Naruto: Akira’s Story

Come on, I get that women need time to change and freshen up, but this long? Fifteen minutes had already passed!

After another ten minutes, I couldn't take it anymore and walked over to her door.

"Kushina-san, are you in there?" Just in case, I knocked a couple of times, but there was no answer. "Kushina-san? Are you all right? Hello? I'm going to open the door if you don't answer."

The door cracked open immediately, revealing her peeking face.

"Oh, sorry, Akira-san, I accidentally dozed off for a bit."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Maybe you should rest, and I'll head out?"

"No, no, just give me a minute, I'll be right out." And the door shut again.

****

*Idiot! Airhead! What was I thinking? How could I fall asleep like that? Naked, legs spread! What if he'd seen me?*

Kushina kept replaying the same thoughts in her head all the way to the restaurant.

"So, here it is - McDonald's." He gestured at the building with both hands.

"Wow, so many customers." She finally managed to shake off her embarrassing thoughts. She could worry about it later tonight.

"Oh, there's Naruko." It was impossible not to spot that bright head in the crowd. She was happily devouring her sixth or seventh order, scaring the other customers who'd been sitting there for half an hour already.

"Huh? Mom? Akira-san? What are you doing here?" Naruko looked at us in surprise.

"We came to get you, and I wanted to show Kushina-san my restaurant." Akira stepped forward with a bright smile.

"Ha, so this is your place? I knew it! I guessed right! Only you make food like this." Naruko paused just long enough to cough on a piece that got stuck in her throat. Before anyone could react, she downed her mojito and sighed in relief.

"Naruko, eat slower, and don't talk with your mouth full," Kushina gently scolded her.

Akira glanced around and waved over an employee.

"Ayumi-san, meet Naruko and Kushina-san. Please let the girls know they get a fifty percent discount here."

"Awesome!" Naruko cheered.

"Akira-san, you really don't have to…" Kushina tried to protest.

"It's nothing. Honestly, I'd rather not take your money at all, but then you probably wouldn't come as often as you'd like."

"Thank you, Akira-san," Naruko said, beaming.

Ayumi nodded and went off to tell the girls.

"Kushina-san, are you hungry?" Akira asked, even though he knew she'd already eaten at home, but he had to ask.

"No, thank you. Naruko, are you full?"

"Yeah, let's go home." She jumped up, finishing her fries.

As they walked through the evening streets, Kushina watched Naruko happily telling Akira about her day, while he smiled and praised her imagination for all the pranks she mentioned. [ image ] 



From the outside, they probably looked like a happy family out for a stroll, and Naruko seemed to realize it too, glancing joyfully from one of them to the other.

"Akira-san, Mom says I eat too much. Come on, Mom's just exaggerating, right?"

"Your mom just worries about your health. Even though you're still growing, eating too much of the same food isn't good for you. If you had, say, two bowls of ramen and then a salad or some fruit, your stomach would be much happier."

"Ugh, I don't like salads."

"Really? I know a salad recipe even picky eaters like you would love."

"Really? I'd like to try it."

"If you actually like it, I'll make it for you every day. Promise" Kushina said, smiling at the laughing Akira.

For a second, she imagined Minato in his place. He had the same charming smile and warm laugh. She shook her head, chasing away the thought.

*No, Minato's gone for good. He's not coming back, Kushina. He wouldn't want me to spend every night mourning him… Hm, actually, I've been sleeping peacefully for a month now.*

"Kushina-san, what do you think?" Akira's voice brought her back to reality.

"Huh? What?"

"Naruko suggested we have a picnic in the park after her midterm exams."

"Oh, well… I don't know, aren't you busy?"

"No, the restaurant can run just fine without me, and I'm done with the book."

"Well, in that case…"

"What book?" Naruko jumped in.

He started telling them how he'd spent every evening for the past month working on his book. He described it so vividly that Naruko couldn't wait to get home and start reading.

"There are even pictures? Cool! I want to see!"

To Kushina's surprise, when they got home, she didn't even get a chance to read the book - Naruko snatched it up right away.

