Akari woke up from a night of nightmares and no sleep at 5 AM. She rose from her bed, covered in a thin layer of sweat. She stumbled her way into the bathroom and looked at her reflection. Her hair was wavy and frizzy, her eyes had dark bags underneath them and her fingers were slightly trembling from the lack of sleep she had in her. She tied her hair back and washed her face and brushed her teeth. She peeled off her sweaty clothes and hopped into her shower. She let the warm water read her tense muscles as she washed out her hair and lathered her body in soap.
She removed herself from the shower and dried her hair and body. She put on a clean pair of pants and her signature fish net long sleeve and black tank top. She quickly bandaged her arms and right thigh then moved to her closet. She decided to throw on an army green jacket on top of her usual outfit just in case. She strapped her kunai pouch to her right thigh and decided to bring her katana.
Akari had escaped her village with nothing on her, but after she had been discharged from the hospital the Hokage sent out a few jounin to scout the area where her village had once been and found a silver katana with a dark blue handle and black tape wrapping around the handle in a criss cross pattern. The Hokage decided to give it to Akari since it was the only thing left from her village. She only used it on important missions, and since this was her last test before being put on more important ANBU missions, she figured she would bring it on this mission. She quickly did a french braid down the middle of her hair then pulled the rest of her loose hair into a high ponytail. She then strapped her katana to her back and tied her headband so that it was covering her forehead. She went back to her bathroom to look at herself for the second time today, and was happy with the image she had created in the short half hour she gave herself to get ready. She laced up her boots and grabbed the backpack she had packed last night, then left her apartment.
Walking through Konoha at 5:30 in the morning was a different kind of peaceful. The animals in the surrounding forest were just starting to wake up, so Akari walked to the quiet sounds that would soon signal the start of a normal morning in the village. The sky was tinted a dark purple as the sun started rise in the sky, and Akari admired the deep colors as she walked quietly down the street.
She made it to the gate at 5:45, and decided to take the alone time she had to herself to hide a couple kunai all over her body in case her main supply was compromised and she needed a quick way to protect herself. She then sat down on a nearby rock and waited patiently for Kakashi and the client to arrive.
At 5:55 a man walked towards her at the gate. She assumed he was the client since he wasn't dressed like a normal shinobi. He spotted Akari and sent a dazzling smile her way. She gave him a small nod in return, and rose from her place on the rock.
"Good morning Prince Saro, I'm Akari and I am one of your escorts back to your village," she stated politely, and he smirked as he looked her up and down.
"No, that can't be true! You're to beautiful to be a shinobi," he flirted, and sent a sly wink her way. Akari tried not to laugh at his attempts to try to seduce her. Sure he was conventionally attractive, but he wasn't Akari's type. She didn't like men who underestimated her as a shinobi just because she was a woman.
"I'd be careful what you say about her shinobi skills. You wouldn't want to end up on the other side of that katana of hers," a voice spoke up, and Akari looked slightly to the right of Saro and spotted Kakashi walking towards him, his nose hurried in his book as usual.
"Wow I'm surprised you're here on time. You're always late Hatake," she said with a little sass, and he laughed and looked up from his book.
"I told you, I wouldn't keep a princess like you waiting Tanaka," he retorted back, and Akari's face blushed a light pink as the client looked between Kakashi and Akari.
"So you guys are together?" He asked incredulously, causing Akari to shake her head furiously.
"Never in a million years," she said with confidence, and Kakashi just let out a small laugh. She rolled her eyes and they started their journey. Kakashi walked behind the prince while Akari walked next to him. She had two clones on either side of their parade in the forrest, just in case any rogue ninja decided to attack them.
The prince flirted constantly with Akari the entire trip, but she just tunned him out and focused on the path ahead of her. She popped a frice ball in her mouth as the sun rose to noon, just because she forgot to eat breakfast and didn't want to waste time having a full meal. The prince whined about his legs being tired, and after saying silent the entire trip, Kakashi finally spoke up.
"If we rest now in broad daylight the chances of us getting attacked are way higher than if we rest at night. We don't have the shadows to hide us and it's easier to spot us from the road and surrounding trees. It's more likely you'd get killed before you could even comprehend what was going on. So we can rest now if you like, or we can continue walking so we make it to your kingdom on time, alive and well," and with that, the prince shut his mouth and continued walking. Akari was impressed, simply because he not only managed to shut up the prince entirely, but also because she had never heard him talk that much.
They walked until the sun had completely set, and the sky was dark blue. The ninja had walked about 100 feet into the forrest before setting up camp. Kakashi and Akari set up two tents, one for the prince and one for whoever wasn't taking watch. They lit a small fire, and the prince bid them goodnight and went into his own tent. Akari and Kakashi were sitting in a log on opposite ends, both staring into the fire.
"I can take the first watch if you want," Akari offered, but Kakashi shook his head.
"I can see in your eyes how tired you are Akari, I'll do it. Although next time I suggest getting more sleep the night before an important mission," he said with a hint of amusement, and with that Akari frowned.
"I went to bed early dumbass, but someone had broken into my apartment and when I went to check on it no one was there, so I was nervous the entire night and had nightmares," she blurted out, not wanting to have told him about the nightmares but doing so anyways. He remained stoic as ever as he stared into the fire.
"You should report it to the Hokage you know," he said seriously, and she laughed.
"I don't think he'd take me seriously. Besides I'm supposed to be keeping my emotions under control anyways and staying up the entire night because I'm nervous isn't exactly helpful," she said, and with that he sighed heavily and looked at her.
"You are a very stubborn person, you know that Akari?" He asked with a tired expression on his face.
"Why do you keep switching between my first name and my last name?" She questioned the silver-haired idiot sitting next to her, and he let out a small laugh at that point.
"To keep you on your toes obviously," he said with amusement present in his voice. "You should really get some sleep you know. You need it Akari," he spoke again, this time a lot more softly.
"I don't want to sleep in the tent though, it'll be too cold," she said with a quiet voice, and he glanced over at her with sympathy in his eyes, knowing that wasn't the full story, but also knowing he shouldn't push it. In reality, she didn't want to sleep in the tent alone. She was still paranoid from last night, and the thought of falling asleep alone sent waves of panic rolling through her, but she managed to internalize her feelings.
"Sleep next to the fire then. I'll be keeping watch out here so it would be safer anyways," he offered, and with that she nodded her head and set out her sleep bag in front of the log so that her feet would be in front of Kakashi and her head would be near the other side of the log.
"I'll wake you for your shift halfway through the night ok?" He asked, and you nodded sleepily in response. He laughed lightly at her very clearly tired demeanor, and patted her leg that was resting in front of him.
"Get some rest Akari, I'll be here the whole time," he said, and she looked up at him once more before falling asleep from pure exhaustion.
"You're not as annoying as I thought you were old man," and with that, her head hit her pillow, and the last thing she heard before falling asleep was Kakashi's small laugh.====
I know, it's a short chapter, but I wanted to give an entire day of the mission one chapter. Next chapters will get a bit more interesting though.
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