Akira ran down the street chasing after Obito. "Obi, wait for me!" She called.
"I'm sorry Akira, I can't! I'm late!"
"Obiiiiiiii!" The five-year-old redhead wailed. Obito had promised her that he would play with her today. She had caught him as he was walking past her house, and had taken off after him.
Obito puffed as he put on a burst of speed. He ran around the corner ahead of Akira. She growled in her throat. "Obi, come on." She muttered.
Akira wasn't fazed, however. She continued on her way, determined to catch him. She rounded the corner, then used chakra to propel herself from the ground. She leaped into the air, landing on a building and running along the roof. She jumped from roof to roof, keeping an eye on Obito as she went. He rounded another corner and headed into the trees at the edge of the village. He was heading towards training ground three.
Akira jumped off of the building and hit the ground hard. She rolled once to keep her momentum and kept going. She jumped to the tree limb above her and landed in a crouch before sending herself flying with her chakra to the next one. She ran branch to branch behind Obito. It wasn't long before the clearing of the training ground was in view.
Obito burst through the trees and ran up to his team. Kakashi stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Obito. Rin waved enthusiastically with a big smile on her face. Minato smiled kindly.
"Glad you made it Obito," Minato said. "Let's get started with today's training."
Akira leaped out of the trees. "Obi!" She yelled.
Obito turned to look, his eyes wide.
"Akira? What–"
Akira was suddenly swept out of the air, caught by Minato. Minato landed on the ground with his niece in his arms. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and he held her on his hip.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Akira." He said. He poked her side with his finger, making her giggle. She loved her Uncle Minato. "What brings you here today?"
Akira pointed an angry finger at Obito. "Obi promised me he would play with me today." She was frowning, her eyebrows furrowed. Rin giggled.
"Oh man, Akira..." Obito hung his head. Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.
"Is that so, huh?" Minato turned to look at Obito. He looked back at Akira. "Does your mom know where you're at, Akira?"
Akira vigorously nodded her head. "I told her I was going to play with Obito."
"Akira!" Obito shouted. He waved his arms around wildly. "I could've been going on a mission or something, you could have followed me into danger! You know how crazy life is, you could have gotten hurt! There's a war going on!"
"It's alright, Obito, she's fine," Rin said, placing a hand on Obito's shoulder.
Minato chuckled at his students. "Alright, Akira." She turned her head to look at him. "How about you train with us today?"
"Sensei, why do we have to babysit? I thought we were going to train. We can't train with a five-year-old! Unless this counts as a mission I don't want any part of it." Kakashi protested.
"I want to train too," Akira said sharply. She glared at Kakashi. Out of all of Uncle Minato's students, Kakashi was her least favorite. He was always annoyed with her. He glared right back.
"We can all train together," Minato said. He set Akira down on her feet. Akira ran to Obito and hugged his leg. He placed a hand on her back and smiled. "We will start with some physical workouts, and then we will work on mental precision with a chakra control exercise. Sound good?"
The three nodded. Akira grinned and hugged Obito's leg tighter. She loved when she got to train with Minato's team.
"Alright, we will start with a run. Give me a lap around the village. Ready, set, go!"
Akira took off in front of the others, a determined smile on her face. She would prove that she deserved to train with them, even if she wasn't really part of the team.
Kakashi ran past her, leaping over boulders and downed trees with ease. Obito passed her as well, hard-pressed to keep up with Kakashi. Rin jumped past her with a smile, eyes on the boys.
"Oh man, I can't keep up!" Akira whined. She pushed herself harder. She tried to leap over a boulder, but tripped at the top, tumbling over the other side with a small shriek. She landed hard on her side, breaking her fall with her arm.
Akira fought to keep the tears down, sniffling. Her hip and shoulder burned where they had collided with the ground. Her wrist was sore, but at least it wasn't broken. She could tell that much. But still, she cradled her arm to her chest.
"Akira! Are you alright?" Minato asked as he landed in a crouch next to her. "Is anything broken?"
Akira shook her head. "I'm okay. I just tripped. I can't keep up with them."
Minato smiled softly. He held out his hand to her, and she took it. He helped her stand up, but he stayed crouched. "Run with me, okay? Are you ready to go again?"
The pain had faded to a dull throb in her shoulder and hip. Her wrist was alright now. She nodded.
Minato stood up again. "Alright. Let's go catch them, sound good?"
Akira nodded and wiped the few stray tears that had escaped away. "But how do I go that fast? They are way faster than I can go."
"The same way you were able to keep up with Obito this morning. Channel your chakra into your feet, and use it to propel you forward. I've seen you run, I know you can do it. Just don't use too much chakra, otherwise, you might go too far too fast."
Akira's lips formed an 'o' shape. She knew precisely what Uncle Minato was talking about.
"Okay, I can do that!" She grinned.
"Alright kiddo, let's do it!"
Minato stood and held Akira's hand. Together they started racing after the three ninjas that had left them in the dust. Akira treated the run as if she were hopping from rooftop to rooftop. She used small bursts of chakra to run, Uncle Minato guiding her steps and still holding her hand. He helped carry her longer distances until they had caught up with them.
"Go Akira!" Uncle Minato said. He let go of her hand. Akira grinned and went after Obito and Rin. Kakashi was much farther ahead.
She ran faster, using her chakra to propel herself further and further. She used logs and rocks as places to jump from. In no time she had caught up to Obito and Rin, who had slowed down after their initial quick start. Kakashi had slowed as well but stayed a good distance ahead of them.
"Hi Obito! Hi Rin!"Akira said.
They looked back at her, surprised to see her behind them.
"Akira? How did you catch us?" Rin asked, bewildered.
"Uncle Minato taught me how to run faster!" She said excitedly. She wasn't even too out of breath.
