𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻

Defying Gravity

::

At dawn the soft susurration of the leaves that had been the morning's lullaby through the night became a fierce rustling, loud enough to drown out the chorus of the serenading birds. Far above the village below, she sat on the head of the Second Hokage. Her sunfire locks waving in the strong but gentle breeze.

She stood up.

The wind howled sorrowfully.

She had only one path to walk. And if she didn't take it, then all she could have was death.

Akai would have victory or she would have death.

She teetered over the edge.

Death refused me once. Akai pondered softly, her hair whipping around violently like tongues of fire. I wonder...if it will refuse me again.

Her toes hung ominously over the cliff as her body swayed dangerously over the mountain side, hovering. She leaned over the edge and shut her eyes as the wind rushed passed her face.

She dove.

Adrenaline flooded her system, pumping wildly as it coursed through her veins. Her heart beat erratically just as though it were trying to escape and break free from her chest. She felt her heart swoop as she continued to tumble towards the ground in a unlimited free fall.

Death didn't refuse me. Her lashes fluttered defiantly, I conquered it.

The ground grew larger as she continued to fall downwards, her body parallel to the Hokage Monument.

I deserve to live.

Her heart pounded.

I deserve to live.

Her hair whipped around violently as she continued to shoot towards the ground. No sign of stopping. The ground approached warningly but gravity was already in motion, it was too late to stop. Abruptly, her eyes sprung open and swirled into a three tomoe sharingan.

She would push her limits and prove her right to live.

With a loud snap and a horrible screech she dug her legs into the mountain side. Chakra being shoved into a single focus point on the bottom of each foot. And rocks breaking loose and crumbling off the mountain as her feet came to a final stop.

Her body stood perpendicular on the Hokage Monument's side.

She struggled for air. Breathing raggedly as she attempted to steady her raging heart rate.

She gulped, filling her lungs with oxygen.

Akai smirked.

The fastest way to learn how to swim is to throw oneself into the deep where they'd learn out of the greatest necessity—survival. The same could be said for chakra control, she supposed. Did she understand it? No, but she could do it. It wasn't enough. She needed to become better. She needed to become more powerful.

She faced death and survived.

Who other than her could claim so?

Who else deserved to live more than her?

"None." She smiled in satisfaction. "None."

No one else deserved to live as much as she did.

::

"Akai-san." Sarutobi Hiruzen inclined his head in greeting.

"Hokage-sama." She acknowledged with a small wave. "What am I to do today?"