*Not let Naruko read at least one book? Find another fool. I'll have plenty of time to check it out tomorrow when she's at the academy.*

****

[ Inside the Uchiha Patriarch's Home ]

"Mikoto, are you still up?" a calm voice called out in the room.

"Huh? Oh, I just got so caught up in this book. Didn't even notice how late it got."

"Really? What book?"

"I borrowed it from Kushina. Her neighbor gave it to her - he's a new writer."

"Interesting. What's it about?"

"You'd like it. There's a law enforcement group kind of like Konoha's military police, and the main character even has a special eye power that helps him solve crimes."

"Sounds intriguing. I'll have to read it when I get some free time. What's the author's name?"

"Akira. You probably haven't heard of him - it's his first book."

"Akira, you say? His last name wouldn't happen to be Zoldyck, would it?"

"Huh? You know him?" Mikoto was surprised.

"Not personally, but I've seen him around, and I've read a few of his proposals that were approved by the clan council. Actually, he's the reason I decided to change the reporting system in the police… Now I definitely need to read that book."

"Really? What kind of proposals, and how is he connected to the new reporting system?"

"Well, let me start from the beginning…"

Listening to all this new info about her recent acquaintance, Mikoto grew more and more surprised.

"He's a very… unusual person," she finally concluded.

"That's for sure. Now, let's get some sleep - it's really late."

*I wonder, after I left, did Akira stay? Hehe, I'll have to ask Kushina about that. Honestly, that girl - a guy like that is hanging around her, and she just lets him go? If I were in her place… Kami, what am I thinking? Ugh, Mikoto, stop it. Go to sleep and don't think about other men while your husband's right here.*

****

[ First POV ]

Lying in bed, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time, thinking about the future of this world - specifically, the Uchiha massacre. From what I knew, the reason for the massacre was the clan's revolutionary mood, which the village leadership found out about. And honestly, I kind of agreed with Danzo. I couldn't live peacefully knowing my neighbor might snap one day and try to wipe everyone out, especially with the Sharingan - that thing only gets stronger the more trauma you go through. 

If someone's awakened three tomoe, they're probably not all there mentally. If they've got Mangekyo, they're definitely unstable. Just look at Madara - after his brother died, he decided to "save" the world by putting everyone into an "eternal" dream. Never mind that the dream would last only until everyone's bodies gave out. Genius.

Or Obito - his girlfriend died, and he went down the same path. Itachi, no matter how much Naruto fans love him, was still the guy who killed all the kids and women in his clan. People say he had no choice, that he did evil to prevent a greater evil, but I don't buy that logic. He could've just taken out the ringleaders and the clan head who let it all happen. But no, let's kill everyone. And he did - well, almost everyone. The men, like Obito, were killed by Root.

Could I stop the massacre? No, the best I could do is offer them a hamburger. Will it happen? Most likely, yes.

Sure, Kushina somehow survived in this alternate Naruto universe, but the Uchiha are still feared here, just like in the original. The only way the massacre might not happen is if Danzo is on good terms with them, but honestly, that seems unlikely, especially given how people feel about the clan.

As for when it'll happen, I can't say for sure. I think it went down when Sasuke was in the academy, so maybe this year, maybe next - graduation time.

As much as I'd like to do something, I just don't have enough time. If I had five or six years, maybe, but not in a year or half a year. I've only just started to settle into Konoha.

The one I feel sorriest for is Mikoto. She's a wonderful woman - the kind any decent guy would want as a wife. And now, she's not a stranger to me anymore. She's already tugged at a few heartstrings, just like Kushina.

Life is so unfair. One is doomed to die because of her short-sighted husband, and the other was left alone with her daughter because of her husband's heroics. Though, of all people, I can't judge Minato - at least in this universe, Naruto, sorry, Naruko, still has her mother.

Ah, Mikoto, should I tell you what's coming? Would it change anything? She'd probably just think I'm crazy. And keeping her locked up until it all blows over… yeah, I doubt she'd thank me for that. And how would I even do it? It's sad…

 I just hope I can come up with something.

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