"Hey Akira, let's go catch Kakashi!" Obito said. He had a wicked grin on his face.
Akira's grin widened. "Let's go, Obi!"
Behind them, Minato chuckled. Akira and Obito put on a burst of speed and started to close the distance to Kakashi.
Akira's movements were a little more sporadic than Obito's since, in reality, she was jumping more than running. But she kept pace with the older boy, and in no time they caught Kakashi.
"Hi, Kashi!" Akira said once they had gotten within a few feet of him.
Kakashi glared at them over his shoulder. He saw a grinning Akira and a smirking Obito. Kakashi looked forward again and put on a burst of speed.
"Oh man, this guy..." Obito said.
"We can catch him Obito, come on!" Akira put on a burst of speed too, using a bit more chakra to propel herself further and further.
"Wait, Akira!"
She left Obito in the dust. She was determined to catch up to Kakashi and prove that she could train with them too. She could still his back up ahead. His white saber scabbard over his brown belts that crossed his back. He glanced back over his shoulder again, and upon seeing her, narrowed his eyes and ran even faster.
"What the heck!" Akira said, outraged. This really wasn't fair. How was she supposed to keep up with him when he was six years older than her and he wasn't being nice?
Akira pushed herself faster, using even more chakra. She jumped straight over a small pond near the wall, startling a couple of frogs sitting on the banks. They croaked in alarm and jumped into the water. Kakashi had nearly disappeared again.
In desperation, Akira jumped up into the trees. She used the tree branches to propel herself further than she could on the ground. She had almost caught him again when there was a loud crack.
Akira looked down in alarm. The tree branch she had just jumped off of had shattered into large pieces and fallen to the ground. It must've been from her chakra. She looked back up. Right as she hit another branch.
She got one foot on the branch but tripped with the other. She fell over the branch, the chakra that had already prepared to release upon the contact with the branch propelling her towards the ground. She let out a shrill scream as she fell. She landed in a thick bush and rolled out of it.
Akira started crying. She had landed on the shoulder she had hurt earlier, and was bleeding from a scraped knee and elbow. Something was dripping down the side of her face too.
"Really, Akira? You're hopeless." A voice said. Akira was roughly rolled onto her back. Kakashi crouched over her, glaring at her. But she could sense a bit of concern in his chakra.
"It hurts!" Akira said through tears.
"What hurts?" Kakashi helped her sit up. "Your knee?"
Akira shook her head. Her knee hurt, yes. But her shoulder hurt worse. And she couldn't move her left arm. "My shoulder. I can't move my arm."
Kakashi looked down at her shoulder and his eyes widened. "Well yeah, because you dislocated your shoulder."
Akira started to cry harder.
"Ugh, be quiet! I'll put it back in."
Kakashi picked Akira up and laid her down on a flat rock nearby. He helped her roll onto her stomach, her left arm hanging over the edge of the rock. Then he slowly pulled downwards on her arm, increasing pressure until there was a distinct pop and her shoulder popped back into place. Akira wailed.
"Owy, owy, owy!" She cried.
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "You'll be fine. Come on."
He turned around and crouched down. Akira wiped her tears and sat up. She slid off the rock and climbed onto Kakashi's back. He picked her up, carrying her on a piggyback ride. He walked a few steps before he started to jog again. Akira held her left arm to her chest, firmly gripping the front of his brown belt over his right shoulder with her right hand. Kakashi kept a firm grip on her legs.
"Be more careful next time," he grumbled.
Akira nodded. She sniffed. "Am I gonna be in trouble?"
Kakashi rolled his eyes again. "No, Akira, you're not in trouble. But I am taking you home."
She started to tear up again. "But I want to train!"
"No. You just dislocated your shoulder. You're going to the hospital."
"But–"
"No!" He snapped. "You're going to the hospital, and that's final!"
Akira started to cry again, though quietly. "Why do you always have to be so mean?" She asked quietly. Kakashi didn't answer.
They arrived in her neighborhood and Kakashi slowed his jog to a walk. There were a lot more people here, and trying to dodge them all would have been difficult. Even over the rooftops, there were too many obstacles to carry Akira through safely.
"At least I got to run with a bit of weight. I guess I can still count this as training." Kakashi muttered to himself.
Akira was still sniffling but wasn't crying anymore. The pain in her shoulder had faded to a dull throb, and her elbow and knee weren't stinging as much. Kakashi's steps were gentle, and Akira was getting tired. She yawned and laid her head down on his left shoulder. Kakashi glanced at her when her red hair fell over his shoulder but didn't say anything. She closed her eyes.
+++
"Akira, wake up."
Akira opened her eyes and lifted her head. She blinked blearily. When had she fallen asleep?
"Come here, sweetie." Her mother was there. She reached out for Akira and gently took her off of Kakashi's back. She held her on her hip, Akira still cradling her left arm. She laid her head on her mother's shoulder and looked down at Kakashi.
"Thank you for taking me home, Kashi. Have fun training." Akira said sleepily. She yawned again.
"Yes, thank you, Kakashi. Take care."
Kakashi nodded. "Feel better, Akira." Then he took off running down the street towards the training grounds.
"Alright missy, let's get you to the doctor so they can look at your shoulder, okay?" Her mother said. She started walking down the street towards the hospital.
"Sorry mama," Akira said. Tears started welling up in her eyes again. "I didn't mean to get hurt, I was just trying to keep up with Kakashi. I used too much chakra."
Her mother chuckled. "It's okay Akira. Take this as a learning moment, for what not to do next time."
"Not use too much chakra?"
"Not try to run after the big kids when they are way ahead of you. Next time stay with your Uncle Minato. I'm sure he was worried about you."
Akira frowned. "Yes, mama. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
Akira promised herself that next time she would catch Kakashi, and she wouldn't get hurt again.