A.n: Okay here you have chapter 2 :3 Akari really doesn't get much action until the Chunnin exam arc and the only reason I didn't completely ditch this arc is because I want to introduce mu character slowly. Akari isn't the kind of character that develops much strength throughout the first half of the story because 1.- she is a character that progresses emotionally and 2.- she is stronger than her teammates at the beginning because she has more experience, but fear not, by the time the Chunnin exams arrive Naruto and Sasuke have already caught up to her in strength. Just some team bondin, teasing and learning some of Akari's past in this chapter. Hope you enjoy ;).
~Training distress, Tazuna's request~
The crisp early morning air stung her lungs slightly as she breathed evenly while skimming through the trees to her destination. Akari had always been fond of early mornings. There was just something about the smell of dew on the ground and on the trees that was highly relaxing as well as invigorating. She wasn't worried about arriving late, after all the Jounin residence she lived in was located fairly close to the training grounds for the convenience of the high rank shinobi. The reason she was running was because she had felt like going on a quick jog before meeting up with her teammates at their usual meeting point and running through the dense canopy of forest area that surrounded the training grounds had seemed like a good enough warm up to her.
Without breaking a sweat she jumped out of the dense area of foliage, skimmed through training ground eight before proceeding to jump over the fence and make her way up the steps towards the bridge her teammates should be waiting at. From this distance she could distinguish two lone figures, one of them with hard to miss pink hair and the other dark, gloomy and composed. She made her way over to them greeting them cheerfully. The response she received was a somewhat grumbled 'good morning' and a grunt but that was by no means unexpected. After one week of being a team, Akari could safely say she knew the ins and outs of Team 7. Naruto was loud, noisy, and cheerful and had a crush on Sakura. Sakura had a crush on Sasuke and was really the only person who could keep her blond companion in line, even if her means where somewhat unorthodox. Sasuke was asexual and walked around as if he had a stick up his ass and their sensei, Kakashi as usual, was late.
"Naruto, not arrived?" Akari asked deciding to break the ice even if it was by asking a meaningless and practically rhetorical question. Had the blond been there all of them would definitely know, he wasn't exactly what you would call quiet and subtle.
Sasuke bit back a snide retort and settled for his usual cold glare. He wasn't too fond of the added member to their team. Then again he wasn't too fond of anybody. She was still some sort of a mystery to all of them and when Naruto had prodded and questioned her she had always managed to either change the subject or give him blunt meaningless answers.
A cheerful 'Good morning' had the three teammates turning their heads around to assess the hyperactive teen that was running towards them.
"Sorry I'm late, I kind of slept in" Naruto said sheepishly while grinning.
"Don't matter dobe Kakashi is late as usual" was the cocky reply he got from his teammate/rival.
"Don't call me that, teme!" Naruto screeched bawling his fists at his companion.
"Enough already you two" interjected Akari before they started insulting each other all out. It was still far too early for that and she desired to keep her good mood up for as long as possible. After half an hour of complete silence even Akari had to admit hearing her teammates bicker was much better than dying of boredom. She sighed and let herself slide down the length of the bridge until she was seated against the hard wood.
"Ne Akari-san" Sakura began looking down at her teammate from her standing position opposite her.
"Hmm?" she said continuing to stare intently at her feet but letting her teammate know she had her attention.
"If you know what time Kakashi-sensei is likely to arrive at why do you even bother coming here and waiting for him with us? I mean you could arrive just before he does and save yourself all this boredom."
Akari looked up at her teammate and then looked over at the other two. Naruto's face was that of keen interest whereas Sasuke had shifted lightly not wanting to give away just how interested he actually was. Turning back to Sakura she replied: "Collective responsibility."
"Huh? Collective responsibility? What's that?" Naruto asked puzzled.
"We're a team aren't we? Teams go through the good and the bad together, that's what makes them stronger" she answered his question smiling. He raised his hand to his chin and thought to himself for a while as if analyzing her words. Once he'd processed what she had said he looked at her.
