Hatake

Chapter 2: A Break

Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.

Akari sat up in her bed combing her fingers through her long silver hair. She had already been awake but decided to wait for her alarm anyway after destroying her previous alarm clock last month.

It sun wasn't out yet and the outside had no birds to fill the silence.

The sun is rising soon. I should check on the Yodaime.

Akari quickly changed into her usual attire which consisted of a dark purple t-shirt, a sightly baggy trench coat (its design somewhat similar to the Yodaime's) with its sleeves rolled up and her headband tied to where her triceps were. Not forgetting her katana, which she kept on her left, Akari shunshinned to the Hokage's office.

Akari usually checked in on him to make sure he wasn't overworking. But, even though Kushina would check in on him every day, they would fall asleep from time to time. This happened more often after Kushina became pregnant.

 As she expected, she found the couple fast asleep. Minato was sleeping on the desk while Kushina was on the couch.

Akari looked up at the vents and saw a new group of Anbu in the vents. There seemed to be a newbie since they weren't messing around playing a card game like the others. She spotted an older member of the Anbu and motioned them to the outside of the office. He disappeared from her sight and she followed him out.

"When did they fall asleep?" Akari asked.

"About an hour ago. Lady Kushina stayed up talking to the Yodaime and they fell asleep."

"Get back to your post. I'll be back soon." The Anbu nodded and shunshinned away into the vents.

Akari went into the storage room and grabbed some blankets. On the way, she spotted the head strategist's office wondering if he was too lazy to go home. Akari peeked into Shikaku's office and spotted him sleeping at his desk.

I swear, they decided to throw a sleepover at the offices or something.

She silently walked over to him and threw a blanket over him. It was a bit chilly in the offices whenever it was morning or night.

At the Hokage's office, she did the same. Having an extra, she looked over to the Anbu, motioning to the blankets. They all shook their head no. Akari sighed.

What else was I expecting?

She walked out checking all the offices, finding no one inside. On her way out, she walked to the secretary to find her getting ready for the day.

"Do you want a blanket?" Akari asked quietly. The secretary looked up at her, gave a thankful smile, and draped the blanket over herself.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Did you have breakfast yet?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking." 

Akari nodded and went on her way to get the others breakfast.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The streets were beginning to fill as Akari walked to Minato, Kushina, and Shikaku's favorite restaurants. The small shops were being set up and the early villagers started buying groceries for their families. 

A familiar woman caught Akari's eye. She was carrying multiple bags and was straining to hold them. Seeing this, Akari rushed to her side.

"Mikoto-san, you shouldn't be carrying this much. Let me carry it for you." Akari said quietly. Mikoto chuckled.