Disclaimer: I own Akane and Akiko, the rest is Masashi Kishimoto.
"You look tired." was what my mother said to me when I got home. Temporary home because it is next to the Hokage tower and just feels...empty.
"Sharingans effect." I reply, falling heavily in the couch. I drop my head back, resting it against the wall and gaze at the white ceiling. My mom hasn't moved from her spot at the window. "What are you looking at?"
She doesn't say a word for a few seconds and says quietly. "What's not there anymore."
I advert my eyes to look at her. I cock an eyebrow when I see her hair. Her usual bright red hair, darker in color than Kushina's, is dyed a dull brownish color. I open my mouth to say something but close it. Uzumaki are hunted for their blood, chakra, abilities, and easily recognized with their red hair. She wants to be invisible in the crowd. And I totally get it.
"Sorry." I mutter under my breath, casting my eyes on the wooden floor.
"No, it's a good thing we are here."
"Huh?"
"Akane, if we have the possibility, I'd like to adopt Naruto."
I look at her, speechless. Naruto has never really been a subject she likes to talk about. It's a reminder of Kushina and Minato, of the two family members she lost. As I am now, I know how it is unfair of her, of us, to treat Naruto that way. Yeah, he looks like his parents, but he is not responsible for their death. They protected him until their last breaths and it's only natural to cherish him even more. I wish I would have thought like that back then, and didn't resent him like I did for years.
I was foolish, full of anger and grief. I even thought it would be good if the Akatsuki got him, but I had slapped myself at the thought. Literally. And it's only at that moment I realized how mean it was of me to deny him, to even deny we were related. We're only distant cousins, but we're related. Just to think of how warm he was to me in my previous lifetime when we met twist my stomach in knot. I'll always feel guilty for not being here for him, for how alone he had been when he thought he didn't have a family.
"Please do." I say in a low tone. "We can't leave him alone, he's family."
"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" She murmurs, leaving her spot by the window. "Minato looks mean as a rock face. I bet Kushina made fun of him because of it."
"She sure did."
And they would try to get me to side with either of them. And most of the time, even though I wanted to side with Oji-chan, aunty Kushina would kindly remind me she was the one cooking. And food would win against Minato.
"If the Hokage didn't tell you, I don't think I can Kakashi-san."
He's still eying me suspiciously. He was asked to escort me to the Hokage tower, but because he knew me when I was a brat, he is wondering why I would be needed by the Hokage. Even though I wouldn't mind telling him, I can't. He's obviously not part of the secret by now, so he'll probably never be, and he is not the Kakashi-san I'm used to. The one who was the Rokudaime and would give me advices quite often because I was freaking out with the twins after Sasuke left.
"It's not about you coming from the Mist?" he asks again, his frown deepening.
"Nope."
"You're not in troubles, right?"
My negative answer dies on my lips. Well, I could be. I very well could be soon if I fuck up and make everything worse. Oh my...what if I make everything worse in the end!? What if the massacre happens but Sasuke and Itachi die too!?
Oh my...no, no calm down Akane, you can deal with this. You could deal with Naruto's and even Kakashi's business once they were Hokages, you can deal with this. Even that old, outdated council. Hopefully, Sandaime will keep them away from this long enough to calm everybody.
In the end, I weakly reply "Not for now at least. Now I'm panicking. Thanks Kakashi-san."
"You're very welcome."
"Jerk."
"Brat." he retorts. I'm sure he is smirking smugly under his mask. "Anyway, once you're inside, speak only spoken to."
"Ohhh, you worry about me?"
He punches me on the head but I don't show any pain. I've had worst. And in this body, it's still pretty recent.
The rest of the way to the conference room or whatever it is called is silent. I mean, Kakashi is reading his famous book, the soft porn written by Jiraya-sama, and I keep looking around, noting every differences with the Hokage Tower I know. There is no laptop now, no Thunder Rail around Konoha, Konoha is smaller...so many differences I need to get accustomed too. I can't let anything slip, I don't want to create the butterfly effect.
Even though I will create some. I just need to keep a close eye on them. For all I know, a change in events could save lives just for others to be taken instead. But I can't stop anymore. I wanted to save Shisui from this tragic end he was going to get, wanted to keep the man I loved with all my heart to choose a path he did not, that nobody, deserve.
