After Team 7 returned from the Land of the Waves, they spent a couple of days doing D rank missions. Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship seemed to have gotten even worse. Akashi tried to figure out what was going on and he arrived at a conclusion. Naruto was mad because Sasuke saved him. He even almost ruined a couple of missions they had, because he tried too hard at doing better than Sasuke.
They were walking through Konoha, when Kakashi looked at the sky and spoke up. “Now, then… Shall we call it quits for today? I have to go submit the mission report now”. Sasuke said he was going home and Sakura ran after him. Naruto and Akashi remained with Kakashi. And then he disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Not even a bye? Nice one sensei”. Akashi shook his head in disappointment.
“Naruto, I’m gonna take a walk, I’ll see you later”. Akashi patted Naruto’s head and walked away. Now, where do I go? He thought as he walked through the streets. “I haven’t had lunch yet”. He said absentmindedly. Then he saw a store sign. Ichiraku Ramen. “Isn’t this the place Naruto eats at all the time?” He furrowed his brows and went inside. “Welcome!” A kind-looking old man said.
Akashi carefully walked up to the man. “What would you like?” The man asked, a smile on his face. Akashi never got this response when he went to any store, usually he was declined and sent out or asked to pay double the price. This man in front of him looked at him like he was a normal kid, and not a demon as everyone in the village liked to call him and Naruto. “Uh…”. He stammered, not expecting the kindness.
The man didn’t tell him to hurry up, he waited patently. “Take your time”. He said with the smile still on his face. Akashi quickly cleared his throat. “Your spiciest ramen, please”. He ordered and the man nodded. “Coming right up, you can take a seat right there”. He pointed at a chair nearby. Akashi followed his instructions and took a seat. Not even 10 minutes passed and the man came back with his food.
“Here you go”. He said as he placed the bowl in front of him. Akashi reached in his back pocket for the money, but he was stopped by the man. “Now, we’ll have none of that, first-time customers get a free first meal”. The man shook his head. “By the way, are you sure you can handle the spiciness?” The man asked him. Akashi tilted his head and grinned. “My taste perception is almost nonexistent, so I like strong flavored food”. He explained to the man. He’s had this problem ever since he could remember.
The man’s eyes widen momentarily, before they go back to normal. Akashi noticed the reaction. “Is there something wrong?” He slowly asked. The man looked away for a moment and then looked back at Akashi. “Everything is fine… it’s just… you really remind me of someone”. That caught Akashi’s attention. “May I ask who?” He inquired. The man took a chair and brought it closer to Akashi’s table. “You have the same hair as her and… the same taste problem”. Akashi’s eyes widen and he takes a sharp inhale of breath.
“D-Do you know who she is?” He stuttered as he asked the man. The man shook his head. “Sorry, never caught her name, but I haven’t seen her for a long time”. He answered. “A long time?” He breathed out. The man nodded. “Yeah… for about…”. The man trailed off as he looked at the ceiling in thought. “…12 years?” He finished and Akashi felt his heart stop. “12… years?” He said out loud as he shuffled out of his chair. “12 years”. He repeated and stumbled out of the shop, ignoring the man when he called out to him.
His ears started ringing when he exited the shop. The street was packed with people and with every sound they made, the ringing got worse and worse. I’ve gotta get out of here. He thought as he pushed through the crowd of people. “Watch it kid!” One man said when Akashi brushed his arm. “Y-You! Little demon brat!” The man yelled when he saw who he was. The moment the man uttered those words, the noise around him stopped. He turned his head around to look at what happened.
The other people stopped what they were doing and were watching him. They were whispering to each other and pointing at him. Then the ringing came back, even worse than before. Trying to block out the noise, he clamped his hands over his ears. Not looking back, he started running. He didn’t stop running until he reached the end of the village. The ringing subsided. He let his arms fall uselessly at his sides. It was then that he noticed where he was. The Hokage Mountain was above him.
As he looked over the previous Hokage’s, his eyes stopped at the third one and an idea popped in his mind. The Third Hokage must know something about our parents. Sparing one last look at the Hokage Mountain, he left for the Hokage Tower.
