'Busted.'
"What are you talking about?" Akai asked, frowning slightly, "I didn't see Sasuke. If I did, we wouldn't be here to look for him."
"I doubt Pakkun would make such a simple mistake," Tenzo commented, sending her a doubtful look.
"So you doubt me instead?"
"Cut it out, Akai," Kakashi glared at the swordswoman, "I know you're lying."
The others stared at her, waiting, so Akai finally gave in. "You got me." Akai averted her gaze to the large crater in front of her "I helped Sasuke to fight an Akatsuki member here. A rogue nin from Iwa, Deidara. He died from this explosion, and Sasuke escaped already."
In a blink, Naruto had grabbed Akai by her shoulder, his nails digging into her skin. "And you just let that happen?!" he yelled, "First you pretend that you're dead! Now you helped Sasuke to kill someone?!"
"He was the enemy!" For a second, her eyes flashed red, but Akai still tried to hold back.
"Even if he was the enemy, you didn't have to kill him!" Sakura added, "We could bring him to Konoha, interrogate him, possibly finding out Itachi's whereabouts!"
"If I wasn't there to back him up, you would be looking at Sasuke's corpse right now!" Akai tried to defend herself, but none of her teammates is listening.
"Sakura, Naruto, I think you should stop..."
At Hinata's words, Naruto shook his head. "We need to find Sasuke as soon as possible. Akai, you are the almighty Red Mist! One of the 7 Kirigakure's Swordsmen! Back there, you could have done something, anything!"
Akai's grip on Hiramekarei tightened. She may be the Red Mist, but she is also human. Why are they expecting so much?
Sakura didn't stop, either. "Do you enjoy killing that Akatsuki member, Akai?! You don't even look guilty, not at all! Do you find it fun to end someone's life, as easy as that?"
Akai snapped. Her left eye turned red, she let out an angry growl. She pushed Naruto away from her, as she harshly threw her sword onto the ground.
"Fine! What am I supposed to do, then?!" she exclaimed, "Saying sorry for helping your ex-teammate so that he wouldn't die?! Apologizing for killing a rogue nin who almost had your so-called friend's head?!"
Akai raised her hands and ran her fingers through her hair, before she clutched her head and looked down. "Because I don't know what else I can do," her voice was shaking, but she stayed on her feet, "I was raised to kill people. I grew up as a soldier, a weapon. I grew up as a monster."
"Akai..." Kakashi tried to say, but she dropped her hands and looked up, glaring at the remaining Konoha nins.
"When someone died, be it a friend or foe, I was told to take everything they have. Money, weapons, even information. I was taught to burn their body, to destroy every trace of their existence."
Faint dark blue chakra began to seep out of her figure, but no one dared to move.
"It was something I had to do to survive, so tell me, tell me what am I supposed to do! Tell me what I have to do so that you're not scared of me! What is it that I have to change, so that you can see me as a normal human?!"
At the silence, Akai scoffed. She walked towards Hiramekarei and picked the sword up ever so carefully, looking at it as if the blade was a very precious treasure.
"Funny how you're the only one who always stays by my side, ever since the beginning," Akai whispered to the large blade, before she placed it back in its sheath.
Her teammates seemed to finally overcome their shock. Surprisingly, Kiba was the first to speak up. "Akai, we're sorry. We didn't mean to-..."
"You know what? Just drop it. It's not worth talking about."
And then, the girl walked away.
| * | * | * | * | * |
Akai had insisted on going back to Konoha, no longer interested in the whole Sasuke-retrieval mission. Despite the team's protests, Kakashi decided to let her return, her injuries being a valid reason to let her off. The Hatake left a clone to make sure nothing happens to her, but Akai couldn't say that she really appreciated the gesture. The trip was mostly spent in silence, with the ex-Kiri nin playing with a dull kunai in silence.
"Akai." The blue-haired girl turned and narrowed her red eyes at the silverette beside her.
"Akai's not here."
"I didn't think she would let you out, Akane," Kakashi noted, receiving a huff from the girl.
