Concentration
Akaya stood in the shower still stunned at the events that happened just hours before. There was an ever-present guilt building up inside of her. She was supposed to be defending the nation she hailed so heavily from. Her loyalties were misplaced for one second, and the whole village is destroyed.
The steam started to take over her scenery. She was comforted in the fact that she was submerged in her own space for awhile, if only for a half hour maximum. It gave her a chance to think about what her next move was going to be. She grasped her shampoo in her right hand and poured it into her left hand. She carefully set the bottle down, but as it hit the slippery surface, it fell onto the shower's floor. She simply ignored it. She listened as the water hit hard against the plastic. It was soothing and even more so, distracting.
She lathered the shampoo and rubbed it softly and slowly through her hair and onto her scalp. She leaned her head back into the stream of water and let the soapy water run down her back and down into the drain. She let her hands go to her side and contemplated staying here with Tajek and the others or running back to her home to access the damage done. She deeply sighed and shook her head as she reached for the bottle. She took a hold of it, and slid the shower door open, placing it on the floor in the process.
She quickly and discreetly glanced in the mirror and noticed a fogged figure standing in the corner of the bathroom, away from any view of her except for a reflection from the mirror itself. She moved back into the shower, trying to find a potential weapon if need be. She looked at the small razor on the railing. She was screwed in hand-to-hand combat and in weaponry. So instead she slowly let the steam allude more of the mirror before summoning Akira silently and effortlessly while pretending to grab the bar of soap for the corner of the shower.
If the person decided to come any closer, that would be the last of them. Akaya wasn't going to hold back especially when she didn't know who was a threat anymore. She tried to wipe the memory away as she reached for the conditioner, but the knowledge she acquired was too strong to overcome. Even so she kept a keen eye on the blurry figure standing or waiting for her.
Akaya had learned from Shin's teachings that the best offense was a strong prepared defense. Gaining intelligence came from observing, so she went on with her routine in the shower, overanalyzing the situation like she always tended to do.
Akaya nostrils filled with the terrible stench of the sewers as they paced cautiously inside. Tajek, their ring leader, entered first. From the way the smirk rose to the corners of his lips, he was well prepared for this mission. Akaya smiled back at the rest of her comrades before she jumped down from the opening of the sewer. If he was so prepared for this mission and whatever it was going to lead to, she was going to have to act prepared as well.
As she fell into the dark underground system, she noticed the black fog that led straight into the center of the sewers. Amaya uneasily fell in, which made Akaya feel uneasy. Faithe was placed as a lookout from above while Amaya joined the three-person team. Calmness and confidence were never her strong points. In a battle, she was always the weakest link, which is why she stayed so close to Akaya.
Akaya took a slow relaxing breath as she focused on knowing what they were up against in the sewers. First off she knew that something wasn't clogging up the sewers; somebody was. That in itself eliminated the simplicity to the job. Akaya also judged that by the immense amount of the fog, it wasn't an inexperienced punk trying to pull a stunt. This act was the work of an impressive ninja. Three academy students and one genin couldn't handle this caliber of a ninja, but as she looked over at Tajek's stern face, she realized that he was no ordinary genin. That was to be taken into high accounts. She had recently perfected her new and powerful ninjutsu, but that was a last resort. It drained way too much of her energy for it to be a thought in battle. Apprehension started to build in her stomach as she tried to stand straighter than she already was. Showing fear would only worry Amaya, and that was not an option. She simply turned toward her friend and smiled caringly and looked onto Amaya with reassuring eyes.
Amaya was scared. She looked at the small amount of sewer water trickling down in a stream and disappearing behind fog. She reached for her hair, which she slowly twisted around her finger timidly. That was Akaya's tell-tale sign that something was wrong with her friend. She was becoming a bundle of nerves right in front of Akaya's eyes, and as Amaya started to speak, there was a definite quiver in her voice. "So seeing that you have a keen sense of trouble, Akaya." Her eyes started to glisten, and Akaya gripped her wrist tightly and pulled it down to her side slowly and lovingly. "How many are there down here?"
She smirked as confidently as she could. Appearance was crucial when someone was falling apart on a mission. Being the rock strong foundation made their surroundings calmer. "Judging by their signatures, maybe three or four. It's nothing we can't handle."
And with that, Amaya eased and smiled back at her close friend.