"You know I've been wondering since the bell test. You arrived fifteen minutes before Kakashi-Sensei did, it's almost as if you knew when to turn up and judging by the answer you gave Sakura-chan you seem to know when he'll turn up at any time. How come you know?"
'Oh? He's more observant than I pegged him for' she looked around at her other two teammates. Both Sakura and Sasuke were trying not to look too interested but they weren't as good as they thought they were. 'No. It's not that he's pieced the information together now. They had this planned between them. Not bad.' She smirked to herself before getting up making sure her features where composed and stretching.
"You know all this sitting around is getting to me. Kakashi isn't probably going to be here for another good couple of hours and I know for a fact training ground eight is empty, any of you up for some sparring?" she asked nonchalantly.
At her words Naruto's face lit up impossibly bright and he ran towards her. "You mean real sparring? As in proper fighting not like the crappy missions we've been getting?"
Akari grinned. It was so easy to distract him. "Yes Naruto real fighting" she assured him. With a quick 'Well what are we waiting for?' he started dashing off to the training ground. Akari gave her two teammates a smug look and then followed her blond friend.
"Damn it she found us out" sighed Sakura. There was no doubt in the kunoichi's mind that their older comrade had summed two and two together, she had after all told them during the bell test that she was good at reading body language. Sasuke gave his usual grunt before making his way to the training ground they were about to occupy followed closely by his would be pink haired stalker.
Once they had reached the training ground Akari flipped the sign over to signal the training ground was currently occupied and shut the fence door behind them. She inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of the grass and the trees. Even though the air was still chilly just by looking up at the sky it was obvious it was going to be another warm day.
Naruto turned around expectantly to face his comrades and clenched his fists in excitement with an impossibly large grin on his features. "So what are we going to do huh?"
Akari regarded his question for a second before answering. "I think we could all brush up on our Taijutsu."
"Hn. That's a little basic don't you think?"
"So? Basic is good, just because it's basic doesn't mean you can neglect it. Besides none of your" she pointed to the three of them "Taijutsu is amazingly good and mine is getting rusty so we might as well start off somewhere."
'Sasuke-kun's Taijutsu isn't good? Is she mad or blind or both?' Sakura thought to herself. 'True Naruto's combat skills are somewhat raw but to lump Sasuke-kun in the same group.'
"Oh? You think you can tell how good we are when you haven't even seen us in action yet?" Sasuke brawled while smirking. 'She doesn't know what she's getting herself into.'
Akari sighed. Why did he have to be so damn difficult? "All I'm saying is the three of you have flaws in your one to one combat skill that's all. Take Naruto for example" she began while looking at him "you jump into a fight head first without regarding the enemies strength and at the same time leaving yourself open for attacks or even worse, getting your attacks used against you. On the other hand you Sasuke are over confident. It's good to have confidence in your own strength but that cocky attitude of yours is going to get you killed one day. And as for Sakura, you completely lack confidence and strength. You're not comfortable in your own skin when fighting fearing that you'll make a complete fool of yourself when in fact you could be capable of fighting just as well as Sasuke or Naruto."
They regarded each other in silence for a while going over what had just been said, the cool morning breeze ruffling their hair slightly.
"So what do you think we should do?" inquired the pink haired kunoichi. 'Shannaro if we're sparring I wanna be with Sasuke-kun.'
"I think we should team up in pairs. Sakura and Naruto as team one and Sasuke and myself as team two. This way we can avoid meaningless bickering" she glared at the two boys for a second "and Naruto can learn to cool his head down from Sakura while she can learn to land a proper punch from him and Sasuke can assess my combat style and learn not to underestimate other people. Agreed?"
"Hang on who the hell named you teacher" Sasuke all but growled. Her calm and collected personality was really starting to tick him off. "I propose Sakura and myself and you and Naruto, we still avoid the bickering and we still learn."
