"Thinking"

"Talking"

"Impactful word"

They both looked like they were preparing themselves for a fight rather than an actual conversation. If their stiff postures were anything to go by. Akane also anticipated it to be some form of a military protocol or simple formality. Akin to the custom of shinobi kneeling down on one knee when in the presence of the Hokage.

"It seems you've got yourself another fan, Commander." Shepard smiled sheepishly at the Admiral, scratching the back of her head. Akane watched as a tease of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, lightening up his stern demeanour. She filtered his response for later.

"To be honest, Sir, I wasn't prepared for the Prime Minister himself to grace me with his presence." There was a warmth to her voice that seemed to portray a deeper meaning to her words. Whether it was directed at the Minister or the Admiral, neither knew.

Akane intently watched for some sort of reaction out of the older man, who she kept attempting to get a read on. Older men, in her books, posed a much harder target to analyze. Their age likely played to their strengths because most of them weren't controlled by their emotions, as was often the case with youth, but were in control of them. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to imagine the asari matriarchs to be impossible to fully figure out, with their thousand years of experience.

Akane barely grasped on the flash of jealousy in the Admiral's eyes as he hid it with practised ease behind a sturdy facade ere the redhead could even take notice of it. She smirked discreetly under her collar in triumph. She may not be able to provoke a reaction from the Admiral, but Shepard seemed to do.

"Fans aside, you asked for my help, Commander?" Akane became suspicious at that, though she had a feeling she would find out soon enough.

Shepard hadn't mentioned anything of that sort during their talk in the captain's quarters, she had only requested of the Uchiha to meet a friend of hers. So that meant the Admiral had been the friend she was to be introduced to. But why were they being so tense around each other if they were supposed to be friends? It didn't make sense.

"Oh, right! Do you have a place where there won't be much commotion, Sir?"

"There is a café I like to visit after a stressful day. Not overly crowded with a peaceful atmosphere and a nice retro touch. Besides, I am regular, so we might as well get a discount." He winked at the redhead which made her let out a hearty laugh, a faint blush covered her cheeks as she did so. This particular exchange made the previous nervousness dissipate from them, seeing the Admiral bringing the conversation on an informal level.

"Sounds perfect!" Shepard exclaimed, somewhat eagerly walking by the Admiral's side, chatting quietly all the while Akane obediently followed after them. The trip was short but enough for Akane to use most of it to get a good look at the station and its inhabitants, inwardly noting everything she didn't understand for later study.

Then they arrived at their destination and got seated at a table for three. Out of her peripheral vision, the shinobi saw a waitress already on her way to their table. Akane pretended to skim through the small menu list in her hands, despite knowing she couldn't even read the text, but it offered a better view of their 'friendship' with less chance of getting caught in the act.

"What would you like me to bring you?" The waitress inquired.

"The usual." The Admiral exchanged a knowing look with the young woman, then set his gaze casually on Shepard, who looked in two minds about what she would like to pick.

"I hope you have money to burn, Sir! Because I am not looking the gift horse into the mouth." There was a twinkle in her eyes as their gazes met. It was as if a short-lived spell was put on the grey-haired man before he severed the connection.

"Is that an order, Commander?" he kidded with a smirk, clearly amused.

"And what if it is, Admiral?" She shot him a smile of her own, a hint of a challenge in her voice.

"Well, I am the one with the discount, so technically..." The devilish smirk that adorned the Commander's lips boded nothing good. And Akane was about to experience a mischievous side of Shepard she hadn't been met with, much to the Admiral's dismay.

"An affogato, please." was Shepard's final verdict, which was spoken with feigned innocence as she put the list contently back on the table. Not like she had any idea what the redhead had ordered. But she figured it must have been something expensive if the defeated sigh of the Admiral, once he looked up the price, was anything to go by.

"That will be all?" Inquisitive eyes turned to Akane.

"Yes."

"Thank you, your order will come in no time!"

"So... let's make a short introduction." Shepard rubbed her hands together as she rearranged herself better on the mellow chair to have both of them in her field of vision. She decided to introduce the Admiral first, she had probably noticed that there was no point in beginning with Akane whereas she had already given her name.

"This is Admiral Steven Hackett and a very dear friend to me, he also commands the Fifth fleet that is stationed here at the Arcturus."

Well... there wasn't much of it that she hadn't already gathered from first meeting him at the hangar. Any idiot would figure it out based on his martial uniform that just screamed: 'I am the real deal!'. The formidable scar similar to Wrex' (though on a much smaller scale) was also an indication of his profession, even when less reliable than other pointers.

Furthermore, the way he held himself so straight pointed out the possibility of him going through military drills since he was comfortable with this position - the majority of people wouldn't walk this way out of sheer discomfort.

"A pleasure, Sir." The kunoichi inclined her head as a sign of respect, her white eyes fixed intently on the Admiral, testing for a breach in his profile.

