Naruto: Akatsuki

I took a deep breath. With my eye closed, I felt the warm chakra that circulated within my body.

Then, a step on one bark, followed by another. I was now standing on a vertical plane—attaching myself to the tree bark with the fine control of chakra.

'Let's go.'

Then, a run. I ran all the way up to the tree branch at the top, before jumping onto another one nearby.

'Recall.'

Just like those Konohagakure ninjas did, I jumped from one branch to another. Though it was sloppy and I sometimes came close to falling off, my speed was faster than I'd ever been.

Swoosh.

Why was I doing this? It was because running in the broad daylight would be a nice way to notify enemies of my position. Though traveling by the trees didn't make it much better due to my lack of skill, I believed that this granted me a higher chance of survival.

And now, I stopped, standing on a tree that stood right in front of Hidemitsu's house.

Silence. It was far too silent, even after considering the fact that only one person lived within. The atmosphere of this area, where I've spent quite some time in peace, has now become cold and hollow.

I waited. For an entire hour, with my body tensed up, I watched the house with my full focus. With caution, I observed all my surroundings, not even letting go of the movement of one leaf that flew in the air due to the cold wind.

Then I began. Slowly making my way down from the tree, I approached the house like a thief would.

...Why am I doing this, you ask? Why won't I simply run away?

If Hidemitsu truly is a part of one group's information network, and believes that there is indeed a value in me, then running away is impossible. Their eyes are everywhere, after all.

What I truly needed right now, was information. My intuition alone wasn't enough to assess my circumstance properly.

Is Hidemitsu my enemy? Is Gin my enemy? Am I safe to run away? How will I live on from now on, with there being no one to leech off from? I had to think about my future and draw the best choice out of all possibilities.

And, another step. With this advancement, I was now standing right behind the closed door. I slightly leaned my head toward the thin door, trying to see if I can hear any noise from the inside—Hidemitsu's workspace.

No sound. Nothing at all. If there is a stealthy ninja hiding around me, I technically was dead already. Might as well go in.

I held my hand out and slid the door open slowly. I was sweating profusely from the tension, but nonetheless entered as the scene unfolded in front of me.

'Haa...'

There was no one inside. Instead, what I found was a huge mess of a room, full of scattered papers.

Without a doubt, Hidemitsu left in a hurry. I looked around the room and discovered nothing more. The room was empty, with me being the only presence.

Letting out a relieved sigh from the inside, I slowly closed the room. Without making the minimal amount of noise, I picked up one sheet of paper lying on the floor, which seemed to stand out from the rest.

[Gin. Age: 32. Rank: Chunin.

Rogue. Defected a month ago during the A-ranked mission led by jonin Daisuke. The mission was to acquire the unique sword, 'Ryuma,' with the potential of the existing seven swords. Must be retrieved at all costs.]

A profile.

'Seven swords...'

The answer was obvious,

'Kirigakure—the village hidden in the mist.'

Hidemitsu was an informant of the village. However, his strength amounted to no more than that of a civilian's. Though his medical knowledge was amazing, he possessed no talent to become a medical-nin—or so I thought based on the information at my hands.

I leaned down once again, briefly gazing through all the papers that were scattered around, before picking up one other paper.

[Boy with amnesia. Name unknown, but speculated to have come from the Amegakure. May be a tool worth nurturing. A potential risk of having an attachment to Gin.]

It was me without a doubt.

[Awaiting an assessment from the above.]

I placed it back down with a complex emotion on my face. Tool, that word got in my nerve.

'...Is that truly your genuine impression of me? A tool and nothing more?'

I resisted the urge to rip the paper apart. Subsequently, wasting no time, I stormed out of the room, no longer caring about the noise. After all, I now knew that no one was present nearby, and that soon, someone will come.

I sneaked into a different room where Hidemitsu slept. It was messy just like the other room. The drawers were open, a blanket was kicked to the side, and a candle stick was rolling on the floor.

I approached the open drawers, and,

'Eureka.'

just as I hoped, there was money. It seemed that Hidemitsu only took the amount that he was capable of carrying around with his old and fragile body.

With a crazed grin, I scuffed them into my vest. The money of this amount—it was something that I've never got my hands onto.

Then I stopped.

'...A young boy carrying a huge ton of money.'

Ha... it was a dumb idea indeed. Too much greed leads to destruction. With disappointment, I decided to be satisfied with two stacks of ryos grouped by thin ropes.

