After splitting the rabbit and enjoying the rodent meat as best they could, Akira and Kakashi cleaned up camp and started the journey back to the outpost. They had each taken a food pill before they left and had filled their water flasks, then had set off northward back in the direction they had come from. Kakashi led the way, and Akira did her best to stay as close as possible to him. She ran on his right side, so her weakened left side was protected. She had her senses peeled, but she never sensed anyone else the entire way back.
They ran through the night. The outpost finally came into view just as the sun started to rise in the east. The forest came to an end, replaced by rolling fields of long grasses. They dropped to the ground and started walking upon Akira's reassurance that there were no chakra signatures anywhere out there, except the ones of their teammates in the outpost.
Dew soaked the bandages around Akira's legs, and the smell of wet grass invaded her nose. The sun had fully breached the horizon by now and cast long shadows across the field. The morning air was cool and fresh. The only sounds were the occasional chirp of a bird and the rustling of the tall grass as they moved through it.
Akira took a deep breath in and sighed. This was the kind of morning she wished she could always wake up to. Something peaceful like this.
Kakashi stayed close by, almost brushing her shoulder with his arm. While she was relaxing and enjoying the morning, he stayed tense with his head on a swivel.
"Calm down, Kashi, there's nobody out here. Besides, the outpost is right there, we could yell and have backup over here."
"You never know. Someone could be hiding their chakra signature from us."
Akira rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, yes, it's possible to hide your chakra signature. But that nose of yours would pick up anything out here. There's nothing to hide your scent in."
"Give it a rest, Akira. Hell, you should be paying more attention too," he said, right as Akira stepped in a hole and stumbled sideways into him. Kakashi caught her and helped her straighten back up. "Case and point."
She glared up at him. "I'm tired, okay?"
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "And your guard is down. Hence why mine is up."
She shook her head but didn't argue with him. He was right afterall. Her wound had been sapping her strength overnight, and she was exhausted.
When they reached the outpost, Trig was waiting at the door for them. His shoulders slumped in relief when he saw that they were okay.
"You guys were gone for a full day," he said. "Did you get him?"
Akira and Kakashi stopped in front of him.
"We had to track him to a cave about a day's run from here," Kakashi responded. Akira could hear the relief in his voice, and saw his shoulders sag a bit. He pulled off his mask and ran a hand over his face. "But yeah, we got him. What's the damage?"
Trig's face fell. "We lost Blue and Mink. Blight was badly injured, he's doing okay now. Everyone else only sustained minor injuries. The village was completely destroyed, but thankfully most of the people survived this time."
The last village their target had attacked had been completely wiped out.
They entered the outpost and were able to get a better picture of the injuries everyone had. Akira learned that Blue had been crushed by a rock, and Mink had bled out on the battlefield. Seek had broken his arm. Frog had received a large wound to his thigh. It made it glaringly obvious to Akira why the ANBU did not often engage in battles such as the one they had had. They were assassins, not soldiers. They were not used to open fields and no room for subtlety.
Trig ushered Akira to a bed in the bunk room where he started working on healing her arm. Kakashi trailed behind them and climbed into the bunk above her. Akira fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.
+++
When she woke a few hours later, she seemed to be alone in the bunk room. Her upper arm had been bandaged, and her makeshift sling replaced with an actual one. Akira groaned and sat up. The room was quiet, and she could only barely hear some sounds outside. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"Kashi?" Akira said. He had fallen asleep above her earlier but there was no answer. She reached up and punched the bed above her hard enough to make the frame rattle. Still nothing.
"Huh," she mused. She didn't think she had slept that long. Which meant...had he even slept at all?
Akira threw her blanket off and got out of bed. She stretched her neck and right arm, then found her bag next to the wall. She dug through it for her deoderant, and used it to hide the fact that she probably stunk. Though she struggled to do her right side. Akira finished and walked over to the door to put her shoes on.
As she was pulling on her sandal, which she was having some difficulties doing, someone's footsteps echoed down the stairway. It sounded like the person had a slight limp. The footsteps stopped outside the door, and a creak sounded as the door swung open.
Frog slipped into the room, then froze upon seeing Akira staring at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Whatchya doin'?" She asked, sarcasm creeping into her tone.
