Disclaimer: Aki's story is © to me, all events referring to Naruto and his friends that Dragon Man included in his fic, "Naruto the Kitsune Hanyou" are hereby © to him. All other things are hereby © to their respectful and rightful owners.

Ninth Shadow: Teamwork?

I sighed with boredom as my shift dragged on. So far I'd had to chase out random children that were looking to play with the more dangerous pieces of equipment and helped an incredibly nervous Academy student pick out some decent kunai. I felt bad for the kid, so I gave him a free set of shuriken that would work well with the kunai I'd helped him choose. Of course, I'd have to pay for those shuriken out of my pocket. Mother hated it when I was too nice and gave things out for free or at discounted prices. If only my mother could understand the change of the times and competing for business. Then she wouldn't mind my occasional acts of kindness so much.

I glanced at the clock. "Four-thirty? That's it?" I groaned. Yet another half hour of boredom. I slumped down on the stool at the counter and pulled out a book and started to read.

The tinkle of the shop bell filled the shop and I quickly bookmarked my place in the book.

"Welcome to the Tamahashi clan shop. How may I be of assistance?" I greeted in a dull and bored voice.

"Aki-san, you sound so dead," Replied a very familiar voice.

I looked up at the speaker and locked eyes with Neji. Immediately I felt my face grow warm and I quickly ducked beneath the counter to hide my developing blush, pretending to be searching for something.

"It's good to see you, Neji-san," I said, reappearing from behind the counter when I felt my moment of shock and embarrassment had safely passed. "So, what can I get for you today?"

Neji walked forward, looking around the shop, coming ever closer to the counter. I had to fight down the butterflies in my stomach and nearly hit myself in the gut in the process to counteract all the fluttering. Thankfully the Hyuuga genius didn't seem to notice my fight with myself.

"I need some new shuriken," He said finally. "And I was wondering if you've got any weights; I'd like to improve my speed."

I nodded numbly and pinched my leg hard beneath the counter and my cool and collected self snapped into place. Almost mechanically I moved to the shuriken display rack and motioned Neji over to take his pick of the lot.

Neji stared at the rack in deep thought, pulling a few sets off the shelves and examining them. After turning over a set in his hand, he gave a curt nod. "I'll take these," He said in approval.

I nodded numbly in response and then proceeded towards the part of the shop where the weights were on display. Neji followed after me and studied the display with mild interest. He sighed in a rather defeated manner and turned to me.

"Which do you recommend?" He asked.

Honestly, I hadn't been expecting him to ask me anything. I nearly jumped two feet in the air. But I was glad I recovered quickly. "Um…I'd go with these," I began, motioning toward a set. "These use your chakra and the weight is adjustable so they can be made heavier or lighter, whichever your preference is. And if you press this little seal here," I continued, pointing at an inscribed character on the center of the weight. "The weights will come right off. So if you're crossing a river or something, they can be easily removed so they won't drag you down."

The Hyuuga genius grinned and nodded an okay. I took his silent approval as a 'yes' to purchase them. I rang up his purchases and was about to hand him his change only to notice he was staring at the cover of the book I had been reading.

"What book is that?" Neji inquired, trying to make out the peeling lettering on the spine.

The book belonged to my father. He often read it to me as a bed time story when I was younger. I hadn't been able to put it down since. It was one of the few treasures that I had to remember him by.

"It's um…The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien." I replied embarrassedly.

"Oh that's a good book," Neji commented with a friendly smile which made my legs suddenly feel like they were made of jelly. "Have you read anything else lately? It looks like you've nearly worn that book out."

I shook my head. "No, I haven't really found anything I'd like to read. Do you have any recommendations?" I asked.

The Hyuuga genius stood silent in thought for a moment. "I think I know just the book for you," He said.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

I handed him his change and before I knew it, he was gone. I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was now four fifty-eight. I hadn't realized that I'd been with Neji in the store alone for so long. A small smile worked its way onto my face. I got to speak to him for nearly a half hour and I didn't do anything foolish or embarrassing in front of him.

I closed the shop and grabbed my wallet and ran to the book store. When I came out I had a brand new copy of The Phantom of the Opera in hand, my wallet now considerably lighter. It didn't matter to me that I spent nearly all my savings on the book. It was worth it to me. For Neji, anything was worth it.

I sighed and walked quickly home and made a small meal for myself before I retired to my room where I spent most of the night awake reading my new book.

