Hello again! As I mentioned in my last chapter, I was going to make this one longer. And I seem to have gotten ahead of myself! I've enjoyed writing this Chapter so much and I know y'all will as well. You get to finally see some into Akita's dark past, see a relationship be destroyed and— oops! Getting ahead of myself again! No spoilers! I do hope you enjoy this 5th chapter. I am looking forward to writing more.

Tale of the Dual Hokages

Chapter 5

Akita sat on the edge of the infirmary bed. Thoughts of the past twelve years running though her mind. She'd 'died', killed many innocent people at the command of Orochimaru, come back from the dead, witnessed one of her best friends die, and finally be with the man she's loved since she was in the academy. She clinched her fists. "He needs to know…"

A dark shadow covered her. "He needs to know what Akita? I hope you're not going to spill everything to Minato. If so we'd have to kill you and him. Then that snot nosed brat would have to grow up all on his own. You wouldn't want that would you?"

"Kabuto… So Orochimaru sent you to spy on me, did he?" She scoffed. "Of course he did." She stood and frowned at the traitor. "You could never beat me Kabuto Yakushi. What makes you think, that you could kill me and Minato? Walk away before you get hurt." She pushed past him and walked out of the infirmary. Boy was she in for it.

She walked up the stairs to watch the preliminary rounds. Too many teams had gotten through the second exam.

Kakashi watched her. "You okay? You look pale." He frowned as she stood beside him.

A nodded. "Yeah. Fine. How many are left? I need to speak with Minato." She looked up at him.

He sighed. "Three more fights. What's going on? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, like I said, everything's fine. Actually I'd like for you and Asuma to be there as well. It's important." She smiled softly, something that was out of character for her.

Kakashi noticed this as the red head Uchiha walked away. He frowned again.

Akita, Asuma and Kakashi all stood in Minato's office. Akita leaned against the wall as she thought of what to say.

Minato cleared his throat so as to break the silence. "Akita, what's going on?"

She sighed. "I have a confession to make. I know I should have told you all about this when I first came back to Konoha, and I'm at fault for that. I just thought I could deal with this on my own."

The three ninja stared at her confused.

"God, I worked for Orochiamru for 6 years…" She clenched her fists tightly. "I had nowhere else to go. He was there and he sucked me in. I… I killed innocent people, liquidated villages… I've caused so much hurt and I'll never be able to forgive myself. I should have never left… I've regretted leaving ever since I joined him." She dropped her head in her hands and did what she hasn't done since she was little. She cried.

Minato stared at her. "How could you…?" He growled slamming his fist against his desk. "You have betrayed this village Akita!"

Akita jumped back slightly. "I… I'm sorry… I know what I did was wrong. I can't change the past… please forgive me…"

He had tears in his eyes. "Are you the one who killed Kushina…?" He didn't want to believe that the love of his life had turned into a monster.

There was a long pause before she could answer him. Her whole body was shaking with fear and embarrassment. "Yes… I killed Kushina." She couldn't look him in the eye.

~3 weeks later~

Akita sat in a cell against a wall underneath the ANBU complex. This is where she belonged. She had killed her best friend, she deserved to rot in a cell. The interrogation team had already probed her mind. She offered up everything she knew. Now she was waiting for them to kill her. Minato had come to see her either. Maybe it was for the best.

The door to her cell opened. A voice brought her out of her thoughts. "I need to speak with her alone." She recognized the voice and looked up as the ANBU nodded and walked away. Minato walked in and stopped staring at her. "They said you're not eating."

She looked away from him. "What's the point? I'm just going to die in here anyways. Might as well make the process faster."

He scratched the back of his head. "I need to ask you something." He waited for her to answer but never heard anything. He sighed. "Why did you kill Kushina?"

Akita finally looked him in the eye. "No. He didn't make me kill her. She came upon me as I was coming to the village. She attacked me and out of reflex… I stabbed her… It was an accident…" she bit her lip. "I wish I could take it back… all of it. I have so much blood on my hands. I deserve to die. I betrayed my village and my best friend." She crossed her arms. "Anything else you want to know? I'm sure Ibiki told you everything."

~2 weeks Ago: Interrogation~

Akita sat in the middle of twelve ANBU and Ibiki, the captain of the Interrogation squad.

Ibiki stared at her as he paced. "Tells us everything you know about Orochimaru." He went to raise his hand at her.

