-----------------------

Chapter Four: Late October

-----------------------

The first night it rained, it hadn't stopped not once. It was still raining now. The rain varied: it was sometimes falling in sheets like mist, or raining like needles so when it hit you it stung. Sometimes it flooded the village with big rain drops that soaked front yards and halted the market and the people that wanted to buy from the vendors. Everything slowed down. It was calm.

Akane couldn't remember when it rained so hard and relentlessly. She couldn't go outside to jump in the huge water puddles in her front yard--well, it's not like she could even if she wanted to. She was banned from going outside. Her father made that pretty clear.

To put it in simpler terms, she was grounded. No going outside, not even to get the Sunday paper. It sucked and she absolutely hated it. Which is why she hadn't talked to her father since he had carried her home from the hospital and told she was grounded. He spent about a whole half an hour explaining what she could and couldn't do.

She settled with talking to her mother, since she was going to have a baby soon (due sometime between March and April) and stayed home most of the time. Her father was busy at work and with the upcoming chunnin exam in December he was extra busy and always came home late. Her brothers were excited. They loved watching the chunnin exams. They were still in the Ninja Academy and their parents told them it didn't matter how good they were--they were going to stay in the Academy until they were twelve and old enough to understand what it meant to be a ninja. The twins were pretty mad about that; they were hoping to graduate from the Academy in May when it let out for summer vacation. Too bad for them, Akane snickered to herself.

Hanging out with her mother was actually a lot of fun. She had let Akane help her paint the baby's room; it was a soft beige color, a comforting color perfect for a baby. They would be going sometime next month for a check up on the baby and Akane was excited to find out whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

Akane had finally given in; she was growing her hair out for her mother. It was one of the first things she had said to her mother when she had woken up after the accident. It went like this:

"Mom..." she had said it a quiet voice.

Her mother had turned around with a curious and concerned face. "Yes, honey?"

"I..." She swallowed nervously. "I want to grow out my hair. So it's just like yours."

She saw her mother tear up. "Oh, Akane, you don't have to do that," she wiped her eyes gently and reached towards Akane.

Akane shook her head when her mom pulled her in for a hug. "I want to, Mom. I want to."

And that was it. Her cropped hair was finally getting a chance to grow out. It was already past her ears and trying to settle on her shoulders. She thought maybe by early next year, it would be past her shoulders. She had something to wait for.

Akane sighed and walked into the kitchen, where her mother was humming as she cooked lunch for the two of them. It smelled delicious and Akane breathed it in. Her mother turned around and smiled.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, smiling a smile that reminded Akane of her father.

"Yep," Akane replied. "What are we having?"

"I'm making some bentos with different kinds of assorted foods. I was thinking we could make a trip to your father's office and deliver him some food. The poor man's working himself to death." Her mother shook her head and 'tsk', 'tsked'. "And then maybe we can go to Ninja Gear and look around. They're having a sale on pajamas. Three for one. It's a deal."

Akane was surprised. "Mom, I can't go outside. I'm not allowed." She can't believe her mother suggested it. Her mother usually agreed with about everything her father said.

"I know that," her mother laughed. "You don't even have to go inside. You can stay outside and talk to Kohaku." Kohaku was Kurenai's daughter. She was fifteen right now, and beautiful, too, what with her long, wavy, jet-black hair and soft brown eyes. She had a good personality as well; the one that attracts people like bees to honey.

"Okay, if you say so, Mom," Akane wanted to sound disappointed in her mother, but couldn't help it as she bounded up the stairs to her room and dressed quickly. She put on a thick blue sweater with some long black pants and a white wind-breaker over it. She went to the bathroom her whole family shared (it was huge, with three sinks, a huge mirror, a shower, and a big bathtub. There are tons of cabinets as well, packed full of towels, medicine, deodorant, and all that other useless stuff her parents used) and looked at herself in the mirror. She grabbed a hairbrush and ran it through her quickly. Before she left, she paused and dabbed her fingers over the gash sewn with black stitches. It was running slanted over her forehead, from her left eyebrow to the middle of her pale forehead. She sighed and walked away. It was just another reminder of how stupid she was.

She padded downstairs. Her mother, who was holding three bento boxes tied together by a light blue cloth and her purse, looked Akane up and down. She topped at her feet and Akane looked as well.

She had no socks on.

She ran upstairs, got a pair of socks, put them on, and ran back downstairs. Her mother laughed, grabbed her rain jacket (a lilac purple) and they stepped outside. Akane looked around her front yard, which was covered in rain water. Her yard looked flooded. You could barely see the grass!

Her rain boots were outside on the porch, caked with dry mud from the last good rain they had had when she was allowed outside. She grabbed her boots and beat them against the side of the house to get the dry mud off. Then she slipped them on. Her mother grabbed an umbrella and opened it. The two gathered underneath it, and slowly stepped down the front steps. Their feet made squelching noises as they trekked across the front yard.

