The Balancing Act (Kakashi x OC)

Chapter 10

After Akari's discussion with the Hokage, she cut herself off from any outside contact. She put seals all over her apartment and drew the blinds shut so no outside light was let in. The only time she left was to go to the hospital to get her second chakra treatment. Even then she went during the dead of night so as to avoid her friends who kept banging on her door. Genma had come every single day, begging Akari to leave her house, or just let him inside of it. Kurenai pleaded her to talk to her about what was going on, but Akari just sat in silence on her house. She could even sense Kakashi's chakra at some point, but he never made himself known to Akari.

Outside of her apartment, Itachi stood once again in the shadows with his companion.

"Any updates?" He asked, a stern look on his face as he spotted the closed curtains.

"She came back from the Hokage's office a day ago and sealed herself inside of her apartment. She hasn't left yet but she'll probably have to leave soon for a hospital trip. She's completely shut out from the world," they said, and Itachi just smirked.

"She knows now. It won't be too long once she's completely recovered. I'll send word of knowledge and come back in a weeks time. She should be healed by the end of the month. By that time, I'll make myself known to her once again," Itachi said, and with that shot off into the darkness. His companion just held a manic smile on his face as he stared at the girl through the slit of her curtain, her hair in a messy updo and her fingers trembling.

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By the time Akari had gone for a third chakra treatment, she had gone out too early and spotted Genma walking on the street. She tried to jump away but Genma tackled her before she could.

"Akari what the hell? We've all be worried sick about you! What is going on?" He yelled, and helped her up. It was then that he noticed her appearance. Her eyes held dark bags underneath them, her body looked thinner than he had last seen, and her fingers were constantly trembling.

"Akari what's wrong?" He asked softer, and one look into her eyes and she completely broke down. He swept her light figure into his arms and hopped back to her apartment. He was finally able to remove the seals and sit down on the couch as she sobbed into his chest, him holding her tightly.

Kurenai happened to be on her way to her apartment again and saw the door was open. She rushed inside to see Akari curled up in Genma's arms, crying the hardest they'd ever seen. Kurenai came over slowly and Genma placed Akari in Kurenai's arms and she went to the bathroom to give her a bath to see if she would calm down. Kurenai managed to sooth Akari's cries long enough to ask Genma to get Kakashi, since she knew Akari trusted him more than she let on.

While Genma went to find Kakashi, Kurenai went back to check on Akari. She had gone from sobbing uncontrollably to a catatonic state of being completely silent and not moving. Kurenai managed to coax her into peeing her clothes off, save her underwear so that she wouldn't get embarassed. She helped Akari sit down in the bath and stared straight ahead as Kurenai worked soap through her hair and around her body. The warm water ran over her head as Kurenai poured some to wash the soap out. Once she had finished washing Akari, she helped her dry off and change her underwear, then put on a pair of soft black sweatpants and an army green long sleeves shirt with a few buttons at the top. She then led her to her bed and lay with her until Genma finally returned with Kakashi in tow.

The second Kakashi laid his eyes on Akari, he moved towards her, and asked Kurenai if he could take her place. She moved aside and let Kakashi slide into the bed next to her and gently wrap his arms around her. He nodded to Genma and Kurenai, and they left without a word. Kakashi moved away from her for a second to removed his flak jacket and long sleeves so he was just in his sweatpants and a tanktop with an attached mask. He then moved Akari so her head was laying on his chest and he had both of his arms around her.