Hatake

Chapter 4: Reality

A/N: Just so you guys know, this will delve deeper into Akari's mental state so if you are uncomfortable with things like this, though it's minor, I will warn you and tell you where to go next, I will tell you a bit of what you might have missed at the end in my Author's note. This is quite sudden because I released the reboot a bit early and didn't have a chance to really think about her weaknesses and whatnot. The prior chapters were very vague and not really showing how she truly feels, only how she acted on the outside. So this chapter is going to be the "true" beginning of this story and this chapter will begin there! My writing style is probably going to be changing a lot throughout this entire thing since I'm also trying to improve so stay with me! 

Now on to the chapter!

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Akari knelt in formation, which was ingrained in their heads ever since they joined Anbu, behind Soka as he reported to the Yodaime after their mission. She could feel the blood she had recently spilled on her hands. She just wanted to go home. The urge to wash her hands and arms raw to get rid of the feeling of the nonexistent blood was immeasurable. As she stared ahead with a blank face that she had carefully used over the years, her fingertips began the burn. The sensation slowly began to creep up her arm-

"-next mission will be discussed after your break." 

Snapping out of it, the burning went away but the sticky warmth in her hands stayed.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

A pile of leaves was left in their place.

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Skip the paragraph below if you aren't comfortable.

Akari appeared in the women's changing room, glad that no one else was in there to see her in this state. She leaned on her locker and slid down, her arms wrapped around her knees with her chin on top of them. The warmth made her feel safer. She knew that she should be talking to Inoichi about this but it was something she dealt with on her own for the past 9 years. 

For the first time in a while, she was glad that the guys took forever to change.

Standing up, she quickly changed, after washing her hands vigorously, and got outside of the changing rooms, waiting for the others to finish whatever they were doing.
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Soka, Akito, and Akari felt the cool wind blowing against their skin, along with the warmth of the sun. Seeing the leaves turning a calm shade of orange, signaling the beginning of Autumn, Akari's eyes softened and a gentle glimmer could be seen if you knew her well enough.

Soka was quite happy with her a few years back once he saw development in her personality. He had gotten used to her sudden cold personality way back when but recently, he had seen her try to be happier and laid back with the others. Her striving for development was working but he could tell she wasn't exactly in the best mental state. He always silently lent her a shoulder for if she needed it and she knew this but made no action to use it.

Akito on the other hand was quite oblivious to this but he could tell when she needed some sort of pep talk or a hand. His trip off the cliff wasn't intentional but it made her laugh for the first time since he had met her a couple months ago. It made him happy and determined to keep her happy as well.

"Hey, you guys want to race to the restaurant and train later?" Akito asked the two of them. Akari nodded while Soka replied with a grin and said a simple sure.

They lined up on a tree branch, careful not to break it with their combined weight, and jumped off after Akito gave a count down.

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