- Chapter 09 -

Uchihas in the road, Akira on the go

Around mid-day, a gloomy black car was parked out of the lively amusement park. Tiny sun rays invading in the car through the transparent windows and laying on the skin of the two persons sitting inside. The driver was letting it make the hot impact on him but the cover besides him was covering themselves with a piece of cloth because of their apathy against it.

"So", the driver began and furrowed his eyebrows, "why did you beat up that guy and gained your second detention within a month?"

The ginger's look hardened and her hands tightened their grip around the door handle, "He insulted mom."

Sato pressed his lips in a thin line and almost punched the car's wheel. When he had noticed Akira returning back home, her bruises on her legs and the bandage around her were visible and he knew that the best thing he could do was not to question her anything about it. The only time she had talked to him was before they went to sleep. Akira had requested him to drive her to the amusement park the other day and surprisingly, he agreed without needing any explanations. Sato was rarely seeing his daughter being so serious and stoic and when it was happening, something really bad was going on.

Akira turned the handle of the door and hopped off the car. Her father leaned towards the open window and shot her a cold look, "If you see that guy again, kill him and burn his body. I approve."

"Believe me, I won't hesitate." A small smirk appeared on her face as she walked to the gate of the meeting place and stood there calmly. The meeting place was an old but entertaining amusement park which was chosen by the mastermind himself. The black car stayed in its position and the ginger could imagine her father observing the almost empty road to spot her summoners. It was truly complicated how she ended up there. . .

.

Akira hit her back on the wall of the dead end and watched the identical figures nearing towards her. There was no way out, she was completely trapped. It's funny how she had gotten away from danger once and now, it had found her again and was putting her life in jeopardy.

"What do you want?" the ginger managed to ask with a shake voice and clenched her fist, ready to attempt a meaningless escape.

Surprisingly enough, Kuro was smirking too, "Sheesh. Such a coward you are."

"We are not going to hurt you, Akira. Even if we were, you couldn't protest anyway in your current situation. We are here to deliver a message", Shiro informed and flicked out a spotless paper. Its folded maze was securing the secret within it and the shortie was eager to learn. Soon, he handed her the paper and all she did was to stare weirdly at it.

"Be there at 12 a.m. sharp."

.

And there she stood, clueless about what was going on or whether someone was going to appear. Fate was playing games with her and both were determined to win. Akira checked her watch. 12:00 a.m. Speak of the devil; two figures approached her and she made a quick guess by assuming that the Zetsu twins were her summoners.

However, the shortie heard a deep and seductive voice instead of the gentle voice of Shiro, "Hey, Akira-kun."

"Itachi-senpai" Akira called out and shifted her gaze up on the Uchiha. His commonly simple expression was replaced with a happy one and a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Her brown eyes wandered around to find the source of his happiness and they soon found it on the second person; the only and one Sasuke Uchiha.

. . .

In the opposite side of the amusement park, two other persons entered it and blended with the crowd. But they couldn't disappear because who was going to ignore a hot red head and an alive Barbie doll who was actually a boy? Too bad for them that a person besides them hissed the four forbidden words: "such a cute couple~." Both decided to ignore the stares as they always did; they were partners, not a couple and certainly not even friend, mainly because their perceptions were completely different.

"One more of this shit and I'm going to blow them up", the blonde threatened and clenched his jaw. "They are annoying, un!"

The red head besides him sight and deadpanned as always, "If you weren't looking like a freaking Barbie doll, none of this would have happened. Besides, if you want to kill someone, you should stop playing with Play Doh, brat."

"And you shall stop constructing those Barbie dollies for the Barbie Industry, Sasori-danna."

"Maybe I should so you would stop dressing like them."

Deidara was ready to take out some of his clay birds and blow up Sasori but his phone rang at the critical moment and interrupted his devious schemes. Conversing with the person on the phone, a sly grin made its way up to his face and he hung up after a minute. Sasori turned to him with his emotionless expression. The blonde smiled broadly and gave him his thumbs-up,

"Target located. Mission: start."

