Another Nine-Tails?!

Control

The forest around the young redhead seemed to darken as she tried to contain her anger and fear. She was angry at the dark-haired woman and she was angry at Orochimaru for not allowing her to kill the woman. Perhaps not kill but... at least hurt her a little bit. And she was afraid that what if Kabuto hadn't reacted when he did. He could be hurt or dead along with her master. Thoughts of what could've been ran circles in her mind as more and more of Karma's chakra flooded her body. Her skin began to burn and she ached to scratch it off.

Her crimson eyes with slitted pupils made her look like a predator. Her red hair swayed with the breeze. It looked like fire the further she walked into the forest. Voices from the villagers over the years began to fill her head. They called her things like 'monster' and 'demon'.

She shouted at the voices continued to get louder and louder. More aggressive. Her body was suddenly engulfed in flames and she appeared outside of the hideout. Maru lifted his head when she dropped to the ground. He tilted his head to the side in worry. His red eyes moved behind her as Orochimaru and Kabuto appeared in the treeline.

"Help her to control this. She is a danger to herself and others if she's unable to do so." The older man ordered before heading inside. The canine barked and followed behind him.

Akiko kept thrashing her head around, trying to get the voices to go away. She was too focused on them to feel or hear Kabuto walk in front of her. He knelt down and watched as her hands tightened around her ears. She shook her head from side-to-side quickly but it didn't do anything. He slowly raised his arms and gently took her small hands in his, pulling them away from her face. Crimson eyes snapped up in surprise. The onyx eyes staring back at her held worry. He said her name slowly and softly, trying to make whatever was in her head go away. The second his voice reached her ears, the voices disappeared.

"They're... gone..?" She whispered, afraid that they'd come back. She repeated the words. As she calmed down, he released her right hand and placed his palm on her cheek.

"Who's gone?" He questioned.

"The voices." Her eyes closed before opening once more a few seconds later. She took both her hands and put them on his cheeks.

"Voices?" She nodded then looked down. The hand on her cheek moved down to her chin, making her face. A growl emitted from her throat as purple met black. He slowly brought his face closer to hers which only made her back up. She smiled before kissing his nose and hopping up, running away into the forest. He just sighed and stood up, shaking his head as a smile graced his lips. "At least she's back to normal now." He chuckled and chased after her.

Akiko laughed to herself as she hopped onto a large branch. She looked down and saw Kabuto run past. She sat down, giggling slightly. "This is much more fun than staying in the hideout for hours at a time." She muttered, pouting slightly.

"Are you done with this game of cat and mouse?" She jumped up and turned to see him standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. Perhaps it was easier than he thought.

"Not even close." She smirked and walked backward. Her plan was to get enough distance between them so she could run at him and pretend to attack then run off again. However, he had a different idea. She ran into the solid chest that belonged to the real him and froze. Nervous eyes looked up at his cold onyx. "Damn..!" He grinned slightly as she realized she was caught. Her gamed didn't last as long as she hoped. "Are you done with this game of cat and mouse?" He repeated. His voice held a commanding tone.

"I guess." She muttered and looked away.

"Good. Now let's go." He placed one of his hands on her shoulder and dropped down from the tree. She followed after, landing on both feet without a sound.

After a couple of minutes of silence, she spoke up. "Are you mad at me?"

The question caught him off guard. He was the opposite of angry. He was happy that she didn't have that threatening aura anymore. She was back to her normal self. "No. I'm not mad at you." He answered after a moment of silence. She didn't believe him. He took too long to answer.

"Are you sure?"

'If you continue asking, I might be.' He thought with a sigh. She could feel his chakra waver slightly. "Akiko, I'm sure."

"100% sure?" She tilted her head to the side. She could feel the irritation he radiated. He turned his upper body to face her, a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Are you trying to make me mad at you?"

"No. But are you now?" He slowly turned his body in her direction. She might've looked calm and normal on the outside, but on the inside, she was itching to fight someone or something. She knew he wouldn't hurt her on purpose so she continued to push him. Before she could comprehend what was happening; he dashed at her. She jumped out of the way, landing in a squat. He landed with his arm outstretched on a tree. If she hadn't moved, she would be pinned against that tree.

She stood up and dashed away. "And I thought she was done with this little game. Very well. I'm willing to help her control her power, but now she's just being a brat."

It didn't take him long to locate and catch up with her. He threw a kunai with a paper-bomb attached to it near her. Her eyes widened and she jumped back. As the paper burned away smoke erupted around the area. The smoke blinded both her eyesight and hearing long enough for him to sneak behind her. She felt his chakra behind her and went to attack him. He caught her fist without much effort. She smirked and tried to get her hand back. Her face dropped when he wouldn't let go and growled. "Let. Go..!"

"Are you done playing this ridiculous game?" He took her silence as a 'no'. He just sighed in irritation. Using the grip he had on her fist, Kabuto was able to spin her around so she faced away from him. He entwined their free hands and placed them on her stomach. "It will be dark eventually, Aki. Stop playing this ridiculous game and let's go back inside before Lord Orochimaru gets tired of waiting."

"Alright. I've had my fun. Let's go back." She leaned her head back and let it fall into his chest. She smiled up at him. He returned the gesture and kissed her forehead gently. He let her hands go so she could be free from him.

'She seems to be hyper.' Kabuto let out an amused chuckle as he watched her hop over large tree roots. He didn't want to hurt her if she continued to play her game. Thankfully, she was done with it.