Akari smirked. 'Figures he would disagree.' "Fine by me I was merely suggesting the best option but if you're more comfortable teaming up with Sakura I'm not going to complain. C'mon Naruto I'll teach you how to break a defense" she finished off turning towards the blond boy.
Sakura's eyes lit up with little hearts. She couldn't believe her luck, she was teamed up with the boy she was infatuated with and not only that but he had wanted to team up with her. However her smile vanished just as rapidly as it had come. She was no match for Sasuke and she knew he would just find her annoying. 'No' she shook her head to clear her thoughts 'I'll give it my all and then he will recognize me as a talented kunoichi and fall in love with me. I'll show that Ino-pig whose boss.'
Each party took their places on different sides of the training ground sparring in their respective pairs. However after ten minutes of non- stop yelps and bashing Akari turned forcefully towards Sasuke while stopping a punch from her opponent and bellowed across the field.
"Sasuke stop pummeling her and teach her will you."
As usual a simple 'Hn' was all they received as an answer as the accused boy pocketed his kunai and got off of the girl he had had pressed unceremoniously against the grass. At the sight of this a vein popped in Naruto's head.
"Teme! You had better stop treating Sakura-chan like that or I'll come over there and kick your ass" he screeched pointing a warning finger at the Uchiha .
"Hn as if the likes of you could actually do something like that Dobe."
"The hell you say? I'll beat you within an inch of your life."
"Go ahead and try" he said smirking while getting into a fighting stance.
"Argh that's it!" Naruto said clenching his fists and sprinting rapidly aided by his shinobi training towards his irksome teammate. Sasuke smirked coldly and proceeded to sprint towards the blond preparing his fists as he did so. Sakura stared shocked from her position on the ground not having gotten up from the last time she had been beaten down by Sasuke. Just as her two teammates fist where about to collide; Akari appeared in between them hands holding her up in a handstand as she delivered a swift kick to their chests sending them flying backwards and rolling on the ground.
"Honestly what is wrong with you two?" she said standing up right and making her way towards Sakura. Once she reached her she held out her hand to help her up. Sakura stared up at Akari bewildered for a second before taking her hand and proceeding to dust herself off. "Can you really not be around each other for five minutes before attempting to rip each other's throats out?
'How the hell did she get in between us so fast?' Sasuke thought while clutching his chest.
"I think its best we regroup. Sasuke you're with me. Naruto you're with Sakura. Any objections?" Two of her teammates shook their heads while the other glared as usual.
'S-sugoi. She has a natural talent for leading. Maybe it has to do with her being so calm about things all the time it just makes people want to follow her' thought Sakura while unconsciously rubbing a sore spot on her arm. 'I knew I'd just end up looking like a useless idiot. Maybe Akari-san's right and I do lack self-confidence.'
Training was resumed once the groups were switched and they each made individual progress commenting on faults that could be corrected and giving each other advice. Naruto helped Sakura a lot which she was grateful for but she couldn't help wishing Sasuke to be in his place. Looking up to the sky Akari sighed when she realized the sun was nearly directly ahead of them. They had lost track of time and even though Kakashi was the one to actually be late she knew if they were the ones to keep him waiting they would be punished. Not looking forward to that she called her friends to a stop.
"Guys it's nearly noon we should make it back to the bridge before Kakashi gets there and thinks we've ditched him."
"We really should ditch him then maybe he'd learn to show up on time" mumbled Naruto placing his arms behind his head and walking along with his teammates towards the exit. Little did the four Genin know a lonely eye had been observing them train all morning.
xXx
Kakashi arrived at the bridge a short while after his team with his usual smile in place and cheap excuses. For a good part of the day Team 7 carried on with the low pay missions they were assigned such as de-weeding an old couple's garden or cleaning out a lake, the latest one being chasing down a runaway cat. It had taken up a good part of the afternoon to corner the crazed feline but they had managed nonetheless, some with more scratches on their faces than others.