. . .

Akira stared with utter surprise at Sasuke in front of her and he equally stared back at her. Onyx eyes boring in brown ones and the weasel looking in between them, guessing that either they knew each other from before or it was love at first sight.

"One thing", Itachi broke the intense silence and looked at the short student. "If you're becoming gay for my brother, I'm not letting you have him."

The ginger snapped out of her perplexed thoughts and waved her hands in front of her nervously, being immune to Itachi's teasing comments. "Eeh? No way! I'm straight as steel! Not even mentioning that I don't even recall knowing. . . this guy."

However, Sasuke gave her an 'are you an idiot' look and pointed a finger accusingly at her, "What is she doing here?" he asked with a demanding voice and pressed the 'she'.

Itachi looked at both with a baffling glint in his eyes which seek answers. The ginger panicked on the inside but remained calm at the outside. She pretended to stifle a laugh and smiled cheekily at the young Uchiha, "That must have been a misunderstanding. I may look feminine but I'm a guy! And I'm certain about it because I don't remember myself changing sex", she waved it off with a laugh and glanced in a warning manner at Sasuke when Itachi wasn't looking.

Sasuke freezed in his position, "Ah, I see. I suppose I messed you up with someone else."

A small grin displayed on Itachi's face and he nudged his younger brother, "Daydreaming about Haruka-san again, hm?"

The younger gritted his teeth and left a small 'tch' sound. Akira turned to Itachi and threw her arms on the air, "So. . . Why was I summoned here? Shiro-kun scared the shit outta me to deliver me this message."

"Message? Which message?" Itachi questioned and blinked at her.

The shortie blinked too in confusion and searched in her pockets, taking out a crumpled piece of paper and handing it to him. "The message Shiro-kun gave me yesterday? To meet someone here at this time?" Itachi rose an eyebrow at her and returned the paper back after reading it.

"Sasuke and I were simply passing by and we randomly met you. I don't even know who this 'Shiro-kun' guy is." he explained and his brother stood there, clueless. A small smile appeared on the weasel's face and he closed his eyes, "How about joining us, Akira-kun? You can get to know my brother better too."

"I really don't know if I should-"

"Just follow, butternut." Akira turned at Sasuke with a dumbfounded expression lingering on her face. It wasn't only that he had just talked on his own for the first time today, it was the nickname he called her too. 'Butternut' was his nickname for her back in Konoha High; he was calling her that mainly to tease her for her hair color.

Recovering from the shock, the ginger stepped forward and brought her face close to his so he could clearly see the glare forming in her eyes, "What did you call me, bird-ass?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes simultaneously at Akira when he heard his old nickname being brought on the surface again, "Butternut."

"Wanna pick up a fight, bastard?"

"Foolish little brother. . . and partner in crime" Itachi called out, deciding to play around with his nicknames for them and mess up with his two younger acquaintances. "Did we come here to fight or to entertain ourselves?"

"You make it sound dirty, Itachi-senpai."

"Tch. Who was wondering. . ."

Itachi fought back his urge to kill them both on the spot but restrained himself from committing a crime and kept calm. Before anyone could say something further, a ringing noise was sounded among them and the older one took out his own phone. "I've got to pick this up. Why don't you go in and have some fun? I'll be back soon." In a split second, Itachi was gone from their sight, leaving the two freshmen in their own fate.

Akira glanced at the position where the black car was suited before. In fact, not only it was there, but her father was sitting in the passenger's seat and he was watching every slight movement, inspecting every little detail. That was the thing which was creeping Akira out concerning her father and she decided that it would be more wise to transfer their conversation in the park. Besides, no one would understand what they were chatting about and that was an advantage and a good cover for them.

"Come. Quickly." Akira walked in the park with the Uchiha following, taking some peeks at Itachi who was still talking with the person who had called him.

Suddenly, Sasuke snatched her wrist and pulled her behind a stall where no one could see them. Akira almost left a gasp and let him drag her so they could talk freely. When he finally released her hand, the ginger was pushed against the thin wall of the stall and the Uchiha's hand was slammed besides her head. His signature glare was formed on his eyes, "Talk."