"We're here" Kakashi announces when he stops abruptly, causing me to bump into him.
"Thanks." I mumble when he opens the door, rubbing my poor nose.
He gives me a push in the back, pushing me in the room and closing the door behind me. And now, all eyes are on me. I gulp, especially when I take note of Hiashi-sama's suspicious eyes. I was on friendly terms with hims, or so I think, because I was a part of his grandchildren family after all. But now, I just know he would use the Byakugan on me right now if he could. And it's faaaaaaar from being a nice feeling to know that.
"Akane-kun." the Hokage calls me. He shows me a chair next to him and I walk quickly to it. I almost make it fall when I pull it back, but instead I just create a ruckus when the seat hit the bottom of the table. "Calm down, nobody is going to hurt you." the Sandaime tells me, seeing me on edge.
"Okay." I say, breathing slowly to calm my heart from beating so fast.
"As I have explained before Akane-kun arrives, we are facing an immense threat coming from within. As a Hokage, I have made mistakes due to personal feelings, but we have knowledge of very dark events that could cause Konohagakure unprecedented damages. If her memories are indeed memories, then we could prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Fugaku confirmed none of them were the result of a genjutsu. Inoichi, if you could confirm the veracity of her words now."
"Of course Hokage-sama."
Yeah, Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's father who died along Shikamaru's father during the Fourth War. Hopefully it won't be as exhausting as the sharin...
..gan. For fuck sake, where am I!?
"I have been told some things should stay private, would you mind give direction?" Inoichi-san explains, not making eye contact, in a stern voice.
"I...guess not."
To be in its own mind is strange. My feet do not touch the ground, and I can't even see one, and in front are what looks like to be scrolls in a bookcase. Oh, some of them are blue, but most of them are teal. A faded teal though.
"That's the first time I see different colors for the scrolls." The Yamanaka man notices when I was approaching a blue one.
I barely touch it that it's taken from the book case and is opened. The symbols on it change into a scene. My eyes get wide when I recognize what it is, not giving a damn about the man with me.
"Ne oji-chan, you're the Hokage now."
"Sure, what about it Aka-chan?" asks Minato, looking up to see me on his shoulders.
"Why would you risk your life for this place?" I ask with a pout.
"Because I love Konoha."
He stops in front of a bench and makes me sit on it, him doing the same next to me.
"To me, Konoha is a place where we are people, shinobi, but not weapons." he says with a serene smile on his face, his calm blue eyes gazing at the nocturnal sight of the village. "A shinobi's feelings are not to be seen , but that's what make them strong. That's what make them strong people and not just weapons."
"Is that what a shinobi is?"
"That's what I think. Only a solid goal can make you strong. What's more solid than your will to protect those dear to you?"
"But...da..." I start with teary eyes.
"That is a discussion for another time." my oji-chan cuts me sharply, a frown on his face.
It disappears as soon as it appeared. His smile comes back when he looks down at me.
"Would you like a Popsicle?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, don't move from there."
I nod when he goes to the ice-cream seller. I kick into nothing, humming quietly and looking at the sight in front of me.
"Isn't it beautiful?" asks a voice behind me.
I jump and get up to put some distance between me and the stranger. I make my best to keep my legs from shaking. The man scares me, half of his face is hidden, like his right arm and he has a crutch. The 'x' shape scar on his chin makes me shiver whereas my eyes are becoming teary.
"You are scared child."
"You...you can't hurt me...you'll have troubles with the Ho...Hokage!" I stutter, pointing my finger at him.
"The Hokage?" He muses, barely opening his eye to look at me.
"Yeah! And he'll kick your bottom sir!"
"Minato won't always be around girl."
I open my eyes wide. Who is he to call my uncle by his first name? Is he important?
"As the Hokage, he has to protect the village." he explains, moving toward me.
But he just stands in front of the fence.
"It's a lot for one person, especially for someone as young as him."
"Minato-oji-chan is the strongest ninja in the world!"
"He is strong, but we all have our weaknesses. For Minato, it would be his family." he states harshly, looking down at me. I bite my lip. "How awful it would be if he had to choose one day. Wouldn't you like to make it easier you him, Uzumaki Akane? To help him protect Konoha?"