Tajek tried not to look over his shoulder at Akaya, but temptation overcame him. She was right about how many nin there were. It was highly impressive that she knew about signatures, let alone know how to read them. The only reason he learned was because of his father, who was one of the best at the trait. However, you could only be taught this by a demon first. That was in part because humans took longer to teach than demons did. Demons were astronomically quick at putting up on ninjutsu of any kind which made them difficult to defeat. In addition to their awareness, they were born knowing signatures, and thus, humans had learn from teachings instead of by instincts.
Even so, humans really couldn't scratch the surface on the signatures. Not even Hokage Danter, renowned for his use of demon-like abilities, could teach it to his son. But when Shin stepped in and helped his father finish the lessons on signatures, Tajek had eventually picked up on it. That took almost two years to master. So how did a low class academy student know how to do it so perfectly? And even though he wasn't about to admit it to his inferior, he was baffled by her.
He had seen her a few times throughout the village, but up until now, she had never caught his eye. Though looking at her now, he couldn't fathom why. Her body was in tip-top shape for an academy student. She had obviously trained for this line of work since she could walk. She wasn't thin and slender to the point where ribs could be seen like most girls her age. Instead her muscles showed under her straight legged capris and skin-tight tank, and her arms were toned to withstand damage that many other young Shinobi would easily succumb to.
However, the real bewilderment came when looking at her face. Her hair cascaded into brunette twists in her long ponytail braid, and her breathtaking green eyes were lit for adventure and challenges. Her smile comforted even the weakest of her comrades, and her cheekbones only highlighted the twinkle it gave off.
He quickly shook off the crazy notion of affection as he refocused on the task at hand. Even though he was lazy, he was rather intelligent on missions. She was nothing more than a distraction that he must overcome. Distractions were an unnecessary risk at the moment, and since he was the leader, he was to make the decisions. Still lingering thoughts popped up, and he needed to be with her alone without compromising the objective. He quickly turned to Akaya. He could impress her with his ninjutsu if she saw the magnitude of chaos it would ensue, but he wanted to see what she was all about first. That would be a last resort. He spoke with as much authority as he could muster. "Do you think two of us can handle it?"
As Akaya turned, her braided ponytail flipped over her left shoulder and her side bangs grazed the side of her face perfectly, causing Tajek to blush lightly. He hoped she couldn't see it. "Well, which one of us is going with you?" She smirked, causing her dimples to emerge. "Because I'm sure you won't be hanging back here."
Amaya still timidly smiled. "Isn't it obvious?" Akaya already knew who was going with him; she had just hoped that he would have said it instead of her friend. "Kick some butt, Akaya."
Akaya smirked while putting her thumb up to her friend. "When don't I?" She pointed up above them. "If we don't come back in twenty minutes, you and Faithe need to get a more experienced team to get us."
Tajek just watched the scene unfold. They seemed closer than they let on at first. Amaya and Akaya knew the roles they played in their friendship, which in turn meant they were the same when it came to missions. Amaya stood beside Akaya's leadership and judgments without question, whereas Akaya pressed boundaries that normal academy students wouldn't dare try. She was mentally prepared to take control and confident enough that failure wasn't an option. Tajek just lightly smiled at Akaya. He knew now why she never caught his attention: the qualities he liked in a girl were not from the surface.
Then Tajek started bluffing. Emotions were only a stupid thing that got in the way of his objectives. Shin had taught him that law during his brief lessons with the demon. Focus was the key to any victory. "We'll let's go then." He pointed in the direction of the fog.
Akaya nodded as she waved towards her best friend. And with that, she and Tajek stealthily headed into the foggy darkness.
Amaya waved back until their figures were eaten by the disorientation in front of her. She smiled brightly now. She could not believe how easy that was; her own personal mission was complete. Amaya looked up to find Faithe peering down into the nasty sewers. "So, Amaya…it worked right?" Amaya started to lean against the filthy wall, not realizing how horrible her surroundings were. Akaya was oblivious to her feelings, but her friends knew it. Unfortunately the only way those two were going to become close was through a mission, but Amaya couldn't blame Akaya. In this village, it was impossible not to end up with a Shinobi. It was pure irony that she would like the most reclusive one that everyone liked. But maybe she would change his mind. Maybe she was as different from the rest of them as Faithe and Amaya thought she was. "Let's just hope she doesn't screw it up."
