Naruto: Akatsuki

Hidan. It hasn't been long since he was able to recognize it as his name.

The young child, he grew motherless. His father, the shinobi of Yugakure, was the only one caring for him. 

Stoic and inexperienced his father was, such that the young child grew without knowing what love was. Growing up in a hard reality, Hidan learned that crying won't change anything.

He knew that his father died. Strangely enough, witnessing his father's death didn't make Hidan feel anything. 

However, his instinct did tell him, that his life was in danger. That staying in this house any longer won't bring good to him. To follow the man and woman in front of him regardless of their identities, since they harbored no ill will to him.

So he did. Stepping out, walking without any regard for the corpse of his father by the side, reaching for Akashi's outstretched hand.

Mei noticed this trait of Hidan. Unconsciously, her mind classified Hidan as something akin to a monster.

Akashi, on the other hand, read the hollowness in Hidan's eyes. They resembled his when he was younger. Once again, the unknown shinobi of Amegakure, one who saved him without any reason or benefit, resurfaced in his mind.

'Why must they...'

It's always been a question in Akashi's mind. 

Why must children suffer for the idiocy of the adults? They suffer since their births, and grow up to the exact same adults who mess up the lives of the next generation.

It was for this exact reason why he used to crave for the peace, thinking of a perfect and ideal state that won't produce any more ones like him.

Ignoring the bitter taste in his mouth, Akashi erased the thoughts as he lifted Hidan and held him gently. 

There was no point in thinking more of pointless things, Akashi thought as he signalled Mei to resume moving.

__________

"B!"

Though Minato didn't lose his poker face as he fought against A and B simultaneously, it was evident that he was rapidly getting exhausted. His movement was slowing down, and he was sweating profusely with a hue of fatigue in his eyes.

As A and B stood side by side and catching a breather, they now had a time to talk for a brief moment, as they, along with Minato, were in an unspoken agreement to catch a breather.

"What happened to those Kiri ninjas whom I spoke of?"

"O-Oh?! Damn boy!"

B slapped his forehead.

"I forgot!"

"You idiot!!"

'Kiri ninjas...'

Minato narrowed his eyes. 

'If I can direct these two's attention on them...'

What he was doing at the moment was to buy enough time for the daimyo of the land of hot water and his guards to escape. Even if Yugakure will no longer have the military strength, the advantages that they can bring to Konoha through the alliance were numerous.

Therefore, he was unable to retreat at the moment; he hadn't received a sign that the daimyo was in safety, yet. 

"Rasengan."

Once again, the blue ball of chakra appeared atop Minato's palm. Swirling menacingly, it seemed powerful enough to grind through anything it came in contact with.

A and B visibly tensed upon noticing the technique. The surroundings were filled with numerous small craters that the technique, Rasengan, left. He knew that a single hit by it would be lethal for them.

"We have to do this quickly, B."

A spoke to B.

"The Kiri ninjas came from the land of iron. Considering its proximity to the land of lightning, we cannot ignore the chance that they may have the secrets of our village."

It was quite a confidence to speak it aloud in front of Minato. If anything, it was anything but ninja-like behavior. However, Minato supposed that such characteristics were what defined these men named A and B.

"...Arrogant, aren't you?"

In Minato's mind, Akashi appeared. In a way, he could suppose that the brown-haired rogue ninja was the exact opposite of A and B, utilizing deceits and trickeries more than any other to defeat his enemies. 

Every time he imagined going against Akashi, a chill overwhelmed his body. Numerous ninjas of fame fell into the hands of this man. A handful of them were considered stronger than Akashi, and yet, he always succeeded in surviving.

'In contrast to him...'

From what Minato saw, A and B were stylish in their attacks. And at the same time, simplistic and straightforward. They were the type to rely on their superior physiques and skills to overwhelm their enemies. It was primarily because of the simplicity of their fighting styles that they synergized well with each other.

And it was thanks to this simplicity that Minato was able to hold on his own against them for quite some time. 

'Hu...'

Minato then disappeared with a yellow flash. 

"Back!"

A shouted just as Minato appeared behind the two with his swirling rasengan about to be blasted into two.

As the explosion arose, the battle resumed, each with goals of their own in their minds.

__________

Having exited Yugakure successfully, the group of three consisted of Akashi, Mei, and Hidan in Akashi's grasp were rapidly travelling through the open plain. 

