The Undesired Second Chance

Chapter 35: Seeking Any Sign

While Akaiko visited the smithy—and its blacksmith—quite often, it was obvious that this visit would be different.

She had been pretty nervous about it... because of course she was; that's the only appropriate response after a friend hunts you down to say something as vague as 'Axel has something to tell you, come to the shop tomorrow'. She had tried badgering Kushina for more details, but the kunoichi had just smirked and smugly refused to say anything more.

Naturally, Akaiko handled that very well.

And she definitely didn't agonize over what the heck he wanted to say to her all night. Nope, not at all.

But that doesn't matter now.

Because, as it turns out, Axel was missing.

"What?!"

She had been trying to dislodge the senbon she'd thrown at the intruder—Kushina had dodged it easily, thankfully, and it had instead stabbed in the window frame. But now... though the stun-traps at her window had been fully disarmed, Akaiko felt like she'd accidentally zapped herself.

Kushina, still perched on the sill, gave a somewhat helpless shrug. "That's what Minato told me, but he was out again real quick. No chance to talk, ya know?"

"But, I mean..." Akaiko decided that the senbon would just have to stay were it had lodged for now, shifting full attention to her friend. "He's missing?"

She nodded.

"But how— Why?"

"Again, don't know the details." Kushina leaned back out of the window to glance around, one foot on the sill and the other braced on the outside of the wall. "I'm gonna go pester the police, see if they know anything yet. Wanna come?"

"I'll meet you there, I'll go check out the shop first."

With a raised brow, she pointed out, "After you get dressed. Right?"

"Right."

Though, as a matter of fact, Akaiko had forgotten that she was still in her pajamas, which were decidedly not exactly mission-suitable clothing.

"Later then."

And then she vanished, leaving only a swirl of leaves.

Akaiko had never gotten ready so fast, changing clothes and jumping through the window in four seconds flat, plus an additional two seconds—new record—to reset the security on her apartment. Then she was off.

The rooftops passed in a blur, the route to Axel's smithy so familiar that she barely needed to think before she leapt.

Which was good, because she was pissed.

Kind of.

It was more concern and worried tension, but when she needed to get things done, she found that anger was a much more effective motivator than anxiety. So, while she wasn't mad at anyone in particular—not at Axel, and certainly not at Kushina—Akaiko was just mad at the situation as a whole.

Not that she really knew much about the situation in the first place.

She landed on the roof of the building she had used for her stake-out for all those months, directly across from the smithy, and she noted the quietly hurried activity going on inside. The police officers were still here, that much was obvious.

Minato was pacing out front, occasionally glancing to the door of the shop.

Dropping down beside him, Akaiko asked, "It's true, he's really—?"