His jaw dropped open. "Duuhhh," he said.
What the hell was the matter with him?
"Dude?" She demanded.
"Gah! Sorry--Fox--uh--" he stuttered.
"Jesus, Frog, you're hopeless." Someone pushed the door open further. Blight stood there with a grimace on his face. "Glad to see you back, Fox."
"Thanks, Blight."
"Yeah. Did you get him?"
Blight smacked Frog over the back of the head. "Have some class dude! She doesn't even have her shoes on yet."
"Ow! Geez!"
Akira rubbed her eyes and sighed, grumbling under her breath, "I haven't even brushed my teeth either."
Frog's protests were suddenly cut off.
"Move it," a low voice said from the hall. Akira could hardly make out the words it was so quiet.
Blight looked over his shoulder while Frog frowned, seemingly disappointed. But Akira couldn't see who was in the hall. She narrowed her eyes at the doorway, curious to see who was out there.
"I'm her doctor, I'm allowed to be here right now," Blight argued.
"You're a patient too, and thus can't use medical ninjutsu. You're at higher risk of draining your chakra quicker than you realize. So no, you are not a doctor."
Akira smirked. She knew that voice. She'd never forget it.
Frog slipped past the other person and scrambled down the stairs. He'd made a good call.
Blight glared daggers at the person in the hallway. He slowly clenched his fist. He took a deep breath and asked in a growl, "what do you want?"
"To talk to Akira," the person snapped.
"We're using codenames on this mission, Char."
"Fine. To talk to Fox."
Blight slowly moved out of the doorway, glaring the whole way. He turned and started down the steps, moving slower than Frog had. The person stepped into the room and leaned up against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
Somaru smirked down at Akira.
"Having some trouble putting on your shoe?" He asked slyly.
Akira only raised an eyebrow at him. His attempt to garner an emotional response from her was pathetic. She was a master of interrogation and torture. This was her game that he was stepping in to.
The silence between them stretched on. Akira didn't move, nor look away from Somaru the entire time. She sensed outward for his chakra, and felt his frustration increasing.
"How's the ANBU?" He asked. His tone was still cool. He was very careful to hold his act in place, but Akira noticed the sweat that began to form on his forehead.
"Fine. And you?" Akira responded, keeping her voice as void of emotion as possible.
"It's been good." He smirked. "Better than you, I hear."
Akira kept her face flat in emotion. She was really not in the mood for this right now.
"Getting two of your comrades killed barely into your second year?" He closed his eyes and mockingly shook his head. When he opened them again, he looked directly at Akira. "I can tell you're friends with Kakashi. You know what they call him in the ANBU, right?" He raised an eyebrow at Akira. She didn't respond, but her nose did twitch. "They call him 'friend-killer Kakashi'. You always looked up to him when we were kids. Seems like you're following along in his footsteps quite nicely."
Akira grit her teeth together. She took a deep breath in, then forced her jaw to relax.
"Well I see time has not improved your opinion of me," she said coolly.
Somaru scoffed. "Your family killed my sister. It drove my mother mad. I see no reason for my opinion to change. In fact, it's only worsened. Seems like you're just as willing to kill a comrade for a mission as your dear friend Kakashi is. And your parents. Must run in the family."
"And you're still the cocky bastard you always were. At least I've learned a few things over the years. Can't say the same for you though. You're still unhealthily blind to your own stupidity." Akira said. Somaru had always been concerned with his image when they were genin. He wanted to be seen as a leader, as the strongest, as the one who could dominate over everyone else.
He narrowed his eyes at her and the smug smile he had had on his face dropped away to a sneer. "At least I'm not a murderer. You know what the village calls you, right?" He paused and smirked. "They call you the 'red demon of the Leaf'. Because that's what you looked like standing in your comrades' blood. A demon."
Akira hummed in response, and slowly stood up. "I see. So that's where it comes from." She raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity. "Uh, do you actually need anything? Or did you really just come here to spout shit?"
Somaru clenched a fist. "Yes, actually, I do have a reason for being here. Otherwise I would have steered clear of a demon like you."
"Ah, I see." Akira narrowed her eyes at him and summoned bloodlust into her chakra. "Then ask," she said lowly.