I must've fallen asleep on my desk because the next thing I knew it was bright and sunlight was streaming through the cracks in my blinds. I blearily gazed at the clock and noted it was ten forty-five. Then I finally remembered that I was supposed to meet my team on the training grounds at eleven. I sat up with a jolt and scrambled and ravaged my room for some clean clothes, stumbled out into the hallway and forced food down my throat and finally strapped on my shuriken and kunai holsters while shoving my feet into my shoes.

I was out the door in a matter of moments and sprinting down the streets of Konoha.

At last, the training grounds were in sight. I could make out Rin-sensei, Jun, and Mariko standing around waiting for me. Rin-sensei was checking her watch and looked up at me with a smile.

"Ten fifty-nine, you just made it," She said as she put away her watch.

I stood there panting and struggling to catch my breath. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mariko smirking at me. I didn't have time to worry about her though. All that was on my mind was that I was happy I wasn't late.

"Today we're going to do a basic teamwork exercise," Rin-sensei began once I had caught my breath.

"A teamwork exercise? What kind of exercise will it be?" Mariko asked at once, rudely interrupting Rin-sensei.

"Now, now Mariko, let me finish and I'll tell you," The jounin replied.

I grinned with satisfaction; Rin-sensei's words effectively shut Mariko up.

"As I was saying," Our sensei continued. "We're doing a basic teamwork exercise. Here's the deal, I have two bells. You three have to work together to take the bells from me. However, because there are three of you and only two bells, this means that the person without a bell will be sent back to the academy. So if you want the bells, then come at me like you're going to kill me. Everyone understand?"

It took a while for Rin-sensei's words to sink in. I wasn't sure if I'd heard right. It was a lot to process. Honestly, how is a person supposed to react when they tell you to try to kill them, especially when that person is someone you know and like?

"Anno," Jun began hesitantly, sensing the confusion in the air. "You want us to attempt to kill you in order to obtain the bells?"

"Hai, sou desu," Rin replied. "Are we all ready?"

The three of us nodded.

"Good, then let's begin."

And with that, she vanished.

I was the first to react. I darted immediately into the cover of some trees, listening hard. A second later Jun had joined me, crouched a few feet away on a thick branch. Mariko was still standing in the clearing, looking like a complete idiot. I shook silently with laughter. Beside me, Jun sighed, shaking his head.

"Idiot," I mouthed at him, my eyes glancing in Mariko's direction.

Jun grinned. "Agreed." He mouthed back.

"Hey! Where'd you all go?" Mariko called out loudly. "Hello?"

I started shaking with a much more violent bout of silent laughter, Jun joining me this time. If I laughed any harder I would be crying tears of mirth.

"Oh! Are we supposed to be hiding?" Mariko exclaimed suddenly.

Now she gets it! I rolled my eyes theatrically, Jun sighed again, hanging his head a little. Finally, Mariko darted into some nearby brush and disappeared from my view.

I went back to straining my ears, hoping to pick up the tiniest indicators of movement.

Then, a twig snapped a few yards to my left. I glanced sharply at Jun; he nodded an affirmative, letting me know he'd heard it too.

I looked towards the source of the sound, moving silently in the trees. The greenery was packed in much tighter over here; the trees grew within inches of one another, effectively blocking out all the sunlight. It was pitch black.

Jun was following behind me silently, his eyes straining to see in the darkness. I kept moving forward, deeper into the trees. It was as dark as night, with the exception of one bright white spot of sunshine that had managed to break through the densely packed forest-area.

"Stay here, Aki-chan. I think I see him."

I froze. His voice was echoing in my mind. I pressed the heel of my palm to my forehead, hoping to drive the memory out.

I kept moving closer to the spot I'd heard the twig break, still listening hard. A tree branched groaned a little from weight being applied to it. I started toward the new sound.

"Run, Aki!"

Otou-san. I paused again. Jun looked at me curiously.

"What?" He mouthed at me.

I shook my head at him. Why was this happening now? Why was I remembering this now? And why, even after all these years, was my memory of that day still capable of tearing me to pieces inside? As I thought about it, the pain and betrayal I'd felt that day raged within me, like tongues of flame, slowly burning me alive.

The spot of sunlight reminded me of the moon that night and how it had cast the shop in its silver glow. Staring at the spot of light, I saw the body of my father. The blood showered over me, seeping deep into my skin, my hair, my clothes.

"Aki-chan, don't scream."

I was staring at my father's limp form again, covered from head to foot in his blood. Toji stood towering above me. I was seven years old all over again. I was back in that moment of time, the moment everything I knew in my life drastically changed. Toji was covered in my father's blood, looking like the murderers I had been raised to fear and avoid than my own brother.

I screamed. And then, I felt like I was falling. Falling back down to the suffocating pressure of my long-suppressed memory.