_
Going inside the tower, he went to the front desk. “I need to speak with the Hokage”. He told the desk lady. She glanced at him and her eyes narrow. “He’s busy”. She said and resumed her work. Akashi placed his hand on the table. “It’s an emergency”. He said, staring intently at her. She rolled her eyes and raised her brows. “You’re 12, what possible emergency could you have?” She mocked him and she didn’t raise her head this time. A tick mark appeared on Akashi’s forehead.
“Why you-“. He started, but a hand on his shoulder made him stop. “Akashi? What’s wrong?” He turned around and saw Kakashi behind him. Letting out a sigh of relief, Akashi removed his hand from the desk. “I need to speak with the Hokage, it’s an emergency”. He explained. Kakashi blinked. “The Hokage is indeed busy”. He told the boy. Akashi let out a groan. “Come on! He’s never busy when I don’t need him and now when I need him, guess what? He’s busy!”. He started stomping his foot on the ground.
“Now, now, there’s still tomorrow?” He tried to calm down the boy. Seeing the boy stop his assault on the ground, he sighed out in relief. “By the way, what kind of emergency do you have, maybe I can help?” He asked the fuming Akashi. He looked at him and shook his head. “This is something that’s between me and the Hokage, sorry sensei”. Akashi apologized and looked away. That piqued Kakashi’s interest. Between him and the Hokage? Is it about the Nine-Tails… or his parents? Seeing that the boy wouldn’t reveal anything, he patted his head.
“Oh well, maybe you could tell me in the future. As for now, go home and meet me tomorrow morning with the others”. He told the boy and disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Great”. He huffed. He looked at the lady at the desk. She was glaring daggers at him. His lips curl in a sneer when their eyes meet. “Goodbye”. He simply said and promptly turned around, exiting the tower.
_
Morning came quick. Akashi got up before Naruto and he made them quick breakfast. After eating, they left the apartment and went to the bridge to meet up. Sakura and Sasuke were already there, but Kakashi didn’t show up even two hours later. “I just want to know why he’s always late”. Akashi said out loud. Sasuke glanced at him and then looked away. Akashi noticed that and turned his way. “What about you?” He asked the raven-haired boy.
Sasuke looked back at him with no expression on his face. “I don’t really care”. He deadpanned. Akashi huffed and turned away. “You’re always so uninterested in everything”. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets. “There’s no use in being interested, it just wastes my time”. He explained. Akashi leaned on the rails and looked at the water beneath the bridge. “Is there anything you’re even interested in?” He asked. The Uchiha stayed silent for a moment, before he answered. “Getting stronger”.
“What’s your main reason for that?” He continued asking. Sasuke looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “What’s your reason for asking that?” Akashi grimaced at his words. “Calm down, can’t I know anything about a teammate?” Sasuke sighed and looked at the sky. “Why don’t you go and find out more about Sakura then?” He countered. Akashi let out a groan in disbelief. “What? There’s more to her than ‘Sasuke~ Sasuke~’?” He imitated her high pitch squeals.
Sasuke let out a sharp exhale of breath and turned to the side, coughing. “Oh, you can laugh!” Akashi exclaimed, a grin on his face. “That was not a laugh”. The Uchiha explained, a slight redness on his cheeks. “Suree~”. He teased him and looked away. Not wanting to force the boy to answer his question, Akashi left it at that. Kakashi arrived soon after.
“Hello! I got lost on the path called life today…”. He trailed off. “A lie!” Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in union. Kakashi got over to them. “I’ll get to the point, I recommended all of you to the Chuunin selection exam”. He handed them four applications. “Here are your applications”. He said. He started saying that they don’t have to take them if they don’t want to. “I love you, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto yelled and jumped at Kakashi, hugging him.
He told them if they want to take it, they have to sign it, take it to the school at 3 PM five days from now and go to room 301. After that, Kakashi went away and they were left to do what they wanted. Naruto and Akashi separated when Naruto went off to play with Konohamaru and his gang. Akashi went to the Hokage Mountain and laid on top. The sun was just beginning to set. The village was painted in all shades of orange and red. A sudden Chakra signal alerted Akashi of someone’s presence.