"I need to speak with Seek. Lynx wants us to move out as soon as possible. He deemed that this outpost is adequately defended, and wants my team to return to the Leaf."
"I don't know where Seek is, he's not here."
"Clearly. Otherwise I wouldn't have to be speaking to the likes of you."
"If I'm so atrocious, why are you still talking to me?" Akira sneered.
Somaru bared his teeth at her and growled. "I guess it's like watching a natural disaster. It's just too interesting to look away from."
That brought a smirk to Akira's face. "You always were selfish. I guess you still are."
"Watch yourself, Daisuke," Somaru snapped.
She took a step closer to him with a twisted smile. This was her arena. She would never think herself below him ever again. "Careful, Somaru, or else you might step in something you can't get rid of."
Somaru pushed off the doorframe and took a step in her direction, leaving only a couple of feet between them. He glared down at her, now several inches taller than she was. He was breathing heavily, hands clenched in anger.
Akira screwed up her face and waved a hand in front of her nose. "Ugh, and invest in some mouthwash, shit."
He let out a yell and threw his fist at her. Akira stopped his blow cold. She held his fist in front of her face, grinning evilly. It might as well have been called her demon grin, reserved only for those she tortured. She leaned closer to him.
"Get lost, Somaru. Or else."
Akira let go of his fist and Somaru took a couple steps backward out into the stairwell.
"You'll pay for that, Akira."
She smirked. "Somaru, you can't even lay a hand on me."
He grit his teeth, but turned on his heel and stomped back upstairs.
Akira took a deep breath. She sat back down and yanked her sandals on, now thoroughly annoyed. The blast from her past had left her in a fowl mood. She left the room and made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. She hoped some food would improve her mood.
+++
Somaru's team left shortly after their encounter, much to Akira's relief. After, the two teams spent the next couple of days recovering at the outpost and helping the surviving villagers search for anything that hadn't been destroyed yet. Lord Third had ordered them to stay and help until he could send some genin teams out to help with rebuilding. Akira helped villagers dig graves for the dead, using her kekkei genkai to create holes in the earth with ease.
Hardly anyone spoke those few days. Akira busied herself from one task to the next to avoid thinking about Mink. She got a horrible pit in her stomach every time he crossed her mind. He had only been a kid, no older than she was. And she had been right next to him! If she hadn't been so set on eliminating the target, she could have saved his life. She should have stopped to help Blue out of the rubble. She could have turned the rock into quicksand, or just lifted it off of him. But she hadn't.
They were two more deaths to add to the list of comrades that she could have, and should have, saved.
But as much as Akira was able to distract herself during the day, at night was another story.
She kept seeing Mink's blood pooling beneath his body in her dreams. In the background, Blue's hand was visible from under a rock. A small stream of blood was creeping toward Mink. When it reached him, the pool of blood would begin to move, flowing through the cracks in the earth toward her. It pooled around her, slowly rising up over her toes, her sandals, and her ankles. When she looked up again, she saw Sparrow and Bat's despairing faces across the clearing. Blood dripped from the trees above them where they had been decapitated. The blood was dripping off the branch. She followed a drop of blood as it fell, watching it hit the dirt. The dirt had a small pool of blood in it. Akira looked back up and saw the sand genin, Teku, from her chunin exams years ago. He had the same horrified expression on his face as he did back then. Then, a spray of blood would fill her vision, and Akira would wake up.
The first night she had had that dream, she had woken up with an involuntary shriek and sat bolt upright, covering her mouth. The noise had awoken Seek, Bear, and Frog, who had all startled and sat upright as well. Seek had asked her if she was okay, and Akira had lied and said the loud noise that had woken them had been her bed spring shifting as she got onto it. Her explanation seemed to have been enough because the three of them laid back down and went to sleep.
Akira laid back down as well but didn't fall asleep again that night.
The next few nights were more of the same, but Akira didn't cry out anymore. The first time had been shocking for her. But now she knew what to expect. She would sleep for a bit, then the nightmare would start.
The last night at the outpost was different.
This time, the dream ended on the night the fox attacked. The spray of blood she had seen after seeing Teku all the other nights was her parents' blood now. Teku turned into pieces of their bodies falling through the air, blood streaming from them.