I'm still gaping at him. Hokage is a hard job, but I...I could help him? I could keep what happened a few months ago from happening again? Mi...Minato-oji-chan wouldn't need to protect me all the time? I could protect mummy too ? And aunty Kushina? And Shisui?
"Yes, I want to..." I whisper, staring at my hands.
Flashes of a wounded Minato kneeling in front of a brown-haired man flash in front of my eyes. Tears start to pour from my eyes.
"Come."
"N...now?"
"We don't have the time to..."
"What is happening here?" asks a new voice coldly when I was squeezed against a hard chest.
Tension rises in the air. My feet quickly leave the ground and my arms go around his neck.
"Danzo-sama, may I know why you are talking to a civilian little girl?"
"We both know she is hardly a civilian Minato. Overprotecting her like Kushina and you are doing is a waste for the village."
"She is in the village until her mother is ready to take her back Danzo-sama, you have no right to try to take a child who is not even a part from this village." my godfather explains severely, staring straight into the man's eye. "Leave now and I'll forget your attempt."
He gazes at us for a couple of seconds and promptly turns away.
"O..."
"Hold on tight Aka-chan."
I do as he says and shut my eyes when I feel like I'm disappearing. When I open them, I pout at my godfather.
"You know I hate it when you do that."
"Really?" he chuckles when he puts me down. "Careful, don't fall."
"Why would I...wow! Where are we?"
"On my head." he tells me, pointing to his hair.
In front of us is the whole village, illuminated by the lights of the shops. It's beautiful.
"I like to come here to think sometimes. Here." he says, giving half of the orange Popsicle.
"Thank you. Say, oji-chan, who was this man?"
"Someone dangerous Aka-chan."
He puts his warm hand on my hair, making me look up to him. His face bears a serious expression.
"Promise me to stay away from him. No matter what he says, do not believe him, he is dangerous. Stay away."
"Okay, I will." I promise my uncle, linking my pinkie with his.
After a smile, we both start eating our treat.
"Brain freeze!" we both exclaim. We look at each other and burst into laughter.
I wipe away the lonely tear on my cheek and the scroll closes by itself, going back in its shelf.
"This was a memory that happened in both of your lives, right?" Inoichi asks me. Gosh, his face doesn't let anything slip, but I guess that's to be expected. You cannot let someone's memories touch you. So, I just nod. "Then I think those teal scrolls must be from your past life, the change of color must have happened when you died and now they're faded."
I move to one of them and the same thing happens.
"I'm coming! Stop abusing that poor doorbell!"
I open the door in an hasty move, to meet Shikamaru's face. I rub my eyes. No, the lack of sleep because of my work do not make me see things. Shikamaru is standing in front of me, looking bored. But I look down, because Shikamaru wouldn't abuse an innocent bell. And...yeah, there is a pouting Shikadai, his finger still close to the bell.
"I dare you to touch that bell." I glare at him to make it really threatening, and it seems to partially work only.
"I still don't know who between you and mom is the scariest, Aunt Akane." he mumbles under his breath, making his way in the living-room.
"That's such a drag," Shikamaru sighs when I move aside to let him in. "Ojamashimasu."
"So, work or clan's business?" I ask once he has removed his shoes. Only God knows being the only seal master within Konoha is a drag. I have to teach, but place the Hokage's orders first even though I'm technically not a kunoichi and I have request from each clans.
"Work, I brought Shikadai because his mom is off to Suna for two weeks."
"So you thought my children would babysit him because that's what they've done since he was born."
"Something like that yeah, Akiko and Shisui are able to last against him in shōgi."
As if they heard us, Shikadai passes next to us, shōgi pieces in hands. My son follows, his dark red hair messy from his nap, the shōgi table flippantly tucked under his arm. He eyes us suspiciously with his onyx eyes, the same his father had, that his sister, uncle and cousin have.
"Good afternoon Shikamaru-san."
"Yo." replies Shikamaru. He waves at him and thanks me for the tea.
"Shisui, Shikadai is waiting for that table."
"Right..." he mutters, leaving the room with one last glance.
"So? Did Sasuke send a bird again?"