And I left the house without any attachment for it. I stormed off at my maximum speed, away from the Chisana village, since 'Kanae' probably was affiliated with Kirigakure as well.

A rapid travel that it was. The wind was being blown at my face due to the speed at which I was travelling at, hopping from one tree branch to another.

'Now what—'

However, my travel came to a stop quite quickly.

My hair stood up, feeling the danger. I lowered my body in caution, and ensured not to make any noise. The view in front of me—it was such that made me alert.

Below me, there were two men. One was sprawled across the ground, with a bleeding hole on his chest: Hidemitsu.

The old man, without even making far away from the house, was killed.

And the other man. He, with not only the vivid exhaustion but also the multiple injuries across his body, was leaning on tree bark, with a black katana, unsheathed, in his hand. The man was none other than Gin.

...I was at the loss of my words. It felt tragic to watch the old man, whom I've been living with for couple of months, dead with agony written on his dying face—regardless of how he truly thought about me.

Two benefactors of mine. They opposed one another. I felt something filling me up, a sorrow, regardless of the fact that Hidemitsu may have had an ulterior motive.

Tap. Before I realized what I was doing, I found myself revealing myself. Walking into the scene, my eyes were locked onto Hidemitsu.

"You are..." Gin, with half-lidded eyes, muttered.

Not replying, I walked up to where Hidemitsu's corpse lied. Leaning down, I raised my shaky hand and closed his eyes.

'In spite of all... thank you for everything, Hidemitsu-san.'

A short word of thanks, before a short prayer. This was my way of expressing my gratitude to this old man of secrets.

Then, I stood up and faced Gin, meeting his tired eyes with my lone one.

Staring back at me, Gin eventually said weakly, "So this is the real you."

His grip on the sword tightened by a little. He was out of strength, but he kept himself awake, considering me as a threat.

"Are you going to kill me and avenge your—"

"Akashi." In such an intense atmosphere, I cut off Gin's words with my statement.

"...What?"

I replied with a backbone, "That's my name. Nice to meet you, Gin."

Gin stared at me weirdly.

I lowered my head at the man in front of me, "And I'd like to thank you for saving my life on that day."

It was the word of thanks that contained my heart, unlike the last time where I spoke as the facade named Akatsuki.

"...You brat...."

Gin, in response, snorted in a disbelief, not having expected a word of thanks in this situation.

"Now,"

I took in a deep breath. I momentarily paused while closing my eye, before opening it back with determination,

"I read that you are a missing ninja from Kirigakure."

Gin stayed silent, but I steeled my resolve and continued.

"Currently living off of the bounty hunting on the black market. You are a mercenary for hire, aren't you?"

It was an idea that suddenly popped up after sighting Gin in this state. It was out of blue, but it was a possibility, the one that may change my life.

It was a dangerous and unknown path, but at the same time, the risk worth taking. It was finally in front of me—the chance for me to become strong.

"Then I'd like to hire you."

Gin's mouth parted slightly, as if unable to believe what this crazy kid was sprouting.

Taking out the stack of ryos that I previously got from Hidemitsu's house, I said to Gin,

"Teach me how to become stronger."

"Ha," Gin let out a snort out of amusement, before,

"Hahahaha!"

breaking into a full laughter.

Heh, how ridiculous must it be to him. I, ignoring the fact that the old man who took care of me died, was asking his killer to take me under his wing.

"...Interesting." Gin, reach his shaky hand out, snatched the money out of my grasp.

I backed my hand out, not allowing Gin to seize the money, "Do you accept?"

I lived a life far too harsh to fall for a trick like this. Unless Gin shows the sign of acceptance, this money, which symbolizes the contract, won't be handed over.

"...Tch." Gin clicked his tongue with the mix of annoyance and fatigue, before placing his hands down. He raised his head to the sky above and gazed at it with a hollow expression, "Kids... you are annoying as always. But... amazing at some times."

I looked back at him stoically, awaiting for an answer. My heart was beating fast.

Lowering his gaze to me once again, Gin finally replied, "Fine. I'll be your so-called sensei."

In the end, it was still unsure if Gin was a trustworthy man. He may run away after his health restores, without fulfilling the deal. Still, being aware of the consequences, I nonetheless decided to participate in this gamble.

In one day, my life was subverted for the second time. And I could only hope—that this change was for good.