Jumping to his feet, he grabbed a kunai and pointed it in a direction. What he saw confused him. There was a man dressed in black robes with a mask on, he also had a straw hat. What confused him wasn’t the man’s appearance, but his Chakra. “Iruka-sensei?” He asked, confused. The man didn’t move, but he then let out a sigh. A puff of smoke appeared around him and in his place stood Iruka. “Should’ve known you would have figured it out”. Iruka shook his head.
Akashi sheathed his kunai and straightened up. “What’s the meaning of this?” He demanded. Iruka waved his arms. “This was supposed to be a test before the Chuunin exams, but you passed it before it even began”. He explained and Akashi nodded. “I’ve gotta go now, I still have Genins to test”. With a wave, he disappeared. With a groan, Akashi plopped back down onto the ground. “Well, that was weird”.
_
The next day, Akashi went over to the Hokage Tower again. The lady at the desk glared at him, but this time she let him pass. He knocked on the door and heard a quiet ‘come in’. He opened the door and was greeted by the Third Hokage with his desk full of papers. The Hokage looked up. “Oh, Akashi? What brings you here?” He asked, confused by the sudden visit. Akashi cleared his throat and walked over to the desk.
“I need to speak with you about something”. He said, seriousness clear in his tone. The Hokage’s kind smile disappeared and a grave look appeared on his face. Before he could say anything, Akashi spoke up. “Before that, would you mind sending your ANBU away?” He asked. The Hokage’s eyes widen momentarily and he nods. About five people with masks on their face dash out of the window.
“Tell me the truth about everything”. He demanded, hands on the desk in front of him. “Tell me why the Nine-Tails was sealed in Naruto and I and…”. He trailed off, an unsure look on his face. “Tell me about our parents”. He finished, eyes narrowed in the Hokage’s direction. The Hokage let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “About the Nine-Tails… you and Naruto were picked for just one reason, you were born on that day”. He said. “About your parents, they died that very same night”.
Akashi started gritting his teeth. “I know that already! Tell me who they are!” He growled out, fists balled up. How dare he try to stall this?! “I’m sorry, that’s confidential”. Akashi felt something snap inside of him. Then, things happened too fast. He jumped across the table, intent on grabbing the Hokage, when he found himself surrounded by multiple weapons, all pointed at him. The Hokage didn’t move from his seat. The ANBU that were previously in the room, were around him, weapons almost touching his skin.
The Hokage let out a disappointed sigh. “Pull him back”. He ordered the ANBU and they did just that. Two of them pulled him to the middle of the room and the third one had a katana pointed at his neck. “You… can you remove the Nine-Tails from me? I don’t want that thing inside of me”. Akashi didn’t try to struggle, he knew he had no chance at trying anything again, so he settled for a simple question. “Please, get it out of me”. He begged, knees scraping the wooden floor.
The Hokage’s expression didn’t change. “I’m sorry, I cannot do that…”. He trailed off. “If something goes wrong, the village will be destroyed”. He finished. Akashi let his head fall, bangs covering his eyes. “And what of my humanity?” Those words pierced through the Hokage, making him take a sharp inhale of breath. This burden is too big for him to carry… Kushina, Minato… you may have made a mistake. “Have I no choice in this matter?” A sob ripped through the room.
The Hokage felt a shudder run through his body. He shakily raised his arm and gave a signal to the ANBU. They released Akashi and disappeared, making him fall onto his hands and knees. Sarutobi stood up and walked up to Akashi, intent on helping him to his feet. Before he could even touch him, his hand was slapped away. “Don’t touch me”. Akashi breathed out, standing up on shaky legs. He straightened up and looked at the Hokage.
Sarutobi felt immense pain when he saw the look in Akashi’s eyes. The boys eyes were glazed over. The childish glint he used to posses was gone. “Aka-“. He started, but Akashi clicked his tongue. “Don’t… I will find out the truth one day, no matter how long it’s going to take and when that happens…”. He glared at him. “Everyone who wronged Naruto and I will regret everything”. With those words, Akashi turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Sarutobi was left alone in his office and he was already regretting everything.
“Kushina, I may not be able to keep that promise”. He looked out of the window.
Flashback
Sarutobi arrived at the scene, and took the babies in his arms. Minato was no longer breathing and Kushina was holding on, but barely. “Lord Third… please take care of the children… their names are Naruto and Akashi”. She took her last breath, and closed her eyes. “Kushina… I promise…”.
Flashback end
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