Akari Uchiha

Ch. 62 Glitter Makes this World a Better Place

Kakashi let out a deep, exasperated breath.

"Akari Hatake, for the thousandth time, I would not EVER abandon you. Under any situation. That includes one of my students returning back to the village. Seriously, brat, stop making everything a big deal."

Akari shrank further into herself looking at his exasperated expression, assuming it as annoyed.

"S-Sorry, master," she mumbled quietly, pressing into herself.

Kakashi frowned, observing.

His charge just stammered, apologized, quietly at that, and shrank away from him.

By now he could tell that whenever more than one of these symptoms were showing together in Akari, then he needed to put his pride aside and state everything to this dramatic brat, just to clear up whatever she was being upset about. And most of the times, it had been his fault.

"Why are you apologizing?" he questioned after a few seconds of silence.

"Because I annoyed you?" came a quiet reply.

Kakashi tilted his head lightly, prompting her to go on.

"I mean... I know you said you'd earn all of my trust that day when you broke into my house for the first time, a-and I do! I really really trust you! I swear I-I don't know why I... why I still keep bothering you to... prove it again and again...." she mumbled quietly. "I mean you never talk about emotions or like showing that you care and I just keep forcing you to do it anyways and I know other apprentices don't demand so much attention but I swear I'm not trying to-"

Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder just to stop her panicked ranting.

"Alright, sit down," he ordered, shoving her lightly on the bench behind her.

Akari quietly obeyed, fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt as she glanced down. Kakashi sighed.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Akari. We've been over this," he drawled.

Akari bit her lip, hurriedly obeying. "Sorry, sensei."

"Tell me, chibi, how many 'other apprentices' you know that started out with a neglectful master, who kept calling them nothing but a nuisance?"

Akari gulped, remembering the first time she met Kakashi. She looked down quietly.

"How many?" Kakashi repeated, firmer than before.

"None, sensei," his apprentice finally answered in a quiet voice.

"And how many apprentices do you know that convinced said neglectful masters to train them by challenging them and managing to survive their harsh training and insults?"

"...None."

Kakashi kneeled down in front of her to look her in the eyes, his voice getting softer. "And who else do you know, who has suffered so many harsh insults, punishments, training drills, or painful experiences from their master even though nothing was their fault, other than you?"

Akari's lower lip wobbled thinking of all the times she had been slammed against a wall, told how pathetic she looked, how she was such a cry baby and the worst apprentice anyone could get, beat up during training for getting her moves wrong-

Akari gasped and flinched away when she felt Kakashi's hand touching her head.

"See? You remember all of them," he muttered. 

"Akari," he murmured, placing his hand on her head again as she opened her mouth to start ranting, most probably about how she didn't mean to flinch away. "I've abused the small amount of trust you had placed in me so many times before, to the point where you are weary of even telling me that I'm unintentionally hurting you, and yet you stayed by my side."