Entering the double doors that led to a wide room used to give out D-rank and C-rank missions Akari's eyebrows shot up slightly in surprise as she regarded the Hokage seated behind the long wooden desk talking animatedly to Iruka. 'Light paper work coming in today I guess' she thought to herself. Kakashi walked up to the desk to hand in the mission report while Naruto haphazardly dumped the hamster containing a hissing 'Tora-chan' in front of Iruka.
"Well done" began the aging Hokage as he looked down at a list in front of him "your next assignments will be babysitting, painting a ladies house and repairing the leakage in the academy roof."
The answer he received was a sharp 'No thank you' from Naruto followed on by a string of protests of how he needed something more demanding to test his strength. Akari heard Kakashi sigh beside her and held down a chuckle. She could remember a time years ago when her team had been exactly the same. You had to admit even non Genin could do these kind of missions. Clearing her throat she spoke up interrupting her teammate's profanities.
"Hokage-sama if I may" she began gaining the attention of the room. "I know Team 7 is only a recently formed team but my teammates are talented in their own way and I think with Kakashi-san and myself on the team for backup experience on top of the fact that we are a five man cell team I think we could easily cope with a C-rank mission."
It was obvious she had struck gold; she could practically see the gears turning in the Hokage and in Iruka's heads as they considered the offer. Sasuke turned to her arms crossed over his chest and a grim look about his features.
"You know just because you have two years more experience on the field than us doesn't make you any better."
"Actually I graduated from the Academy when I was eight which gives me roughly five to six years more experience." She was going to carry on about how she had also mentioned the fact that she thought all of them were ready for better missions but was interrupted by a loud chorus of surprised screeches coming from Naruto and Sakura.
"Then why on earth have you waited until now to actually join a team?" Sakura asked truly bewildered. It was the first time she had ever met an undergraduate even though she knew Konoha's history was full of them but from what she had heard you needed to be extremely talented to be one of them. Just who exactly was this girl?
"Oh I've had my own team before, they just kind of… moved on without me" she finished off adverting her eyes from her teammates.
Sasuke stared at her intently not having missed the downcast expression that had flickered momentarily across her face. "You mean they ascended in rank?"
Kakashi observed in silence as the scene unfolded in front of him. Akari had never been one to talk without thinking things through carefully and he could tell she was weighing Sasuke's words. However the flicker of doubt that had flashed behind her eyes had been more than enough to tell him that she still wasn't ready to tell her new teammates more than they needed to know. Deep down, she still blamed herself. He was about to interject to spare her the uncomfortable moment but the Hokage beat him to it.
"Very well, I will allow you to go on a C-rank mission. Complete it successfully and you may be rewarded with more" he said smiling as he chewed on the pipe that was placed carefully between his lips. "Allow me to introduce you to the person who you will escort" he pointed towards the door and all heads turned to see a man around his fifties enter drunkenly.
Once their mission was explained Kakashi accompanied his four students outside. "I hope you have all understood the importance of this mission. Get some rest today and we will set off tomorrow at noon. Understood?" With that said and a final 'Don't be late' he disappeared in his usual cloud of smoke.
"It would do him good to listen to himself. Honestly how does he do that transportation thing anyway?" speculated the blond as they made their way down the long flight of stone steps leading to town.
"You don't know?" Akari asked cheerfully. "It's quite simple actually although there are certain conditions that must be met. There is also a big difference between teleporting with chakra and teleporting without."
"Huh? It's possible to teleport without using chakra?" inquired Sakura honestly puzzled. Chakra was the essence of every living thing how could someone possibly accomplish something without using it? That would simply make them a normal civilian, or in any case a magician.