"Right now, I'm her only ally. Why wouldn't she?" Akane retorted, "Akai said, and I quote: 'There's no use to be outside, I don't want to deal with those wimps' bullshit. No matter what I do, they still hate me.'"
"She can still hear me, right?"
Akane sent Kakashi a sceptical look, "But she won't listen to you. And she's resting right now, so don't you bother her."
"... Resting?"
"She just fought an S-rank criminal, was blown up at least twice and even healed your Uchiha student. You're older than her by at least twelve years, it should be understandable, right?"
"No, I mean, you're here and-..."
"Akai and I are two different persons, Hatake," Akane explained, "We share a body, but that's all. We have different personalities, different thoughts and interests, and we also expertise in different skills. Akai can turn her mist acidic and I can turn into that mist itself. Of course, with us being allies now, we can combine our power. But that obviously takes lots of chakra, which explains her current exhaustion."
"What if someone kills one of you?"
"Only we can kill one of us alone." Akane sighed, "I mean, if anyone kills me right now, they would also damage the body, and Akai will also die. If you want Akai to be the only one alive, she has to kill me."
Kakashi frowned, "But what about the time when Akai first came to Konoha? You weren't there."
"Was this conversation supposed to turn into a deep interview about Akai's past?" Akane tilted her head, her hand unconsciously reaching for Hiramekarei's hilt. Kakashi, noticing the gesture, quickly raised his hands up in defeat.
"You don't have to answer it. I was just curious," he said, "But please tell Akai this: 'You're right. You're different, that's why we don't know how to react to what you did. But it wasn't your fault, and we shouldn't have judged you.'"
Akane nodded, "Anything else?"
"Just give us time. It's still hard to trust someone who came back from the dead, but we'll try."
Her gaze softened, and her eyes, for a little while, faded back to grey. "I'll take your word on that, tashikani."
| * | * | * | * | * |
The days passed as a blur for Akai. Most of the time, Akane was the one taking care of their body, occasionally talking to Kakashi's clone about anything that comes to mind. Weapons, jutsu, even sometimes politics. And, the one he hates the most, methods of torture and assassination.
Akane is probably insane.
Not probably. Definitely.
"Fucking finally!! I need some good drinks now!" she exclaimed as soon as they reached the gates of Konoha. Izumo and Kotetsu eyed the pair curiously, but they decided to let it slide.
"You're only sixteen."
"I had my first sake when I was seven. Your argument is invalid."
Kakashi only sighed, glancing at the Hokage's building before his attention returned to her. "I assume you'd prefer not to see the Hokage?"
Akane nodded, humming. "I'll be off then, Hatake."
Kakashi stayed silent, watching as the girl beside him switched back to Akai. "... Hey, Kakashi," she greeted, giving him a small smile, "Thanks for taking me back here. Did you find Akane annoying?"
"I've dealt with worse. She's tolerable," he commented, earning a snicker from her, "You're still living with Ibiki, right?"
"Yeah. I can go there myself, you should report to the Hokage."
"He wants me to bring you back to his doorstep."
"... Damn it."
Kakashi only chuckled. The two made their way through the village and stopped in front of a certain house, before the older of the two knocked on the front door. It was opened soon after, and there Ibiki stood with a fierce glare at both of them.
"How early."
"Thanks, tashikani. By the way, I can feel my father's chakra. Is he here already?"
The interrogator nodded, but as she was about to walk inside, he grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Ibiki stared at the blue-haired girl carefully. The usual dirty clothes, scratches, nothing out of ordinary?
Until his eyes landed on hers. The Morino immediately noticed that something was off with his only female student.
"Hatake, when I allow you to bring my student to your mission, I didn't say that you could bring her back in this state."
The said girl rolled her eyes. "Scarface, just drop it."
"Akai, go to your room. I'll speak to you later."
Akai huffed but did what she was told to, leaving the two sensei in the doorway.
"Tell me what happened, Kakashi."
"I don't understand what-..."
"I'm a fucking interrogator, you would be a real idiot to try to lie to me. Now spill."