"No, actually it is about Root. Again."
"Even years after his death, you're still fixing Danzo's mistakes." I breathe out slowly. I've never had a great opinion of the man, he tried to kidnap me after all, but after Sasuke told me everything, about what he did to the Uchihas, to Shisui, to Itachi, it just got worse.
"Well, just to think he was appointed as an official candidate for the Rokudaime is scary. I can't even blame Sasuke for killing him after he explained the reason. Stealing sharingans and using Orochimaru's experiments to get the First Hokage's DNA and uses Mokuton...if they had proved it at the time, he would have been made prisoner. And then he ordered the Uchiha massacre and stole that guy's eye..." he drawls, hands crossed behind his head. I look down at my cup, the spark of warmth behind icy onyx eyes flashing in my mind. "When do you think you'll tell them about their father Akane?"
"I don't..." I start, but I stop and sigh. The twins seventh birthday comes back in mind, when Shisui said all those awful things about Itachi when Akiko asked for her dad, how he ran away and how worry I was until Naruto and Sasuke told me they were going to bring him back. "Sasuke would be the best person to tell them."
"I won't go against your will."
"And I thank you for that." I cross my arms on my chest and glare at the cup. "Now I'm upset! How could a guy like him be free for so long!? He was under house arrest after the Uchihas massacre but honestly? The first thing he did when he was replacing the Godaime was trying to get the Five Nations to do what he wanted! Hopefully Ao-san was there!"
"My dad was against him being the Hokage anyway, but it's useless to dwell of what he has done. Sai told us that some old members from Root were causing tro..."
"I'm home!" cries a tired voice from the hallway. "Sarada, I can walk on my own..."
"My mom told me to take you to bed, that's what I'll do. Don't over do it nee-san." another female voice argues.
My niece appears in the room, my daughter's arm on her shoulders.
"What happened to you Aki?" I ask her, eying her messy dark red hair, usually in a braid but now free, and her tired expression.
"Nothing, we were training and Sarada got me, so we went to Aunt Sakura to fix me up and she asked Sarada to take me home."
"To bed." corrects the brunette. "Good afternoon Aunt Akane, Shikamaru-san."
"Shikamaru-san?" Aki repeats, realizing I was not alone. "Good afternoon."
"See, you didn't even see him. You're going to bed!" Sarada exclaims with a frown.
"Understood Sarada-sama."
They leave the room.
"I'll help as much as I can. Who knows,, maybe he can use Izanagi too."
"Maybe. Or he is a part of one of the clan like Torune and Fū were. In any case, it's troublesome."
Much more recent. I discreetly peek at Inoichi. His serious mask broke a little bit, probably from seeing his friend's son and grandson. It seems he really is deep in his thoughts though, because he didn't say anything yet, even if I raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for him to speak his next order.
"Inoichi-san?" I call. It snaps him out of his thought and he retrieves his seriousness after a cough. "What's next?"
"I have seen enough."
"Huh?"
"I am an expert, I can feel nothing has been altered. You are telling the truth. Now, about trusting what you're saying, I do." he explains calmly. "From what I've seen, before you died, you had Nara Shikamaru's trust, and gaining a Nara's trust is tough." he added with an amused smile.
Who would have thought that getting along with Shikamaru would come handy here? Well, I also got along with Chouji, but less because I wasn't working with him often. But Karui and Temari, both being from Kumogakure and Sunagakure, and I, from Kirigakure, became friends through that. Being foreigners.
I won't see them for a long while. And I'll have to build our friendship once again.
If I'm brave enough though.
"Is it also because Danzo took some clan's children too?"
"It does." he replies immediately. The slight anger in his voice doesn't go unnoticed.
Any clan's head were pissed I guess. And if I count from today, I don't think it was that long ago it happened. Hum...the guys Shikamaru talked about, it was an Aburame and a Yamanaka if I remember well. So, there is a chance they would join forces with the Uchihas against Danzo and his Root. And if the Yamanakas do something, the Naras and Akimichis would most certainly help them.
"I will leave your mind now. You won't wake up immediately because of the reunion, but I think the Hokage will make you come in his office soon."
"Okay."
And, just as he said, I fall asleep.
Thanks for reading !