Akaya had a bad feeling about charging into the battlefield without the slightest game plan. If anything went wrong, they'd have to last for twenty more minutes, probably longer. She ran alongside Tajek as they crept closer and closer to their target. Something didn't feel right, and that's when she saw it. The puppet lining was thin, but it was a lethal red, meaning someone had already died at the hands of the specialized trap. It meant one of two things: ceremonial sacrifices or blind stupidity. And she felt the booming sound of footsteps hit the mushy water. She stopped suddenly and jarred to the left, yanking Tajek's wrist to follow her into a small adjacent tunnel that could only fit people of their size. As she did so, she threw a shriken from her belt into the wired trap, causing it to explode by contact.
She turned to Tajek who didn't seem at all fazed by her quick reaction, which meant he wasn't impressed in the least. He whipped into another tunnel to their right and secured his hand in hers as he headed in that direction. He ducked down low, pulling her gently to get to his level. He covered her mouth with his hand and looked down at their hands. He wondered when he had done that, and quickly released it. Now wasn't the time for such romanticism. He had a job to finish, and he was stupid for putting her in harm's way. He heard footsteps approaching rather slowly and knew it was his time to impress. "Stay here and lay low, Akaya. I'll handle this."Akaya softly sighed while nodding. She felt no need to argue with her team leader even if the idea was painful to hear. He thought she was too weak to finish the job alongside him. Well then she'd have to show him otherwise with her blaster. As she watched Tajek leave their niche and head toward their opponent, she began charging her Ying-Yang Dragon Barrier, doing the signs discreetly. She'd step in if he needed help. That is, he could handle it for a few minutes.
Tajek threw a fire-tipped kunai at the shaded figure headed towards him. It flew by the man's head, and the fog was completely eliminated. The man simply laughed at him. His raspy voice made Akaya shiver down her spine. Judging by his voice, he knew who Tajek was and he didn't care to go easy on his opponents. "Nice trick, kid." He smiled with rotting teeth, making Tajek tense up a little and made Akaya overanalyze again. Shinobi normally were well-groomed and sharp in appearance. Even in this place, Tajek looked noble and presentable. This guy, however, seemed to be rotting away beneath his tattered clothes. How was he so easily able to manipulate the sewer system to clog over? His voice refocused her to the battle commencing. "Now why in the world would the Hokage's son be sent to his death?"
Tajek stood prideful and straight against his foe. She was watching after all. If he could talk the talk, he could walk the walk. "You seem like a nice guy and all, but my mission is to unclog the sewers that's all."The man seemed agitated by Akaya's observations. Her chakra was starting to glow. She pulled back. The faint glow of the barrier was growing more apparent by the seconds. This could be bad if their foe was observant, and judging by his presence alone, he was. She hoped that he would ignore it, at least for the time being. The man started charging his chakra at an immense speed to his fists. "Well, runt." His sinister smirk got to Tajek. He was being serious in every way. His intention was to kill, and no one was going to stop him unless they beat him. That gave Tajek a bad taste in his mouth. "That's what my team left for you. If you look down into the middle of the system, you would see that the clog is a huge build-up of our chakra, which creates the biggest explosive matter there is known to any Shinobi. Enough so that this whole village could be gone by this evening." Tajek's fists started shaking in anger. This guy saw him as an easy target. Telling him the plan just meant that a brutal murder would follow. Tajek gave his best unnerved smirk. Akaya quickly allowed the barrier to form in full force as she saw the man pull signs from his signs. She had seen Himeka did the same ones in the midst of a battle. They were rare and hardly seen by the human eye: darkness signs. She leapt in front of Tajek, pushing him to the floor and letting her barrier absorb the blows that would've killed him. The barrier grew in size by the consumption of massive chakra. She smiled proudly. The dragon fusion process was only going to take a couple more minutes thanks to her cocky opponent.
Tajek looked up at Akaya. She was smart too. And she risked her well being for his. He owed her one that was for sure. He stood up and admired her chakra barrier. The problem with it was that taijutsu wasn't going to be absorbed, but in a way, that was a positive set back. He was great at taijutsu attacks especially if fire was involved.
The best way to win a battle and complete a mission was gathering intelligence. She didn't need to know about her foe as much as the clogging. She needed to know how to stop it. She felt her windmill shriken against her shoulder blades. She gripped it and whipped it around steadily. She needed to be a distraction.
The figure kept his cool. "So I guess this pretty piece of meat is your girlfriend. Never guessed the son of such a high position to be with such a plain Jane."