"I'm sorry…"

The shop bell tinkled overhead, sounding so very far away…and then it kept tinkling and jingling and ringing. This wasn't part of my memory. Where was I? What was going on?

My eyes were closed. I opened them immediately, taking in my surroundings. It was brighter. I was back in the main clearing, lying under the shade of a tree. I sat up quickly, my head in my hands.

"Aki?" Came Rin-sensei's gentle voice. "Are you alright?"

I nodded slowly. "What happened?" I asked, my voice coming out muffled from behind my hands.

Giggling sounded from a few feet away. I scowled at Mariko who was just about squealing with delight.

"You fell out of the damned tree, idiot!" She trilled at me. "Are you afraid of the dark or something?"

A rage unlike any other filled every fiber of my being. "Shut up. Shut the hell up. You have no idea what I've had to live through!" I snarled at her.

Mariko's laughter was silenced at once; she stared at me, her eyes wide and fearful. Rin regarded me with an interested expression, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Jun sat nearby, choosing to not stare at me, even though the shocked look on his face betrayed the emotions he was trying to hide from me.

"Well, as Mariko said, you were up in the darker part of the trees over there and Jun tells me that while you both were tracking me, you kept stopping midway until finally you simply fell off the branch. I caught you just before you could hit the ground though," Rin-sensei explained. "Now, I know that people don't go randomly falling out of trees. Did something happen to you personally to cause this, er, incident?"

I sighed. "It was a long time ago," I muttered. "It doesn't matter anymore; just a memory." I looked up at Rin-sensei to see a knowing look cross her face.

Being a Jounin, Rin-sensei was naturally well-aware of the night of the Uchiha massacre as well as the events that took place that same evening in my own house. All the adults knew. The exact details of that night weren't as widespread among the residents of Konoha. Not like the story of how the entire Uchiha clan was decimated by one of its own; everyone knew that one. Only a handful of people knew mine.

"Oh, I get it," She said instantly. "I can see how then and now are related situations."

"What? What's going on?" Mariko demanded, sounding annoyed to not be in-the-know.

"Nothing to worry yourself about, Mariko," Rin-sensei replied curtly, effectively ending all further discussion. She glanced worriedly at me.

"I'm fine." I assured her.

Rin-sensei nodded once. "Alright, training's over for the day. We'll meet up again when we have a mission. I'll send along a message for each of you telling you when and where to be. So, not bad work today, you three. Still needs a little work, but some of you work together better than others. You're all dismissed."

Jun stood up and gathered his things, setting off at once. Mariko followed shortly after. I stood and prepared to take my leave, when Rin-sensei stopped me.

"Aki, a minute?" she asked.

"Sure." I answered.

"Are you doing alright? I know this must be pretty difficult for you right now,"

"I'll be okay."

It was silent for a moment. "You remembered that night, didn't you?" Rin-sensei asked after a time.

"Yes."

"I should've thought about how you being in those trees would be so similar to that night. It was dark then too, wasn't it? And you were searching for the intruder, yes?"

I nodded. "Dark as pitch until the moon came out, and then I could see…everything." I whispered.

"I'm so sorry,"

I shook my head at her. "Iie, Rin-sensei, it isn't your fault. I wasn't expecting that to happen. I wasn't even thinking about it at all. It just sort of happened. I let myself get caught up in that memory. So it's my fault," Just like that night was my fault. I could've stopped it. I knew what was going to happen, and I did nothing.

Rin-sensei nodded slowly, dismissing me with a wave of her hand. I turned around and headed home, putting my feet to the pavement, not even needing to watch where I was going. I'd walked down these familiar streets all my life.

I kept my head down as I walked, avoiding the eyes of the passersby. I didn't want to be seen like this; I didn't want anyone to see me. I wanted to disappear. I moved through the streets like a wraith, not even stopping to realize that I had just passed within two inches of Neji. I could feel the stare of the Hyuuga genius on my back and I imagined his confused and somewhat worried expression that he would have on his face at that moment.

I just kept walking. I made it to the shop and closed the door.

A/N: Okay, so it's been ages. I apologize. I had tons of stuff going on like surviving my final year of high school, working on my Inuyasha fanfic, taking tests, trying to get into college—which I am now in, by the way—etc, etc. Anywho, I'm in college now, UC Irvine woot! It's been a long overdue update; I apologize for the over one year gap. I'll try and keep updating this story, but I can't make any promises. I've actually started working on an original work—also known as A NOVEL—so that's been taking priority. Which is why my fanfics have suffered massive delays in updates; I've been working on my original stuff instead of fanfiction, hehe. So, until next update, ja ne!