A knock sounded on the door to the Hokage's office, and a lanky man with green eyes walked in, a young, fearful girl behind him. Her exterior was coated in dirt and grime, and her ribs could be seen through her frayed grey hoodie. Watching the shinobi curiously, Lord Third gestured for him to explain, his gaze flickering to the youngster.
"This child is who the rumors were about." The man said, his voice low as to not intimidate the frightened girl anymore. The girl clutched the man's pant leg, her wide grey eyes fixed on the Hokage with suspicion and anxiety.
"I see..." He closed his eyes, bringing his pipe to his mouth as he thought the circumstance over. When he opened them, his gaze landed on the fragile girl, prompting her to recoil behind the ninja entirely. Hiruzen stood, shuffling over to the girl with a delicate gaze. "What is your name young one?" The Hokage kneeled down to the girl's level, his face kind.
Peeking out from behind the man, the young girl's lower lip quivered as she inspected Hiruzen with uncertainty. Small scrapes and bruises flecked her face and some of the gashes smelt of infection.
"Aka..." The girl began to speak, however, she hesitated as she surveyed her surroundings once more. "A-Akari..." Her voice was scarcely a whisper, faint and almost inaudible if you weren't listening closely. Hiruzen however, smiled at her and stood back up, glancing at the other shinobi briefly.
"Why don't you get her some food and let me think our options over..." The Hokage slowly walked back to his desk, and the ninja turned to Akari with a kind smile.
"My name's Koji. I'm sure your hungry so why don't we get you some food?" Slowly, the white-haired girl nodded and the two left the Hokage to his thoughts.
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The scent of damp dew and the chirping of birds was what Akari awoke to as her gray eyes blinked open in the dim morning rays. She was nestled into the crook of a tree, her small figure fitting perfectly amongst the branches. She sat there with a look of utter sleepiness, her white hair messy and dirty from her time in the woods the day before. The peacefulness of the morning was interrupted by the loud snap of a twig, and with a high pitched squeak, Akari pressed her frame against the trunk of her tree. Perfectly at home high above the ground.
"There you are!" The young girl glanced down to see Koji at the base of the tree, and with a cry of affection, Akari raced down from her perch to greet him. "Eriko made us some breakfast if you're hungry. I know I am! That last mission gave me quite an appetite." Grinning, Koji hoisted Akari up onto his back and took off, earning a squeal from the young girl.
"I'm glad your back!" Akari smiled brightly, her grey eyes sparkling as she hugged the ninja's neck.
"Me to," Koji agreed, slowing to a stop as he neared a house. "Although, you should really stop running off when its only you and Eriko. It scares her when your gone for too long." Frowning, the girl looked downcast for a moment.
"I know... I'm sorry... I don't mean to scare her.." Akari rushed to apologize, the happy aura gone as she stared at the ground.
"Hey, its okay.." Koji let the girl down, leading her into the house quietly. "Don't tell her I said this but someone's gotta take care of her when I'm not here." His voice dropped to a whisper as Koji winked playfully at Akari before rising to announce their arrival. "We're back!"
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"Hey Akari!" Leaping from the top of a building, Heidan landed in front of a half asleep Akari, gesturing towards where he came from. "I saw some sound ninja over that way. They seemed to have a mission of some sort because they didn't come after me."
Blinking open an eye, Akari yawned widely as she stood, stretching out her muscles. "I guess we should see what they're up to then..." The girl seemed distracted, but Heidan simply figured it was about that strange boy from earlier and shrugged it off. He could ask her about it later. The two recollected themselves and gathered their weapons before giving chase to the large group of ninja. Making sure to stay far enough away as to not attract attention.
It wasn't long until the trail led them into the forest and once there it became clear what the sound ninja were up to. "They're tracking a squad.." Akari murmured, brushing the tracks with her hand. Walking further along the trail, she spotted dog prints and dread began to settle in the pit of her stomach. "The squad they're tracking... its the one Kakashi sent out. We need to hurry." This time, Akari took the lead, a newfound urgency in her step as she chased after the ninja.
The silence that had filled the forest was suddenly broken as the sounds of ninja fighting reached the ears of the twosome. And as they slowed from a sprint to a light run, a clearing came into view with Shikamaru and Asuma facing the same ninja they had been tracking. Heidan and Akari watched from a tree in silence as Asuma took out all nine of the sound ninja easily, complimenting Shikamaru on his delay tactic.
"Well! Looks like we weren't needed here!" Heidan announced his presence by jumping down from the branch, swinging his scythe over a shoulder. Akari soon followed suit, her expression displaying the usual bored look she always carried.
"What are you two doing here?" Shikamaru shot the pair a look, too tired to actually care but figuring it was best to at least acknowledge their presence.
"Me and Akari were picking off some of the enemies when we saw those guys," Heidan motioned towards the sound ninja nonchalantly. "They looked like they were doing something important so we decided to follow."
"What happened to Naruto, Sakura, and the dog?" Akari butted in, her voice portraying her anxiety even while her face remained blank.
"They went on ahead," Shikamaru explained irritability, clearly done with the whole thing. Pressing her lips into a thin line, Akari leaped back up into a tree in the general direction they had been heading before.
"You left those two alone? On such an important mission?" Shaking her head, the girl disappeared from sight, presumably going to catch up with the squad.
"Oh, come on!" Groaning, Heidan too, leaped up onto a branch. "See you guys around. I have to chase after Miss Impulsive now." The ninja left Shikamaru and Asuma dumbfounded as he followed Akari's trail. She was letting her emotions get the best of her, and it wasn't just her worry for her teammates. Heidan suspected that boy from earlier also played a role in making her act this way. Picking up the pace, the firey-haired boy kept his eyes on the trail ahead of him, hoping he caught up to the speedy ninja he was chasing before she did something stupid in her rush of anxiety and fear. She needed to believe in her squads' abilities and leave it to them before she hurt herself more than she already was. Heidan just hoped she hadn't forgotten about her injured arm in all the chaos.
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destiny calls | *. naruto fanfic
Fanfiction[ completed ] " do you have any idea what it's like? to be trapped by a so-called destiny you didn't ask for? to not be able to leave the past behind no matter how much you wish to move on? " akari mizushima. found in the woods at a young age, barel...