But it seemed that the He only gave her an affirming nod, nothing too expressive. She remembered what effect her exotic eyes had on most humans (and aliens alike) and was impressed by his control to remain indifferent about the fact where others would feel obnoxious. It had to be due to the absence of the distinguishable pupil.

"And as you know, this is Akane Uchiha," he nodded, "the latest addition to my team."

The Admiral only stared, just in time for the waitress to bring their drinks. His brows furrowed as he let the new information sink into his mind whilst stealing a sip from his cup. He looked troubled, but was startled when Shepard abruptly excused herself to the bathroom. Akane, too busy to look unbiased, didn't see the wink that the redhead shot the Admiral.

And here they were... sitting in the awkward silence the Commander purposefully left in her wake.

He was the first to break it, "What do your parents think of this?"

"Nothing."

"Why is that?"

"I don't have any," she responded flatly, mending the crack in her mask that had formed the last time she was asked the same question.

They held their gazes on each other, both unflinching, unrelenting. Guards up as high as mountains and secrets buried underneath the deepest crevice of their mind.

"What does a child have to do in a Spectre investigation?"

"My reasons lie within Shepard's best interest I can assure you."

"For how much longer I wonder," he said, mistrust lacing his every word where it was soft before. The motives behind his concern of Shepard were unknown to her but the kunoichi had a few options in mind. Akane picked up on his attempt to provoke and was left unfazed. She would have to be careful with this one.

"Am I correct to assume you trust the Commander's judgement?" He nodded without hesitation, letting her continue.

"The Commander's allowed me to join out of her reasons and on her conditions which I fulfilled."

"That still doesn't legitimate bringing in a juvenile on an undercover Spectre investigation. Some might get the wrong idea," he warned. His eyes held this hardness in them that would intimidate any normal civilian. It was one of a few aspects he shared with Tani. But such tactics didn't work on her.

"Your concerns are not unreasonable and duly noted. I am aware of the risk my recruitment poses for the Commander and will try my best to keep a low profile, for her sake." Akane answered truthfully yet aware that no answer would appease the man that portrayed such protectiveness over the redhead. He would have to suck it up.

She knew it was her fresh Spectre status (if more) that he was worried about. You wouldn't want to lose something you have worked on for the last twenty years, Akane was loath to let all the effort put to waste as much as he was.

Hackett POV

He knew that the girl wasn't just any typical teenager.

It had foremost shown when she had spoken to the Prime Minister. No mere youngster would say so much without any context with such practised ease, he had only seen the most experienced of politicians to be able to do it. And he was certain that Shastri had recognized it too, knowing the Indian to be an accomplished politician who knew his way with people, otherwise, he wouldn't be where he was today. He was better at politics than the Admiral, Steven freely admitted hating politics just as much as Shepard did, but it was necessary to keep up appearances.

In spite of his suspicion, what he had expected, when he saw the girl at Shepard's side, was that she was some sort of former slave of these batarian extremists Jane had brought into custody. Her mental health had said as much once he had taken a glance at her face. There was no youthful sparkle or anything of that kind in her eyes, which was unsettling, but not rare to appear on such a young face - God help him, he had seen enough examples after Mindoir.

So naturally, Steven thought it was from the horrendous time she must have experienced during slavery that left her in such a condition, but little did he know that it would be him who would be left shocked instead.

Asteroid X57.

He had read Shepard's report, and damn wouldn't he give her another medal for preventing an event that would have had, without a doubt, catastrophic consequences. Alas not everyone saw it through his eyes, not everyone was as supportive of the Spectre. Some were reigned by jealousy of her fame, others saw in the possibility of using her for their means or simply didn't appreciate her character. She had as many allies as enemies.

Then again, so did he. He just realized that they shared a lot more in common than he thought.

Then again, Shepard had revealed that the girl was part of her crew, which was like a slap across his face, destroying the whole image he had constructed of the teen. He trusted Shepard's judgement, he would stand by what he had said to Akane, but such a move was unlike her. Jane must have had an adequate reason to bring a child into her crew, because Steven himself couldn't see enough cause that outweighed the consequences should it not be.

Jane would probably use her Spectre authority to classify Akane's participation, which is the only logical step for her to do. But there was still one question left in the open: Who was Akane Uchiha?

The Prime Minister might have tipped him off on her nationality but it was a wild guess considering modern circumstances. Humans have been widespread since the galaxy was opened to them. Results were most likely He would have his men searching for her identity after this encounter, strange as it may seem, was over.

Steven wasn't exactly proud to be about to use a harsher approach against someone who was a good few decades younger than him, but he wasn't a man to sugarcoat what he had to say either. Not when it came to Shepard's security.

"As much as the thought is appreciated... your awareness doesn't change a dozen of regulations that speak against your favour," he paused to look at her, seeing the usual blankness replaced by a hardened expression that he had only seen a few times during his career.

An expression that only those soldiers wore that went through hell and came back to tell the tale. That was the second time today that he was shell-shocked as he didn't foresee witnessing it on the face of a girl. Steven was almost left intimidated by the sheer intensity of it, but he was the Admiral of the Fifth Fleet. It wasn't going to work on him so easily, albeit he used the same approach.