Akira woke up nauseous from that dream and leaped out of bed. She ran across the room and jumped through the open window, landing on the grass below the tower. Akira dropped to her knees and threw up into the grass.
She retched a few times until she was only dry heaving. Tears streamed down her cheeks and the back of her throat burned. Akira spat the last of it out of her mouth and then sat back on her heels, bracing herself with her hands on her knees. She bowed her head, trying to take in deep breaths without coughing.
After a few moments of gathering herself, Akira slowly got to her feet and then backed up a few steps.
"That sucked," she said in a low voice.
She ran her shaking hands through her long hair, tugging knots loose and trying to ease her racing mind. Akira crouched down against the outpost wall, holding her head in her hands. She stared at the grass beneath her toes taking deep breaths. Tears started to well in her eyes.
"It wasn't my fault," she whispered. "I did what I had to do, it wasn't my fault."
The rational part of her brain was trying to create arguments for why she had done the things she had done. Why her friends had died. Why her parents had died. Why she had killed.
But the guilt never truly went away. She hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time. Normally she didn't dream at all. It was only during and after very intense missions that she started having nightmares. Akira never really got used to it.
She decided that she was done sleeping for the night.
After a few more minutes of trying to gather herself, Akira got to her feet again and went back through the second-story window into the bunk room. She put the rest of her gear and her sandals on, then crept out of the room into the stairwell. She made a quick stop in the bathroom, then followed the stairs to the observatory room.
When she reached it, there were two people up there speaking quietly to one another, leaning up against the railing on the balcony outside. It was Kakashi and one of his teammates, someone she recognized as Tenzo by the helmet-like guard he wore around his head. Akira hovered by the stairs, unsure if she should go over to them or not. She scanned the room, looking for another spot to go. But there was none. So she crossed the room and stood in the doorframe behind them.
"--why we couldn't save him." Tenzo was saying. "There was too much debris, we didn't move it in time." His tone was very matter-of-fact. Akira could barely hear any emotion in his tone. A lasting effect from being in the root, no doubt.
Kakashi sighed. "You couldn't have saved him anyway. Blue was completely crushed. It's not anyone's fault."
"Any ideas on replacements for him?"
Kakashi formed a fist with his left hand. He clenched it so tightly it started to shake in anger. Akira understood why. She was irritated too. The way Tenzo was able to just move on so quickly bothered her. She pushed off the door frame and went to Kakashi's side.
When she stopped at the railing she gently brushed her fingertips down the inside of Kakashi's wrist, following one of the tendons that jutted out. She used just a little bit of medical ninjutsu to try and calm him, funneling the chakra into her fingertip. Kakashi looked over at her, and Akira returned his stare with a blank one of her own. She understood his anger but knew it was from Tenzo's lack of emotional intelligence.
"Hey, Akira," Kakashi said softly. He opened his fist and Akira pulled her hand away.
She looked across Kakashi at Tenzo, who was watching her warily. "People aren't replaceable," she said softly, but sternly.
Tenzo's eyebrows furrowed for a second, then his eyes widened in realization.
"S-sorry captain," he stuttered. He bowed his head in shame. "I'm not used to this still."
"Someone will fill the hole eventually. That's the last thing on my mind right now," Kakashi snapped.
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, sir."
Akira looked out over the forest and adjacent fields. She rested her hands on the railing in front of her.
"Akira, aren't you supposed to be sleeping right now?" Kakashi asked her.
She shrugged in response. "Nightmare."
He nodded in understanding. She had never told him exactly what the nightmare was, but he was well aware of the fact that she had them. After all, they both had had them for years.
"You're Fox, right?" Tenzo asked. Akira nodded. "I've heard a lot about you."
Akira looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Captain says you're a great sensory shinobi, and–" he was cut off by Kakashi not so subtly elbowing him. Tenzo glared at Kakashi and rubbed his arm. "Uh, yeah, anyways, I heard you're pretty good."
She looked up at Kakashi with a smirk on her face. He was refusing to make eye contact with her, and his cheeks had a light dusting of pink on them. "Is that right?"
Tenzo looked up at Kakashi expectantly. He couldn't escape both of them now. Kakashi sighed. "I said you're a very skilled kunoichi."