"Forget about that for now it's too complicated and you don't really need to know about it. Back to using chakra, the technique Kakashi uses is accomplished by seals" she stopped by a tall building that held the means for shinobi post at the very top; the messenger birds. "See this?" She asked while pointing to a small squared piece of paper no bigger than a couple of centimeters long and wide. In the middle of the paper written in small kanji was the word Hyōji (appear). It looked like it had been written in blood. "These seals are littered all around town in useful places to make it easier for shinobi to get from one place to another. All that is needed is for a shinobi to infuse the paper with their chakra, form the seal and place it wherever they deem useful. The fact that it is infused with one's blood and chakra makes that individual the only one able to use that seal. There is actually one in ou-err my apartment" she finished off seemingly fascinated by something caught under her fingernails.
"Wow that's really cool. So then why don't ninja use that as a method of travel all the time?" Naruto beamed not having caught on to the near slip of information his teammate had made. She smiled at him thanking whatever god that was willing to listen for having stopped herself in time. They didn't need to know right now about her living with their Sensei. That information could wait and they may needn't ever know.
"It's more complicated than that. These seals are only used for short travel they can't cover wide distances. For that ninja use these" she trailed off for a second while hunting for something in her back pouch before retrieving a scroll. "These are emergency scrolls and are quite expensive, normally only a team leader, captain or medics have one of these to teleport out of a dangerous situation or to get a heavily wounded person back to the village. Once used they can't be used again and only two people can be teleported with one of these scrolls and even then they can only take you as far as the front road leading out of Konoha."
"I see it makes sense. That's why there are always guards by the gates. If someone were to use one of those scrolls it would be easy to get to them quickly and to spread the word to the hospital" said Sasuke as he stuffed his hands in his pockets walking alongside his companions.
"But why not just make them go directly to the hospital instead of the front gates?" inquired the blond. Sakura spoke up to answer his question.
"That's because Konoha is heavily protected with invisible force fields. Someone teleporting in could end up gravely hurt or in the very least set off all the intrusion alarms."
"Exactly! That's why it's only possible to teleport inside Konoha but not inside to get outside or vice versa" commented Akari beaming at her fellow kunoichi's intelligence. She stopped as they came to many crossroads. From this point onwards they would all go their separate ways. She turned to her teammates and gave them a cheerful wave.
"See you tomorrow then" and without further ado she turned left taking the road that would take her to the outskirts of town. She was in no real hurry to get back home just now, there were other things on her mind and she needed time to think them through, preferably alone.
xXx
Later that afternoon a usually loud blond was seated in one of the many comfortable benches at his favorite food stand slurping down his forth bowl of salty noodle delight a.k.a. Ichiraku Ramen. Finishing off the bowls juicy contents he grinned holding out the bowl in front of him.
"Teuchi-san give me another serving of the same please!"
"You sure have an appetite tonight Naruto" replied the owner while preparing his client another bowl.
"Yeah I got a really important mission tomorrow so I want to be prepared and full of energy" he beamed. A chuckle behind him had him turning around in his seat just in time to see his former academy sensei coming into the food stand smiling affectionately at the blond.
"Naruto I doubt I'll ever see the day in which you don't have any energy in you. Teuchi-san the next ones on me." He said while seating himself beside his former student. "So tell me Naruto what was your first week with your team like?"
The hyperactive kid gave him his usual cheesy grin before answering. "You know what it's been like the missions where rubbish" he thanked Teuchi for the ramen bowl placed in front of him before digging in to his meal.
"I meant what you think about your teacher and teammates?" asked the older man while snapping a set of chopsticks open and digging into his own bowl.
Slurping down a pile of noodles he looked at the man beside him. "Kakashi-sensei's always late to every meeting and you should hear the excuses he comes up with. Sakura-chan is cute but she's always fawning over Sasuke teme who thinks he's better than me and Akari-chan's really nice and helpful just a bit quiet. Did you know she graduated from the academy when she was eight?"
