destiny calls | *. naruto fanfic

39.

"...waking up... Akari?... hear... me?..." 

    The young girl slowly blinked open her eyes, narrowing them against the harsh glare of the hospital. At least she assumed it was a hospital. She felt numb, her previous injuries seemed to have vanished in the short time she was unconscious. Or... was it a short time? She didn't know. 

    Akari slowly surveyed her surroundings, eyes landing on a group of three watching her. Two of them she knew, the blond boy and pink-haired girl. Naruto and Sakura: her teammates. The other however, was a face she failed to recognize. The woman had pale blonde hair, a diamond sitting atop her forehead.

    She could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before, however her foggy brain failed to fully identify her. 

"Your name is Akari, correct?" The woman pulled up a stool, sitting beside the teen's bedside. "Akari Mizushima?" When the white-haired kunoichi nodded, the woman continued. "I realize you've only just woken up, and I'm sure you've been through... a lot. But I need you to tell me why the Mizushima Clan, whom we thought had died out attacked our village. And why you didn't inform anyone that they were still out there." 

"I..." Akari looked down at her lap, clenching her bandaged hands together. She wasn't focused, that much was clear, but she wasn't exactly thinking about much at the moment. She still felt groggy, like how one would normally feel after waking from a long nap. Just how long had she been out..? "Where's... where's Machi...? And... who are you..?" Her voice was shaky, worn out, uncertain. 

    The blonde haired woman hesitated, a quick look of pity flashing across her features. "My name is Tsunade, I will be taking up the mantle of Hokage for the village." And after a moments silence, she answered her first question. "...If you answer my questions I will answer any of yours. Knowing the enemy is vital to this village's survival."

    If Akari had truly forgotten what happened before she fell unconscious, Tsunade felt that now was not the time to tell her. The village needed this information, and Akari was the only one who had it. If she were to tell her that her sister was... gone, for a kinder choice of words, in the state she was in, it was likely Akari would shut down.

    The white-haired girl paused, grasping the fact that this Tsunade had dodged her question. Her grey eyes rose to meet those of her team, however the two avoided her gaze. They seemed almost guilty. "A-Alright... I'll give you answers." 

"Thank you. Naruto, Sakura, let us talk in private please." Tsunade nodded at the door, her tone melting into that of a softer more gentle one. Once the two had left the room, Tsunade asked her first question. "Can you tell me the history behind your clan? It seems our history books are incorrect."

    With a hesitant nod, Akari thought for a moment before opening her mouth. "My... the Mizushima clan was a lot like what your books say actually. They were a mercenary clan, they took any job that paid... and they'd complete it mercilessly, or die trying. Um... only the descendents of the founders know why... but after the first shinobi war they stopped taking requests. From what I know, the clan went into hiding in the mountains after almost being wiped out. I... I was born there. The clan's lived in those mountains ever since." 

"I see." Tsunade paused to write something down before returning her gaze to Akari. "And what is their goal now? Why did they attack our village?" 

"I... I don't know the full extent of what they want. Most people I knew moved on from the past and decided to live a peaceful life. But... most of the shinobi there were either forced into it or are still focused on the past. They... want revenge. They want to make a comeback-"

"Revenge? Revenge on what exactly?" The future Hokage interuppted Akari's explanation, her chin resting on her hand as she patiently waited for Akari to explain. 

"Revenge... on the people who nearly brought them to extintiction. A-And... they attacked the village... be-because of me..." The girl fell silent, her hands trembling as she gripped them together. Yes... it was all her fault. If she hadn't been so selfish... If she hadn't tried to seek out a happy, normal life... then every innocent person who'd died would still be alive. The village wouldn't be in shambles, Eriko wouldn't be critically hurt, Koji wouldn't be dead. And Machi... Machi... She would still be alive. 

"Because of you..? Why would they-" Akari cut Tsunade off, her figure trembling and gaze dark. 

"Tell me the truth. What happened to Machi?" Akari's voice was empty, dull, void of emotion. "That ambush... They killed her. Didn't they?" Slowly, Akari raised her head to meet Tsunade's brown eyes. Her face seemed dead, however her grey eyes held hatred. It was something Tsunade was familar with: the look of hatred in a shinobi's eyes for their foe. She wore that look at one point in time herself. "Tell me!" Akari growled out, her nails dug into the palm of her hand, drawing blood from the healing wound. 

"I'm sorry to say... Yes... She's dead. They planned to hold a funeral once you and Eriko were healed more..." It was never easy, telling a person someone they loved was dead... even if they already knew the answer. Silently, the sanin fished an item out of her pocket. "I was told to give this to you. It was found on the body." Carefully, Tsunade handed the item over, watching Akari inspect it. 

    Her drawing... Akari carefully laid the ruined paper on her bed, making out the details through the splotches of dried blood. It was obviously made by a young child, and any who didn't already know what she'd been drawing would find it hard to make out. But Akari knew; she'd watched Machi draw it. It was of them. Of their family. The drawing held Eriko, Riku, Akari, and Machi... everyone was smiling... they all looked happy... 

"Thank you..." Akari's voice trembled as she thanked Tsunade for the gift. Staring at the image with a clouded expression. She was really gone... Machi was dead. And it was all my fault. 

"I know now is not a good time... but I have one more question I need you to answer for me..." Tsunade's tone was soft, it held pity for the young girl. With Akari's answers, she had begun to piece together the girl's story. And it wasn't a happy one. "Why would they attack the village because of you?" 

    Akari was silent, her body trembled. Whether it was because of rage, grief, or something else, Tsunade didn't know. Silent tears flooded down the girl's face. She couldn't hold them back any longer.

"Because... I ran away. I ran away when I was supposed to be their next leader." Her tone was bitter, full of rage and regret. If only she hadn't done this... or if only she hadn't done that... there were so many ifs. "I'm sorry... please... please just leave me alone." Akari returned her gaze to the bloodied drawing. She would not be answering any more questions. 

    With a soft sigh, Tsunade recognized this and stood, leaving the room quietly. 

"Is she okay?" Naruto and Sakura stood outside the room, the two's worried gazes on Tsunade as she closed the door behind her. 

"She needs some time to grieve." Tsunade answered briefly, leaving the genin to their own devices as she walked off. With a glance to each other, Akari's teammates left, silently deciding it would be best to let her be alone. 
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So... uh... hi guys... im not dead. I know its been four months since the last update... and im really sorry. Lately, ive been hit with a huge amount of writers block. I haven't felt the inspiration to write anything. But today, I finally felt the tiniest bit of inspiration to finish this chapter at 12 in the morning... so here we are. I know it's pretty short and i apologize, I was running out of things to write without including things I planned to be included in later chapters. 

Either way... for the readers that stuck around those long four months... thank you. I really appreciate it. Even if you're just a silent reader, simply knowing that people are still interested in Akari's story gives me determination to finish it. I can't promise a reasonable next update, but i can assure you i will not give up on this book. Even if I feel like I don't want to write it anymore.