"Uh, captain, you said more than that..." Tenzo trailed off.
Akira turned her body to face Kakashi and crossed her arms, leaning against the railing. "Well, now I'm curious. What are you telling people, Kashi?"
Kakashi feigned a yawn, stretching his arms above his head. "Since you're here, Akira, you can take over watch for me. Goodnight." With that, he walked back into the observatory room and made his way down the stairs.
Tenzo and Akira watched him go, then turned back to the forest.
After a moment of silence, Tenzo finally spoke up. "He said you're a great sensory shinobi, and really strong." She smiled slightly. "He once told me not to underestimate you."
"At least sometimes he's got a brain," Akira chuckled. "That's nice of him though."
"How long have you guys known each other?"
She side-eyed him. "Why?"
Tenzo shrugged. "He treats you differently than anyone else."
"Oh really?" Akira frowned slightly. "I didn't even notice. We've known each other for years, so I guess I just got used to it."
"He's not as harsh with you."
Akira hummed in response. She really hadn't noticed that. Kakashi had always been somewhat cold toward her, but that was just who he was. She didn't pay much attention to how he interacted with anyone else except Guy. The comparison made her a little uncomfortable.
"That's just Kakashi."
Tenzo gave her a strange look as if he didn't fully believe her. "Yeah, but he doesn't seem to care about anyone else."
"He's been through a lot." She didn't like it when people made assumptions about Kakashi. He did care. He did everything he could to protect his comrades. He had saved her butt multiple times. "Don't judge a book by its cover, Tenzo."
Tenzo stayed quiet after that, allowing Akira to sort through her thoughts. So far she wasn't a huge fan of the younger shinobi, but she had barely anything to base her assumptions on. She had barely seen him in action but knew he had wood style. An extremely rare kekkei genkai. She also knew that he had been experimented on by Orochimaru. That knowledge had been particularly hard to come by and had been buried in archives kept by the ANBU. Akira had snuck in there one evening to see if she could find anything on the kid after she first met him. Kakashi had been very stubborn about not giving a lot of information away, so she found it herself.
But something still bothered her about him. After her own experiences with various root ANBU members, she was not a big fan of them. Especially of Danzo. And Tenzo had previously worked for the old man. Perhaps it was just her leftover suspicions that kept her guard up.
By midmorning, the genin had finally arrived. Akira didn't recognize any of them, but there was one that caught her attention. One of the genin was an Uchiha. The boy was quiet and mostly kept to himself. He was a hard worker and was very kind to the villagers. He didn't seem wary of the ANBU members at all, unlike the other genin who eyed them with suspicious looks.
Seek announced that Team Ky would be leaving shortly after the arrival of the genin. Team Ro would stay behind for a couple of hours and help the genin get familiarized with the situation. But Team Ky was also in charge of bringing Blue and Mink back to the village. They sealed their bodies into scrolls and off they went.
The journey back was quick and took less than two days for them to make. The cold and early sunset spurred them on. They made a brief stop to rest overnight, and by the evening of the following day, they were back in the leaf. Seek went to report in while the rest of Team Ky made their way to either headquarters or the hospital, depending on the severity of their injuries. Akira just went straight home. More than anything, she wanted to take a shower and sleep in her own bed, and that was plenty of encouragement to skip headquarters.
She looked up at Minato's likeness carved into the cliff side towering above the village. Akira stopped on the rooftop of her apartment building and watched the shadows overtake the great faces.
"Uncle Minato," Akira breathed. She removed her mask and looked down at it with a small smile. She turned her eyes back up to his face in the mountain. Was he proud of her? She had achieved the thing she'd always wanted. Akira had been successful in the ANBU. But at a high cost. Would he think less of her?
A shadow was elongating on his face, making it appear as if he were smiling. She got the sense that he was proud of her no matter what. He had always been big on protecting his home, and protecting the people he cared about.
She respected that immensely. It was what drove him to do what he had the night the nine tails had attacked. He was always helping out others.
It was what Akira wanted to be. Someone who protected the ones in need.
He had passed his will of fire on to her, and now it burned brightly on with Akira. And that was enough for her.
In the setting sunlight, Akira smiled back.