The terrain was mostly rocky. In some regions filled with dirt and bits of vegetation, a puddle of steaming-hot water could be seen. Though they were now past Yugakure, they were still travelling within the territory of the land of hot water, aiming to reach the land of whirlpool where they would join Ao, Zabuza, and Gai.

The night was slowly fading. The sky was on its way to turning back into its light blue as the sun had begun to show its peak behind the mountains afar. 

Having been exhausted, Hidan in Akashi's hold was asleep. Not bothered by it, Akashi and Mei continued to travel silently, though trying to be aware of their surroundings as much as they could.

"Huff... huff..."

However, that didn't mean that Mei was able to conceal her piled-up exhaustion. There were visible shades under her eyes. Though they were in a luxurious guest room a couple of hours ago, they weren't able to rest properly due to the presence of other ninjas all around them. 

"...Let's stop for now. Take some rest."

Eventually, Akashi decided after having seen Mei in such a state.

Mei nodded weakly, complying with Akashi's decision gladly.

"How were you able to live on like this?"

After a while, Mei asked. 

"Being chased, living under threats of getting assassinated..."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't imagine doing this for years."

"Well,"

Akashi touched the mask on his face and felt its smooth texture. Placing his cloak on the ground and laying Hidan down on it, he too was now seated on a decent-sized rock next to Mei.

"To you, this is something new. To me, this has been life itself. I simply have grown long accustomed to things like this."

"...Is it."

Mei could now understand, to some extent, the reason why Akashi accepted her offer. There was no one on this planet who could tolerate life like this for eternity.

As the conversation ended, Akashi brought out a slip of paper from his pouch. Mei raised an eyebrow at that.

"...You've been doing that quite often these days."

Akashi pushed his chakra into the paper. Immediately, the paper ignited into a blazing fire, eating the paper away into ashes within the blink of an eye.

"It has been something that I've been trying to do for a long time, but without success."

"Developing a third chakra nature?"

"Yes."

Akashi's fire nature was simply too strong. As he grew and became stronger, his aptitude for fire has grown even further, to an extent where it has begun to interfere with his attempt to train other natures. 

For that reason, he was unable to utilize the majority of non-fire release techniques, save a few such as the Hiding in Mole technique and Shadow Clone technique. 

"...You are unique in many ways. I've heard of people with a high aptitude for a certain nature, but for that aptitude to be this extent... if anything, the fact that you managed to harness the wind nature even with this liability speaks of how advanced your chakra control is."

Mei still remembered the way Akashi fought when using his blade sword, Ryuma. Pulling off the complex sword techniques while draping the unstable element, fire, around its blade already was a very hard thing to do; one needed a high focus on controlling the fire chakra around the blade while combating the enemies. 

Not only did Akashi do such a feat as if it was nothing, but Mei also saw Akashi adding the wind chakra on top of that—such a chakra control was flabbergasting enough to consider it as the bloodline limit by its own.

Yet, Akashi didn't stop. He was now attempting to add the lightning release to his arsenal by using his experiences with the Kiba blades. It hasn't been successful so far, but he has been trying over and over without a stop.

"Do you take joy in getting stronger?"

"Perhaps."

Mei asked, and Akashi answered.

"But the primary reason why I do this, you know it already."

"...To maintain your disguise, yes."

"Being unable to use my strongest weapons in my arsenal is a huge liability. It is natural for me to find alternatives."

Akashi threw away the pile of ash on his hand and dusted it off. Looking as the sun rose, he took out another paper thoughtlessly as if repeating a routine.

"How about..."

Then, Mei suggested.

"You try to practice the water release instead?"

"Water is the hardest nature for me to practice. It stands on the opposite point of fire."

"That is precisely the reason why you should do it. If you are able to use it, your attempt over the lightning release should be easier."

Akashi paused. Mei did have a point. 

Furthermore, given her bloodline limits of boil release and lava release, she had three chakra natures: fire, water, and earth. 

As a fellow user of fire release who was able to use water release as well, Mei, perhaps, was someone who could advise Akashi.

"...How do I do that?"

Thinking that Mei had the right idea, Akashi asked. 

"It goes like this..."

And smiling, Mei began her explanation.

...

"..."

When Hidan opened his eyes, it was because his sleep was interrupted by the subtle noises.

Sitting up, he turned his head toward the direction of the noise, emotionlessly.

"Oh, you're awake."

Mei was the one to speak upon noticing Hidan's presence. However, her words weren't of Hidan's focus.

Ahead of the two, Akashi was scratching his head as he stared at the huge pile of ashes, still as lost as ever.