Any advantage would help her in a battle. That was one of the lessons she learned from Shin early on, and she intended to take the lecture to heart.

Instinctively, Akaya knew the Shin had moved from where he had originally stood. Within the last few hours of training, Shin made sure that she could track a person with a simple chakra technique. It was a difficult feat to achieve, and Shin had been impressed to see how quickly she had mastered the trait. She almost learned it as fast as a demon. Akaya smirked as she felt the chakra signature from the kunai he had thrown. He was behind her now, waiting for her next move. She quickly did hand signs. "Ying-yang dragon blaster: dragon barrier." Rapidly, a blue barrier circled around Akaya to protect her for many attack options Shin had available in his disposal. However, Akaya was still cautious to unleash only small amount of the dragon's power out because she knew Shin was intelligent and had seen her fight before. He would know that taijutsu attacks would break the barrier.

She glanced down at her feet, seeing Akira fold between her feet into a shadow. Akira was yet another minor precaution. She heard the high pitch squeal of nails cutting against something. Before she was able to turn around, Shin had placed a kunai around her neck. Akaya knew that Shin was incredibly fast, but she never realized just how fast he was. However, his approach was only a minor setback. He had made his move, and now it was time to make hers.

And although long range attacks were her forte, hand to hand combat was her favorite. The kunai he had chosen was dull, probably because he used the sharp ones initially. It was only sharp to the point that a slight pressure would break her skin and not kill her. That is, if she timed it right.

Disappointedly, Shin looked down at his pupil. She was like a deer under a arrow: silent and dead. He thought she would have faired better than this. He began to speak firmly. "You let your guard down. That is one rule that must always be followed. Otherwise, you are as good as dead."

Akaya just spoke confidently. "Who ever said I let my guard down." As if almost on cue, Akira materialized gripping Shin's wrist long enough for Akaya to slide away from the kunai with nothing but a small scratch-like mark. Akaya had briefly forgotten that the barrier was still up before she tumbled back from Shin. She watched as he set fire to the kunai, and Akira quickly descended back into Akaya's shadow. Her owner frowned, knowing that fire was something shadow demons couldn't withstand. But it came as no surprise that Shin knew that. He had been around longer than anyone else she knew.

She frantically did hand signs, but Shin quickly locked tightly onto one of her arm from the front, restricting her chakra flow. "Nice move, kid. But no one is here to aid you now."

Akaya simply closed her eyes in fury. Shin never referred to her as a kid. It was because she was never a child in his eyes. She was a bright pupil and an useful ally. Rage engulfed her senses as she eyed the person in front of her. To her surprise, there was a green aura around his body. It was a chakra aura, and somehow, she could tell that Shin was anxious from this aura.

Shin just saw this new technique that Akaya discovered. It felt eerily familiar to him. As if he had been through it before, but he knew that he hadn't. And that was slightly making him anxious. He had never seen this specific technique before, and if it got out of control, he wasn't exactly sure how to stop it. Even so, he loosened his grip on her arm. "Calm down, Akaya."

Akaya breathed out slowly, knowing that whatever was going on was a new technique she would have to master. It had been quite eventful for her lately. Her emotions simmered down into a peaceful demeanor. "Okay." This new eye technique was somewhat scary to her. She had never really learned that such a technique existed. And what really shocked her was that she didn't know how to make it stop.

Shin held onto her shoulder and got down to her eye-level. "Relax. You need to relax. Any new technique can be a daring task to handle. That's another lesson you must learn." He smirked. "That lesson wasn't supposed to happen today, but it can't be helped now."

Tajek stood at a distance, watching Akaya's panicky behavior. It wasn't like her to react in such a way. Something was wrong, but from his distance, he wasn't exactly sure. He was about to race out onto the field, when he saw Shin's smirk. He loosened up to the idea of letting Shin handle the situation. He had a lot more experience than Tajek had anyways. And if he trust her with Shin before he returned, he could now as well. As he kept looking on, he felt a familiar presence emerge from the house. "It's about time you came back around her, Tajek."

"Nice to see you too, Sesoni." Tajek kept his eye directed on Akaya even though he was glad to see his dear friend. There was an immense tension between them that Tajek couldn't figure out.

Sesoni just stood there near his young friend. He was encouraged that Tajek was back because he knew that his village needed him. But to approach that topic at the moment was tricky. So he avoided it. Much like Shin, he knew the inevitable was going to happen to Konoha, but unlike his ally, he was already informed that it happened. He looked out at Akaya in her distress. How was she going to take it? "She'll be fine. Thanks to you."

Tajek just sighed. "What's wrong?"

Sesoni simply sighed back. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" He paused as he looked down at his now grown-up friend. When he left, he was a young boy who was only a tender genin. Now, two years later, he was a strong man who came back to who made him push himself so hard in the first place. There was no reason to beat around the bush on such a sensitive topic. "Fine, I'll tell you. But you can't balme this on yourself."

"Fine." Tajek looked at Sesoni for the first time. He looked battered, only beaten. His expression was somber, and whatever he had to tell Tajek was not going to be pleasant to hear. "Fine, I won't blame myself."

As the words poured cautiously out of Sesoni's mouth, Tajek's face dropped in complete shock. His hope, that because of Akaya had been at an all-time high, had quickly plummeted. The thing he was trying to avoid had showed up where his heart had been. He looked out at Akaya, who had immensely calmed down. He just looked out at her. For all of the pain he was going to experience, she would experience it tenfold. Konoha was the only home she had ever had. It was where she had planned to stay and defend until her death. She wanted kids to grow up in the academy and race through the streets. And now. Any dream of being in Konoha was shattered. Konoha as they knew it was no more.

And all Tajek could think about was Akaya.

Akaya closed her eyes and concentrated. If anger activated them then being calm would trigger them off. Well, that was her theory. She opened them up to see Shin smiling encouragingly. Everything was back to normal with her vision.

Shin pulled lightly on her ponytail. "See. Everything works out. You just have to focus."

Akaya smiled brightly back at her teacher. "Thanks. Guess I'll have to play with my personalized technique later."

They both traveled closer to the Mizukage's home. As soon as Tajek was in her view, she raced to meet him. She noticed that Sesoni was there beside him. And that was when she stopped running and started sprinting. The look on their faces showed that something was completely wrong.

She feel into Tajek's chest hard. She clinged onto his neck as tightly as she could. His hands pushed her further in. "Calm down, Akaya." "What's wrong?" She didn't want to hear any lies. She needed the truth, even though she knew that it was going to hurt.

Tajek just held her as he looked at Shin and Sesoni. Somehow, he knew they both knew what the news was. It wasn't a shocking feat for them to believe. And so, following in their footsteps, he stayed strong and let Akaya melt in his arms. She wasn't crying. She was just afraid of what was to happen. She had already been through one tragedy; another one was not in her agenda. And yet, here she was, feeling as weak as she had two years ago.

Tajek just kissed the top of her head before he attempted to speak. "Konoha was attacked once we left." Akaya's heart sank. She had a horrible feeling that she should have been there. She should have defended her home. Through his shirt, she spoke as loudly as she could. "Who survived?"

Tajek's eyes began to water. It wasn't for himself; it was his love. She was faltering. He had to help her stay on her feet. However, he stayed calm and collected when he spoke. "As far as we know, not many."

And with that, Akaya was submerged in his arms, and tears trickled down her face.