The rain was ruthless today. It was just a drizzle; like a dreary spray. It looked really cool, coming down in sheets. You could actually tell the difference between the layers of raindrops. Akane leaned out of the umbrella and stuck her tongue out. The rain gathered on her tongue and her face. She swallowed. Her mother made a disapproving noise, but didn't say anything. Akane got back under the umbrella.

The village was deserted. The market was bare. It looked like a ghost town. They walked through the village to the Hokage Tower and walked inside the nice warm hallways. It was dry, dry, dry. Akane was happy to be out of the rain, but she was also happy to finally have gone outside since the accident.

The girls shedded their jackets and put them on the coat rack. They took off their boots so they just had their socks on their feet. The Hokage Tower was a familiar place. And besides, they knew the Hokage and surely he wouldn't have any objections.

"I bet Kohaku is in the library," Akane's mother spoke. They slowly climbed up the stairs.

"Yeah, probably."

"Do you remember where the library is, dear?" her mother joked.

"Ha, ha. Yes, I do, "Akane said.

"I'll come and get you when I'm done," her mother said as they parted to different hallways.

"Okay!" Akane whisper-yelled.

For the rest of the way, Akane ran. Her feet patted on the carpeted hallways softly, only making a dull thumping noise. She almost passed the library were Kohaku probably was.

The library was well lit, with big windows, and had a wide variety of books. Kohaku like to hang out there a lot. Akane didn't know why someone would spend almost all their free time reading. It was just plain weird.

She spotted Kohaku's hair behind a bookshelf to the left.

"Kana!" she yelled.

Kohaku whipped around. "Akane-chan! This is a library. Please, be a bit quieter."

Akane pretended to zip her mouth and throw away the key. Kohaku giggled. She wheeled herself to Akane and smiled.

"Long time no see. I heard about what happened to y0u," Kohaku's eyes drifted to the gash on Akane's forehead. "You need to be more careful. You could get yourself seriously hurt." Kohaku's eyes flickered with a bit of sadness and concern.

Kohaku had been in accident on one of her first missions. It was a C-rank, no big deal, she was a genin, and she could handle it. That is, until she fell on her back from the very top of a very tall tree. There were enemy ninja that had body slammed her mid-jump and knocked her down. She fractured her spinal cord. It was starting to heal, but all of a sudden, she woke up one morning and she couldn't feel or move her legs. That was last year. She still couldn't do anything with her legs. Now she was in a metal wheelchair that she could wheel herself around in. She was limited to some things, but it didn't keep her down. Since she couldn't be a regular ninja, she had decided to start studying to be a medic-nin. Auntie Sakura was training her and said she was doing surprisingly well. Akane was amazed that even if Kohaku couldn't be a ninja anymore, she decided to use her chakra to help others.

"Yeah, I'll be more careful." Akane flashed a big smile. "So, whatcha readin'?"

-------------------------

Hinata knocked on her husband's office door. It was barely a few taps, and she thought her might not have heard it. Just as she was about to knock on the door, he called out that she could come in.

He was sitting at his desk, piles of paperwork stacked nearly to the ceiling. His assistant, an ordinary-looking brown-haired woman picked up a huge stack of papers off the floor, nodded at Hinata, and then left the room. She closed the door behind her.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke. Her husband jolted up in shock. He looked at her and sighed in relief, putting a hand to his heart.

"Man, you scared me half to death, Hinata-chan. What are you doing here?" he asked. He got up off his chair and walked over to her. He held her close and smiled.

"I brought you lunch; thought you might be hungry," she blushed and handed him the wrapped up boxes. He unwrapped them and took a box.

"It smells delicious," he praised. His eyes looked over the food-filled boxes. "Why are there three bento boxes?"

"I brought Akane with me," she put a finger over his lips before he could say anything. "Now, don't get mad. Naruto, I know that what she did scared us all and I think she's learned her lesson. You can't keep her cooped up in the house forever."

He sighed and pulled her closer. "I know. But..." he paused," I just don't know why I would do if I lost her. Or the one of the boys. Or you." The look he gave her made her feel his concern. "I'd die. I couldn't handle it."

She put a hand on his check and he closed his eyes. "It's not like you won't have other people to look after you. You'll never be alone, Naruto." She pulled him close and hugged him tight. "I promise."

The pulled apart. Naruto's eyes told her 'thank you'. Hinata smiled.

"Akane and I are going to shopping, alright?" She kissed him on the lips. "Try to overwork yourself. I'll you see you this evening."

She left him with a smile and a silent 'good luck'. The chunnin exams could be brutal.

--------------------

"So, Mom, where are we going first?" Akane asked. She held onto her mother's hand tightly as they walked down the streets of Konoha.