Iruka chuckled lightly. "Naruto I think anyone placed beside you could be considered quiet. On the whole you haven't given me a very good review on your team but I suppose that will change, you have after all only been with them for a week. As for Akari-san yes I did know."
"Did you teach her? What was she like? Is she really strong?"
"Slow down Naruto and eat your food it's getting cold" he said pointing at the bowl of noodles in front of the boy. Seaming to remember he still had ramen in front of him Naruto began to wolf it down while he listened to Iruka talking.
Sighing he proceeded to answer the blonds questions. "No I didn't teach her I only started teaching very recently however I did know her parents and consequently I knew her. When I first met her I had only recently been promoted as a Chunnin, in fact it was actually her parents who helped me pass the Chunnin exam by being there for me to talk to them when I had no one else to turn to. A really nice couple they were" he paused for a minute to carry on eating his food before continuing. "She has changed a lot over the years though, she's back to what a remember her to be like" he trailed off with a dazed look in his eyes remembering past times. Naruto just stared at him puzzled.
"How can she have changed if she's the same as you remember her to be?"
Iruka regarded the boy beside him for a couple of seconds. "She's gone back to being what she was like then, happy and kind to everybody. After that incident five years ago she left the village for a couple of years and when she came back she was different. Sad, lonely and serious, I hardly even recognized her when she returned."
Naruto gulped. The air around them seemed to be getting thick and it was making him shift uncomfortably. "What do you mean by that incident?"
Iruka looked down at his former student and weighed his words carefully. "Almost five years ago when Akari-san was nine her teammates and parents were found dead within the village, the culprit was never caught or identified." He watched as the blonds eyes widened in shock and his hair stood on end.
"Oh I've had my own team before, they just kind of… moved on without me"
"You mean they ascended in rank?"
'So that's what she meant' thought Naruto to himself as a downcast look crept into his eyes, this morning's conversation ringing in his mind. "Ne Iruka-sensei? You said she left for two years. Where did she go to?"
"I'm afraid I can't really tell you Naruto it's confidential and I don't know myself anyway. You understand don't you?" The blond just nodded his head and carried on looking at the empty bowl in front of him.
'We're more alike than I thought. It explains why she hasn't really opened up to us yet.'
They sat in silence for a while before Naruto got up and placed the money for his meal on the counter. He turned and beamed at the man he loved and admired and thanked him for the bowl he'd paid for before proceeding to leave. He stopped in his tracks when he heard his name being called behind him.
"Naruto, I'm going to have to ask you not to mention any of this to Akari-san or your teammates. If she hasn't told you herself then she probably has her own reasons for not doing so." The blond in question muttered a quick 'don't worry I won't' before stepping out into the cool evening air. The sun was setting on the horizon dying the sky a beautiful mixture of purple and red. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he proceeded to make his way back to his apartment to prepare everything he may need for the mission he and his teammates were going on tomorrow.
xXx
She could feel his eyes on her as she sat on the wooden floor of her bedroom packing any scrolls and weapons needed for tomorrow's mission. He had been standing there for a while now not saying anything but she could tell from the slight clucking noises he made every now and then something was bothering him. After another five minutes of utter silence she turned to face him acknowledging his presence, her loose slightly damp hair framing her features.
"What?" she looked up at him expectantly. He didn't answer her straight away but carried on looking at her languidly while leaning against the doorframe.
"You called me Kakashi-san" he emphasized.
Seriously? That was what was bothering him? "Well I could hardly call you Kakashi in front of the Hokage could I? It would be disrespectful and I don't care about the fact that Sasuke never calls you sensei I at least have the decency of respecting my superiors" she answered while checking her shurikens where sharp. Looking back up at him she could see false tears trickling from his eyes and sweat dropped.
"Yeah I mentioned it because you never call me Kakashi-san when we're on our own."
She smiled up at him smugly. "You hardly deserve any respect because you read porn in public, sensei" she made sure to emphasize on the new suffix. He coughed to clear his throat.