She held her own hand up and looked at him. "Gladly. No need to use force." She placed her hand in her lap and let out a soft sigh before jumping into her story. "I left the village after being put on bed rest. I'd been severely injured in the war. I couldn't handle the abuse from my father or hurting my teammates. So I left. I was on my own for three months. I took small jobs and went from town to town. One job I was given led me to Orochimaru. I never finished the job. That's when I staged my death. Orochimaru had promised to help make me stronger, and I fell for it. I did his dirty work for almost six years. I liquidated two small villages and…" her voice caught in her throat. "… I killed several other innocent people, along with many rogue ninja. I knew about my brother murdering my clan after it happened, because I ran into him. He's now in the Akatsuki. After those brutal six years… I finally told Orochimaru to screw off and left. I was on my way back to Konoha when I was ambushed by Kushina Uzumaki. In reflex, and believe it was one of Orochimaru's idiots… I stabbed her, trying to defend myself. I only realized it was her after her hood fell and I heard her voice. I brought her back into the village after she died in my arms and blamed it all on Orochimaru. He didn't trust me enough to give me all of his plans, but he plans on taking Sasuke, kill Minato and everyone that stands in his way. I came back to protect him. That's it…"

~Back in the cell~

Minato clenched his fists. "I want to forgive you… because I know you were being used. But… You killed Kushina… and so many others, I don't know how." He looked at her. "I need to know, can I trust you? Can I trust… that you'll protect this village with your life…?"

She looked at him again. "Of course you can trust me. I never would have done any of it if I had known he was just using me to get to the village. To get to you. I was on my way back to warn you and the village about him when Kushina attacked me. I sat with her and watched her die, while she told me everything that had happened since I left. About Naruto… and you becoming Hokage, and how everyone was still devastated about my leaving… I didn't know I put you through hell. She told me that you visited my grave every day. What I told you she said was all true. I promised her, I'd look after Naruto, and protect him and to protect you. She died with a smile on her face…"

He closed his eyes. "She died with a friend beside her…" he walked out of the cell and slammed it shut.

~6 Days Later~

Ibiki stood in front of Akita's cell. "Wake up Princess, it's your lucky day." A slight smile came to his face as he opened the door. "The Elders and Minato have cleared you. You're free to go."

Akita looked at him confused. "What? Why did they clear me? I've done so many bad things…"

"I'm guessing, it was because of Kushina." He stepped to the side.

She walked past him slowly but stopped. "Are you sure? This isn't some kind of joke is it?" She frowned looking at him. "I swear if this is some kind of joke Ibiki—"

He cut her off. "It's no joke. Minato's outside waiting for you. Take it easy and think about joining the ANBU. We could use you around here. Of course, it would be probationary, but it's just a thought."

She sighed and nodded. "Thank you…" She turned away from him and walked towards the doors. It had only been a month in that damn cell, but it felt like forever. She closed her eyes as the cool air hits her face, and breathed in.

"Akita!" A happy voice brought her out of her thoughts. Naruto stood next to his father, with a big smile on his face.

Minato placed a hand on Naruto's head and also smiled at her. "Ready to go home?"

Her eyes darted between the two and her voice was hesitant. "Y… yeah… home…"

The three of them walked in silence. Akita went to the kitchen when they got home and started dinner. She kept looking at the two as she cooked. She was confused as to why they hadn't killed her. As she finished cooking, she called them both to the table and sat their plates in front of them.

Naruto ate quickly with a big grin on his face. "God I missed your cooking Akita!"

Minato nodded. "As did I." He took a bite and looked at her. She was looking down at her fork. He cleared his throat and sat his own fork down. "I'm assuming you're confused about all of this." She looked up and nodded slightly. He sighed and sat back. "You made a promise to Kushina. I don't know everything that happened while you were gone, or what that monster did to you. That doesn't matter. You came back to protect the village. The Elders agree with me that you don't deserve to be in a cell for trying to protect us. Yes, you've done wrong. Who hasn't? As long as you put the village before yourself, then you can go about living here with me and Naruto."

"You were my mom's best friend Akita. I need you, dad needs you, and this village needs you. You're the strongest ninja we have… and I saw what Orochimaru did to you in the forest. I had some input in the decision after I told them what happened. I know you were scared for my team. You saved us." Naruto grinned once again.

Akita sighed. "I'm sorry. Yes, I'm confused. I never meant any harm to come to the village. I left to protect it, but by leaving I only caused more damage. Of course I'll put the village first. I always have."

Minato and Akita walked to the arena early the next morning. Naruto had left earlier to do some last minute training. She listened to Naruto talk about his training with Jiraiya all night. Boy had she missed that. She walked with a smile on her face, and her hand resting warmly in Minato's hand. This was how it was supposed to be. Her, Minato, and Naruto.

The last exam began. As the fights went on, Naruto won against Neji Hyuga, Shino won, by default against Kankuro. Shikamaru forfeited to Temari.

As the last fight started… All hell broke loose.