"Only when those restrictions apply to species that acknowledge the authority of the Citadel Council," she retaliated, the serenity of her tone contradicting the hardness on her expression. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that but he knew she wasn't jesting either.

"What-"

"Hey, you two!"

He didn't perceive Jane coming back from the toilets, "Oh! Pardon my ill-timed interruption, Sir, please do continue."

She shot him an apologetic glance, but he simply waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, "It was nothing of importance anyways, Commander."

"I hope you two got acquainted at least a little bit during my short break." She sat back down into her chair, green eyes landing on her drink.

"Aw, my ice cream melted!" Her brows furrowed. He couldn't help himself but chuckle at the child-like innocence that she displayed on rare occasions. She always was like a breath of fresh air whenever he was worn out.

"That's not funny!"

Her downcast expression morphed into an angry pout that looked too adorable to take seriously, at the corner of his eyes he was almost sure he saw a small twitch of Akane's lips too. He watched Jane's desperate attempt to gather some solid ice cream onto her spoon only for it to slither down. She repeated the process a few times, before mumbling a distinctive 'Fuck it' and dropping the spoon on the saucer with a clank.

She brought the espresso to her plush lips to take a sip, pleased by the temperature of the liquid. She must have feared her espresso cooled down to the point she wouldn't enjoy it. "Well?"

Akane opened her mouth but he beat her to it. "You possess an interesting choice of assets, Commander."

"The same can be said about your choice of... friends," he heard Akane adhere, the hesitation in her voice tangible though for what reason was unknown to him.

"Excellent! I am pleased to see you get along so well." Hackett was mesmerized by the bright smile, beautiful in its sincerity.

"Thanks for being so considerate in meeting my friend, Akane... but could you excuse us so I can talk to Hackett privately?" Shepard asked politely, and the thrill of being truly alone with the redhead made Steven's heart jump from excitement, despite the topic at hand. Akane obliged without hesitation as she stood up from her seat and bowed respectively to the Admiral, but also the Commander.

He waited until he was sure Akane was fully out of sight, then spoke.

"I don't like this, Shepard."

There was something about the girl that had him exercise extreme caution. Had him

"Don't like what?" She feigned ignorance towards his obvious question, making him heave out a sigh.

"That you made a teenager a part of your crew." She scoffed at him pointing out the obvious. She apparently disliked being questioned about her decision, but he couldn't help it when his only intention was to support her. Even if their opinions clashed against each other in a heated battle that would leave them in conflict.

He had already finished with his cappuccino when she put her drink down. "I know what you think but she is... special."

"I am afraid I will need more than that, Shepard." He looked at her, firmly. She returned his gaze, her eyes doubtful yet she chose to lean closer to him. He was taken back by the secretive behaviour. She wanted to tell him something she didn't want the Alliance to know about, his status should discourage such conduct, but he relished the trust she put in him more than some silly rule.

"She has abilities, unlike anything I have ever seen." Her voice barely came out as a whisper, only for him to hear.

"In what sense?"

"Akane is not human." She eyed him, almost as if searching for something in his expression. Steven shot a perfectly sculpted brow at her, confusion clearly written all over his face. What Shepard had said sounded like complete nonsense towards what he had seen, but he would let her explain.

"She may look like a human but Dr Chakwas says her that her genetic code tells a different story." His brow furrowed, not sure how to make sense of all that.

"Shouldn't you take that to the Council?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth, it was an intergalactic matter and the Council's responsibility to deal with, so why would Jane taker Akane under her wing and thus risk the Council's hardly-earned trust?

"I should, but I respect Akane enough not to sell her out to the Alliance or the Council. I owe her this much."

"What did she do for you to be in her debt?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Oh well, she saved Alenko and captured Balak's lot," she answered casually.

"It wasn't you?" She shook her head in denial.

She got into a more comfortable position and began explaining the whole mission from her perspective. This time including the little details she kept out of her report. Steven listened attentively, starting to get a picture of the girl's prowess. He knew from the start there was clearly something off about Akane, but this exceeded anything he initially associated with her.

"Have you considered her being with Cerberus?" He felt the need to ask; to introduce Shepard to the notion that she might perhaps have a spy among her crew. This seemed to fall under their category.

"I have not discounted that possibility. That's why I came to you." She rested her elbow on the armrest as she leant her head into the palm of her hand in a contemplative gesture.

"I have hoped that you would be more successful in my fruitless endeavour to find out more about her."

"I can't say for sure but I think she has been through something no one should have gone through," he told her what he had noticed during his short time with her.

Only when those restrictions apply to species that acknowledge the authority of the Citadel Council.

Only now was he capable of understanding the meaning that underlaid Akane's previous sentence, more or less solidifying what Shepard had told him of her. Needless to say, what Shepard was about to say did nothing to simplify the whole situation regarding Akane Uchiha.

"Besides, she came in contact with the prothean beacon, so this alone is enough to make her a valuable asset."