Akira bent down and stood in front of him with a calm expression on her face, "Don't be too violent, dude. What did they teach you in school?"

"Cut out the crap and talk."

The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully but signalled him a negative answer. "Haha, no. No way, Uchiha." Sasuke was losing his patience with that girl and when he was demanding something, it must have been brought at him. To steer clear of failure, Sasuke looked at her dangerously and waited for a clear answer. What he didn't know was that Akira wouldn't break so easily. Herself was very stubborn with her opinions and she wouldn't give up unless the situation was crucial and difficult to be in.

Finally, Sasuke let out a 'hn' sound and sat by the small curve of a wall. The ginger, not knowing what else to do, sat besides him and looked up at the sky. "Ya know, bird-ass. . . I hate to say that but I think that I miss all of you back there."

Sasuke huffed and stayed quiet. He was eager to learn more and he knew that his silence would have some results. It wasn't long before Akira finally broke and began revealing some information to the young Uchiha.

"My father forced me to attend Shinobi Academy. A boys' school. Also, I have to chase a gang of teenage criminals without being killed and discovered to be a girl. Do you realize the stupid and unrealistic situation I am in?" The girl could say much more but she wouldn't. Her instinct was telling her that Sasuke had understood much more than she had revealed and that was a result of his smartness.

Sasuke fisted her shoulder lightly and closed his eyes, "A new, troublesome student who wants to be a yakuza leader has joined our school. A girl- the Haruka Itachi mentioned before- is 'hating' me and for once in a century, I hate her too but lov-- like her at the same time. Plus, dog boy is hitting on her."

Akira looked at him surprised and let out a loud laughter, filling their small space. "The heck? The Uchiha ass is in love? And the Inuzuka is seducing the Uchiha's crush? Sasuke, you are in a love complex situation. Good luck, dude."

"Hn. Just let me murder Inuzuka and give me some good advice for Haruka."

"Calling her by her first name, hm? I see. Well, what you've got to do is quite simple actually. . . Confess to her already" Akira spit out and received a slap on the back of her head. "Ouch! Stupid ass!" The girl rubbed the back of her head and pouted childishly at Sasuke who just smirked triumphantly.

All of sudden, an unfamiliar mop of blonde hair stumbled in front of them, looking like the person was pushed inside. When the person adjusted their gaze up, a cute girl with short blonde hair stared at them with her deep brown eyes. For some inexplicable reason, the girl's eyes widened at the sight of Akira and Sasuke and without losing any other time, she turned around and ran away as abruptly as she had entered.

"What the eff was. . . that-" Akira stopped halfway at her sentence when she noticed that Sasuke's eyes were widened as equally as the blonde girl's from before and he was staring at the place she had stumbled at before.

"Haru. . . ka. . ." Before the ginger could ask him what he was saying, he had already shot up from his seat besides her and had sped off towards the direction of the girl. Silence filled the place for once more and no movements could be observed at the small place behind the stall.

Finally, Akira threw her arms on the air and depression lines appeared at the side of her head. "God! Why does everyone have to leave me without an explanation? Am I really that despicable?" Firstly, it was Gaara, then it was Itachi and now it is Sasuke. I get it, next up is my sanity!

"Akira-kun."

"Eeehh?!" Akira jumped up when she heard a voice coming a few meters besides her and looked abruptly at the person. It was Itachi who was standing near the wall of the stall with a perplexed expression on his face. The girl's face paled and she bit her cheek from the inside. How much had he heard.

Itachi neared her dangerously and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Where is Sasuke?"

A sudden wave of relief washed over her and she smiled cheekily at him, trying to lighten up the tensed atmosphere. "He ran off to somewhere, chasing behind a blondie. Guess that's the new way of flirting."

The Uchiha chuckled softly and motioned to Akira to follow him, themselves walking out of the back of the stall and off in the crowd. For some reason, the amusement park was overcrowded today and that was a main result of the good weather Konoha city had. Most of the population in there were teenagers and most of them were circling a roller coaster, fighting about who was going to go first.