"She killed an Akatsuki member."
"Details, Hatake!!" Akai yelled from inside, "Don't start another war!"
Ibiki motioned his guest to enter the house. He closed the door and ushered him to go to the living room, where Kakashi was faced with another man, whom he had never seen before.
White hair? Quite peculiar. And... shark-like teeth?
Wait a minute...
"Kakashi Hatake, right?" the man asked, "My name is Ketsueki Hozuki, Akai's father. I assume you're the one who took care of her for the past few days?"
The Hatake froze in his steps.
"So, tell me about this mission. What happened, especially to her?"
Kakashi groaned internally. No, there's no way he could deal with these two angry papa bears. Are they some kind of mind readers?!
"I'm just good at reading people." Fuck. "Her chakra is lower than usual. You took a few days trip back here, she should have completely recovered. The only logical explanation is that she was seriously injured before. And Akane is awake and alert inside her, she's still keeping her guards up."
"Moreover, she had her sword on her back," Ibiki added, "If she didn't feel threatened, she would have kept it as a dagger. Something made her feel wary around you."
Kakashi paled.
"I swear, if any of you were the ones who hurt her..." Ketsueki walked up to the said jounin, pulling out a katana out of nowhere and held it against Kakashi's neck, "I'm gonna annihilate every single one of you."
The silver-haired shinobi gulped, and being the clone he was, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
And with the rest of the Konoha team, the real Kakashi suddenly felt a wave of memory from his clone.
"... Fuck," he muttered, gaining Tenzo's attention.
"Are you alright?"
He let out a heavy sigh. "I am, but I won't be."
And although Kakashi managed to escape - or, delay his demise, at least - Akai wasn't so lucky.
With the Hatake gone, Akai was the only source of information of the 'Sasuke's retrieval mission', most probably until the rest of the team returned. Of course, Ibiki and Ketsueki have no patience, and she was stuck with their interrogation for the rest of the day.
"So you technically risked your life for a fugitive? Sasuke Uchiha, of all people?"
"I know he's bad, but he's not that bad!"
Ibiki glared at the girl. "Oh, really? Wasn't he the guy who went to Orochimaru willingly, leaving his village and his friends for revenge? Oh, and might I add, that Sannin was the one who worsens your sickness and kidnapped you on your deathbed, right?"
Akai groaned. "Sasuke is also the one who killed him!"
"Not before letting that paedophile uses you as his guinea pig for two years!"
"Dad, he saved my life! Without him, I would have died in that explosion!"
"Without him, you wouldn't have gotten caught in an explosion at all!"
"Give me a break!" Akai sighed, "If I got a second chance, I will do the same thing. I'll talk to Sasuke and helped him fight that Akatsuki member. I will risk my life to save him, because he did the same for me when he killed Orochimaru. I don't regret what I did."
"Akai, what are you trying to say here?"
"Call me heartless," she sneered, "I think I did the right thing. Deidara was a stranger, and Sasuke isn't my friend, but I owed him a favor. Yes, I killed Deidara, and I don't feel bad about it. I'm not like you, never was and never will be. This is nothing compared to all the things I've gone through before."
"Fighting a criminal, almost died a couple times and destroyed my enemy? That's a normal day for me, tashikani."
| * | * | * | * | * |
2100+ words, 3 months since our last update. And this chapter sucks. Please accept our apology.
Anyways, I have no idea about what's gonna happen next (or maybe I do. Give me some time). No progress on Go Home, either, so please excuse the late update, I'm working on it. Here's the thing: Hal-chan (tweNtyonEpiLots6) has gone 'AWOL'. If you're reading this, Hal-chan, I'm sorry for writing and posting this chapter by myself, but please, answer my messages. I seriously have no idea what I'm doing right now.
Setting that aside, I just don't think I should keep you waiting for so long. Any comment, guys? If you were Akai, what would you do?
Thanks for reading, drop a comment or two and click the little star below! See you later!
- Rae (Midnight-Ravencrow)