Akaya sighed. She came up with a comeback, but before she could say anything, Tajek stood beside her. His glare was piercing, and for a second, Akaya just look dumbfounded at him. "She's not plain by any means." He let a chakra fire rage around him. "And I'll protect her like she protected me. So don't even think of touching her."The man walked slowly forward, allowing only meters between them. His eyes were pitch black, and his demeanor quickly went from scary to terrifying for Akaya. Yet she didn't change her expression. Tajek was keeping her calm in some weird way. He quickly went into attack mode at this foe. He threw a punch at the black-eyed man's cheek and then a kick to his stomach. The blows threw the man threw the air into the main aisle's wall. Tajek quickly looked back at Akaya and grinned as he put his left hand behind his head. "Maybe I overdid it."Akaya knew he had some power behind him, but she never imagined that much. She smiled brightly and she briefly relaxed her stance before she saw the dust rise from the area. The man was gone, leaving no trace of where he went. She breathed slowly, thinking about what their next step was. There was no time to get help. Help would come in fifteen minutes by her calculations of Faithe's running speed and response time from the Hokage and his men. They were going to have to press on to prevent an early release. She closed her eyes to focus more intently on the purpose of the chakra build-up. They were ninja of another land, but which one? Not sand or lightning or even sound. Then her eyes shot open, realizing that her dragon was their only hope. She looked at Tajek before she began running. She sprinted as fast as she could through the underground maze to the middle. She heard him calling for her, but to complete a mission required sacrifices. And to save her village and the people she grew up around would be worth her life. Especially if that meant he wouldn't die down here. He meant more to the village than she ever could. His yells seem more urgent now that they were getting closer, but her barrier's hum outvoted her thoughts to wait for him. There were four men down here. One was already hurt, and the other three were obviously weaker than the leader. She had to aim for wiping the whole operation out. If she failed, she was dead. And so was Tajek
Tajek caught sight of pieces of her. Her arm in a turn to the right. A foot in the turn to the left. His screams and yells weren't going to stop her, and she sprinted faster than he thought a girl was capable of doing. She even had a lighter foot than he did. She had a plan that he was left out of, and that left him chasing after a girl he barely knew. But what choice did he have? She saved his life when she didn't know him. He simply exerted more in order to keep pace with which ways and tunnels she went down.
Akaya saw the middle approaching quickly and looked back to see Tajek catching up to her. She wasn't going to be stopped though. She did her hand signs as fast as she could and let the barrier break into a form of two dragons, winding up around her. Her ice dragon and fire dragon calmly looked at Akaya's running form and the clog that clearly came into view. They took more chakra from Akaya's feet as she charged as much as possible into the middle of the sewer. Her opponents immediately surrounded her. The man from before limped in the background closer to the chakra build-up. His plan was close to going into action, and she was the only thing standing in his way. The three other men corned her into the triangle they had formed. She grabbed her windmill shriken before Tajek was in total view. She tossed it toward one of the men, missing him completely. But she smiled as she dodged another's kick, snapping as she did so. The shriken set into a fire and returned to her in a boomerang fashion, splitting one in half, and leaving one harmed.
Tajek just watched her intentions and her smooth, precise movements around her opponents. She had learned their weaknesses so quickly and exploited them seamlessly. He looked at how brilliant her body looked as she twisted to put a kunai in a man's stomach, leaving him defenseless. And then ruthlessly kicked him down. She sparkled in the dragons' light. He had heard she had an immense amount of chakra at her disposal, but this was unrealistic. How much chakra were they draining from her body to be tangible? Akaya turned her full attention to the dragons as the last man fell to the ground. Her blast had to hit perfectly or the whole village was gone. It had to hit the center at a lower angle. Akaya closed her eyes and let the dragons swish around her body. As she opened her eyes, they were filled with a gold chakra residue. She screamed as the chakra became extremely hot. She was boiling from the overload of energy, but she focused her screams into grunts and did the necessary signs for her blaster. "Ying Yang Dragon Blaster!"
Tajek watched as the dragons twisted into one, and in a beautiful array of chakra-lit energy force its way into the build-up. As it did so, the dragon split into two. The fire and ice dragon absorbed the chakra quickly and grew. As they finished, they redirected the blaster into the reeking man from before. The aftermath blew up the side wall and allowed water to rush in. And just like that, their mission was complete.
Tajek was thoroughly impressed. No one had ever done that on his team before, and he was going to make sure this wasn't the last time they teamed up. He watched as their opposition was soon washed away unconscious, though one was missing. As he looked back at Akaya, she suddenly looked over at him, beaming with her confident smile, before falling to her knees. Even though they were on opposite walking paths of the sewer, Tajek raced through the filthy water to be catch her before she hit her head against the hard cement floor. Tajek looked down at her, noticing just how radiant she seemed to be. It took his breath away. "You okay, Akaya?"