Akira puffed out her cheeks and turned at the Uchiha who seemed not to be bothered about the constant whining of the adolescents. "So. . . What do you want to do, senpai?"

"Star Flyer." Star Flyer was a popular game around the park. It was like sitting on a swing while being swirled around on the air, at least a handful of feet above the ground. The ginger didn't even hesitate and nodded, following the weasel at the game.

Everything was going according to plan.

. . .

Deidara was hiding behind a column, holding his phone and giving instructions. Sasori was swiftly and secretly loosening the tight chain from up the security room, the security guard being distracted and dropped unconscious by Kisame. Itachi was leading the target in the problematic swing Sasori had modified. Everything was going according to plan. . .

. . . Or maybe not.

"Ita~chi~!"

Both students turned towards the destination of the voice and the next second, Itachi was suffocated in a hug by an unfamiliar female. The weasel stumbled back but managed to catch the girl in time, preventing their fall. When the girl pulled back, black strands of hair bounced back and two green eyes stared at the slightly widened onyx ones. Akira just stared at both questionably and let go of the problematic chair, causing Deidara and Kisame to make an annoyed sound from the distance.

The Uchiha looked at the girl but didn't let go of her, "Shizuka."

The person named 'Shizuka' smiled momentarily at him and made a peace sign. "Yup, that's me! You didn't forget about our date, right?"

"I. . . I certainly didn't-"

"And who is that little. . . guy(?) over there?" Shizuka asked with some hesitation in her voice when her gaze fell on Akira.

The ginger acted quickly and nodded her head, extending her hand towards the newcomer. "Akira Fukui. Nice to meet you. And yes, I'm a guy."

Shizuka stared at the disguised student weirdly before nodding and shaking firmly the girl's hand. "My name is Shizuka Hyuga, nice to meet you, Fukui-kun!" Akira's mind took a turn and confirmed that this was the oldest sibling of the Hyuga family, Shizuka Hyuga, sister to Neji Hyuga and cousin of Hinata Hyuga. But what was she doing there, especially popping out of nowhere and hugging Itachi?

"I suppose you guys are dating, right?" Akira asked when realization hitted her and Shizuka nodded frantically. She seemed to be very enthusiastic, a polar opposite of the stoic Neji and the shy Hinata. On the other hand, Itachi had mixed feelings about this meeting. In the first place, he was happy because he finally got to see his girlfriend after a month but in the second place, he was angry because their plan was completely destroyed. It is just the wrong moment and the wrong place. I can instruct Shizuka to leave and then we can-

"I think I'm going to take my leave now". The statement of Akira made Itachi stiffen internally and the rest of the Akatsuki members who were in the park to frown.

The Uchiha tried to persuade her to stay with a simple fake smile and a wave of his hand, "Akira-kun, I think you should join us. We are going to have fun, just the three of us, right?"

Akira rubbed the back of her head and smiled softly at the weasel, "I'm sorry, Itachi-senpai. Maybe next time. Glad to meet you, Hyuga-san". At the last part, Akira bowed and waved at them.

When she passed by Itachi, she whispered something to him which made the male's eyes widen for a split second and his palm to be balled in a fist. Only him and himself noticed his reaction but he was sure that Akira was no good from now on.

"Next time you'll try and kill me, I'll make sure that every single Akatsuki member will be wiped out."

。。。＊ 。。。＊。。。＊。。。

3,286 words, fellas. That many xD I'm beginning to write more complicated and long chapters which might be beneficial for me. . . Hm, what do you think?

I know that I made Akira a bit overpowered in the end but don't worry, I'll explain to all of you how she discovered that they wanted to kill her in the next chapter. Now, let's just focus on this one and wait patiently (haha) for the author to update soon~ xD

> Also, who do you ship her with at the moment? Any shipping names? <

Dedicated to Peggy-san/-sensei (Peggychan15) for being a supportive friend for life and death and because. . . UCHIHA CHARM ~<3 *slapped*