It had stopped raining. After Hinata had left Naruto in his office, she met up with Akane and Kohaku. They stayed in the library for a while talking and they shared their bentos with Kohaku. When they got ready to leave, to their surprise, it had stopped raining. The sky was clearing up, people were coming out of their house, restraunts were starting to cook food (the smells wafted through the streets), and vendors were setting up their stalls. The market was once again crowded with people. Everything was beginning to turn back to normal.

"I think we should go to Ninja Gear and get those pajamas. Three for one, remember?" Hinata said.

"Yeah. Do you think I can get some new ones?"

"Of course. You are growing up after all." Hinata squeezed Akane's hand. "You are all growing up so fast. I wish you all would stop growing up."

"Mom!" Akane laughed. Akane looked around. She smiled and pulled her mother's dress. "Mom, look! It's Satoshi and Auntie Sakura!"

Hinata looked. "It is. You want to go say hello?"

Akane shook her head. "Yes, please!"

Sakura was walking with Satoshi, who was calm and quiet, despite he was the same age as Akane. He was just like his father, Sasuke. Sakura saw Hinata and Akane and waved to them.

"Hello, Sakura-chan, Satoshi-kun. How are you two?" Hinata asked.

"We're fine. It's nice to see you two," Sakura replied. She smiled.

Akane blushed when she saw Satoshi. He was just standing there, like always. He was so quiet, but for some reason, Akane liked that about him. When she talked, he actually listened the entire time. She liked the attention.

"H-Hi, S-Satoshi-kun," Akane stuttered.

"Hello," he replied.

"H-Have you e-eaten lunch yet?" Akane asked.

"Yes. Mother and I went to restraunt and ate lunch a few minutes ago." Satoshi sighed. "I can't leave her alone. She just can't take care of herself anymore."

"Has she been working at the hospital today?" Akane asked, curious about Satoshi's statement.

"She's been overworking herself, so I made her take the day off. She has so much vacation time it's crazy." Satoshi actually smiled a small smile. "Maybe we can go to the beach next summer. I've never been there."

'I have,' Akane thought. 'I went there last year, with Mom, Dad, and my brothers. It was a little cold though.' She wouldn't dare say it out loud. It would be rude to Satoshi.

"Satoshi, we better get going now, right?" Auntie Sakura called for him.

Satoshi gave Akane one last smile and went with his mother. Akane and her mom waved them goodbye. They turned to face each other.

"Now, how about that sale at Ninja Gear?" her mother smiled.

-------------------

"Ugh..." Yuudai groaned. He slammed his head on his desk with frustration. "I hate this." He slammed his head again." Hate it--"-again-"--hate it--"-again-"--hate it!" Before he could slam his head on the desk one more time, a hand grabbed the back of his head by his hair and yanked his head up.

"Damn it!" he cursed. "Yuuki, wee do you have to be such an--" His brother pointed forward and when Yuudai turned, his teacher had a murderous look on his face.

"Yuudai Uzumaki, I hope you are talking about your hate of something else rather than my lesson," his teacher said.

"Well, your lesson sucks too--" Yuudai muttered.

"DETENTION, YUUDAI UZUMAKI!"

-------------------

"Geez, you're getting in trouble a lot more lately, Yun-Yun," Izanami commented.

"I have to admit, you usually get in trouble at least once a month, but it's gotten worse," Tadashi said. "Now it's every couple of days. Sheesh, why do you have to be so bothersome?"

"Well, excuse me! It's not my fault my parents are cruel torturers." Yuudai grumbled.

"He means, our parents won't let us graduate this year. They want us to wait until we're twelve to graduate. Something about understanding what it means to be a ninja," Yuuki told them.

"Yeah, but it's only our second year in the academy! You guys shouldn't graduate too early!" Izanami gasped.

"Our sensei said we had the makings of true shinobi. He says if we work at the rate we're going, we'll graduate in May. But once we told Mom and Dad they told us that we weren't allowed to graduate this year," Yuuki replied.

"My mom and dad say that when I am ready to graduate, I can graduate," Tadashi said. "They said they don't mind. As long as I'm ready, I'll be okay."

"Yeah, I wish my parents were like yours," Yuudai said. "If I don't graduate in May, I won't get the opportunity to get more experience. "

"What do you mean? The longer you stay in the Academy, the more you learn. Sure, you graduate at the average time, but you learn more. I bet your parents just want you to gain more knowledge about it means to be a ninja." Izanami sighed like she was out of breath.

"Wow, Izanami. That was really insightful," Tadashi complimented.

She flipped her hair back with her hand. "I can be very deep when I wanna be."

"You guys don't understand," Yuudai said. They turned to look at him. "I have to get stronger. I have to graduate this May." He looked at them with his glassy blue eyes. "I have to be the strongest shinobi this world has ever seen."

----------------------

Next-- Chapter Five: Early November