She smiled and put a thumbs up at him weakly. "So how'd I do? Did I grab your attention?" She grinned her best grin and looked curiously into Tajek's relaxing eyes. She couldn't believe it actually worked.
Tajek mildly smirked. "You have all of it. Just next time try not to go overboard."Akaya giggled, causing Tajek to blush again. He wasn't use to it at all. "So there's gonna be a next time? Guess I did pretty well then."
Tajek wiped some dirt from the corner of her chin and lifted her bridal-style into his arms. She gripped onto his shirt withstanding his approach by her pride. "I can walk you know. I'm not that weak.""Shut up and stop complaining." He smiled down at her lovingly. She was taken back by this look. She had never seen it from him before. She was about to argue her point, but he kissed her forehead. She fell silent as he continued. "What type of boyfriend would I be if I let my wounded girl walk through this maze?"Akaya just smiled as she fought the unconsciousness approaching. "So it's that easy, huh? I thought winning you over would take more than one mission." She smiled meekly as the darkness filled her vision.
And as she fell into well-deserved bliss, she heard him speak to her. "It didn't even take a whole mission."
Akaya saw the figure in the bathroom move toward her. She was about to let Akira attack when she heard his voice pulsing through the huge bathroom. "It's just me, Akaya."She quickly shut up the water and threw the towel on. She didn't bother drying her hair at all. He wouldn't care. She pushed the door open to find Tajek around the corner. His face was worried, and Akaya felt her cheeks blush. She realized then that she had been crying in her daze. She fell hard into his arms and stayed there. She thought she had gotten over the events from today, but they were just getting worse. Feelings were bubbling to the surface now. She had saved it once, so why couldn't she have saved it again? Tajek simply pushed her against him.
He smiled lovingly as he threw her into a bridal-style carry. He kissed her lips as he held her in his arms. "Feel familiar?"Akaya just laughed playfully and tugged her way out of his grasp. "Only this time I can fight back." She stood on her tip-toes and kissed his lips again. She held a firm grip around his neck. Her arms rested on his now broad shoulders. She wasn't about to let go either as she pulled his view to her eyes as she kissed him more passionately.
And that's when emotions led them to the bathroom's countertop. He kissed her shoulders that were now draped in a mixture of sweat and water, but he stopped. He couldn't do this to her now. He looked into her eyes as lust filled them and onto the eyelashes. He held her face in his hands and kissed her with all the love he had. "Baby, get dressed. We need to make a plan on how we're going home."Akaya felt the warmth of his hands on her cheeks and in his kiss. Now obviously wasn't the time for such novice thoughts. They had to find a way to bring order back to their lives first. Her towel began to slide down unintentionally. Tajek simply sighed and pushed it into her hand. To Akaya, respect was a high virtue, and he had all of hers. "We?"
He kissed her forehead as he eyes filled with joy and adventure. "Yes, we. Together." He gripped her left hand with his right one. He squeezed tightly and so did she. "If you still wanna be my girlfriend and all."Akaya's smile radiated through Tajek's heart. She had captured it, but her smile blew any feelings he had for her to a higher level. Her eyes twinkled as she closed her eyes and opened them, revealing the jutsu she was terrified of before. She saw a green aura surrounding him. It meant contentment and happiness. Then out of nowhere, there was a hue of purple. That meant deep love. An unconditional love. She closed her eyes and focused, which returned everything to normal. In a matter of hours, she had mastered her new trait. She kissed Tajek back on the neck and reached her mouth to his ear. "Of course I'm still yours."
Tajek let her go and found himself leaving the bathroom content. "Hurry now. We don't want to keep the Mizukage waiting."
He chuckled watching Akaya laugh with him. He didn't leave immediately. He cracked the door to listen to make sure she was going to be okay. Before he shut the door completely, he heard her confident voice return inside of her as she spoke to him. "Hey Tajek."
He reopened the door to see Akaya in her bra and underwear. He blushed as he examined her body with his eyes. She was even more radiant than when he first met her. He looked at her ever-glowing eyes as he spoke in almost stutter. "Yeah."She smiled as she continued, smiling like the first time. "It didn't even take a whole mission." He smiled as he gently closed the door and walked down the hallway to his bedroom, which he made sure was right across from hers. He happily whistled, knowing they'd be okay. And that'd do this together. Just like the first time.