"They're not porn, they're romance novels; spicy, graphically depicted romance novels and you know that having flicked through them yourself Akari-chan."
She snorted and turned back to her bag. "Whatever Kakashi they're smut, I at least don't read them in public."
"Oh so you have flicked through them."
"I never said I had I merely stated I don't read that kind of thing in front of twelve year olds." She glared at him when he just kept on giving her a knowing look. Standing up and collecting her things she placed her bag beside her bed and proceeded to clip her sleeping bag onto it. "Don't you think I should move out?"
"What?"
She turned and regarded him. "I mean now that we're on the same team and all if Naruto and the others were to find out we live together don't you think it would be kind of awkward?"
"You know I'm your legal guardian until you're fifteen. My mission is completed then and your free to leave but until then you can't, besides where were you thinking of going to, back to your parents?"
She turned her back on him fingering the picture frame of her family on the bedside table. "No, I'm selling that place as soon as I'm eighteen, i…" she trailed off for a while swallowing her worries before looking back at the man she had grown to admire over the years. "I can't find it in myself to go back there."
He nodded in understanding while fingering his silver locks that seemed to defy gravity and that now hung more loosely over his closed right eye due to the absence of his forehead protector. "Do you want to move out?"
His question surprised her catching her off guard. "What? No of course not I mean…" she blurted out while blushing slightly "I just thought it would be uncomfortable for you if they were to find out that's all and I just don't want to be bothersome, you've looked after me long enough" she finished off averting her gaze to the floor. It was true; the man had done a lot for her over the past two years. Kakashi wasn't known for showing affection to anybody, he abided the ninja code flawlessly and made sure his feelings never ran too deep for anyone. Surely looking after a teenager of the opposite sex was a handful for the man.
"Then by all means don't leave and if it really bothers you then don't tell them, you are after all a kunoichi, keeping information to yourself shouldn't be that hard."
She smiled meekly. That was very true as well, but what if she didn't want to have to lie to her teammates? Just by being around them she felt like she wanted to get to know them better and let them know her for who she truly was. After all not everybody could be like Kakashi and remain a mystery to the world. No she was different to him in many ways. Whereas he was complex and avoided making deep connections with people to not feel the remorse and pain that came with losing them, which was more often than not in this profession, she was simple and embraced the fact that the world moved on and pain was just one of the many experiences one had to live through before dying.
"Is that my shirt you're wearing?" Breaking through her train of thought she stared into the face of the man occupying her bedroom door frame before looking down at herself having forgotten what she was wearing before glaring back up at him.
"Yes it is. Somebody neglected their laundry duties today so I've got no clean nightwear."
"Hmm I wonder who that could have been" he said placing a hand to his chin feigning concentration. Refraining from chucking something at him she looked down at the simple short sleeved black shirt with an attached mask and an idea popped into her mind.
"Ne Kakashi, look I'm you." He looked up to see her grinning behind the mask that was placed loosely around her features obviously a couple of sizes too big. Cocking his head to the side he tried to imagine her with her ever present pigtails and silver hair before shaking his head and walking out of the room. He had clearly been spending too much time around Naruto and his Sexy no Jutsu this week.
Akari watched with slightly widened eyes as he left the room before yanking the mask down and shouting down the corridor after his retreating figure.
"I don't even want to know what you were thinking!" Turning around she huffed and flicked off her bedroom lights before crawling into bed and looking at the two picture frames that stood on her bedside table. Sighing she turned around and inhaled the scent of rose water and sweet pea from her sheets accompanied by the slightly stronger masculine musky smell of pine trees and sandalwood that came from the shirt she was wearing and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.
A.n: Just a quick note, the MAIN reason if not the ONLY reason I made Akari graduate early from the Academy was to fit her past in and mesh it with Naruto's original story line. In other words, it was for the sake of the timeline. Reviews and ratings are appreciated :3