Akira folded her fingers nervously together, the ticking of the clock making her flinch slightly every time she heard its monotonous, yet loud song bouncing off the blank walls in the empty room. She was currently waiting outside of the Principal's office for a sudden meeting they had called her for during her English class. Due to the fact that she had never been called to the office was making her nervous, and trying to think about what she had done to get there was starting to get to her.

 After fifteen painful minutes of waiting, the wooden door opened, revealing an man in his late fifties, his height being shorter than hers, and crow's feet adorned chocolate eyes staring at her with a gentle gaze. "Miss Yamada?"

 "Y-Yes?" Akira asked nervously, practically jumping out of her seat in a failed attempt to break the heavy atmosphere that was causing her to practically choke.

 "You may now enter the office."

 . . .

 "I'm sorry to inform you that you can't attend Konoha Private School anymore."

 The phrase of the elderly man echoed in Akira's ears, her mouth hanging open, and eyes widened out of shock. 

 "Wh-What?" was all she could mutter before the principal motioned for her to stop talking. He clearly had something to say that could explain the suddeness of her abrupt removal from the school.

 The man then interlaced his fingers together and placed his elbows on the wooden and seemingly expensive desk. He stared intently at the young female for a moment before sighing and saying, "We just received a call from your father, Mr Sato Yamada. He informed us that you will be switching schools. That means you... are to leave Konoha Private School, Miss Yamada." 

 Akira bit her bottom lip, struggling to keep back the bitter tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes. "I... I see," she mumbled before standing up and making her own way towards the door. Every step she was taking only made her heart ache and sink into the pitiful darkness she had to face soon: loneliness. All of her friends were here... and leaving them behind only made it even more painful.

 The voice of the principal stopped her, his words ringing as a warning in her ears: "Oh, and your father informed me that he is going to pick you up from the school in fifteen minutes. I wish you the best at your new school, Miss Yamada."

 Akira didn't stay any longer to hear anything else. She quickly rushed out of the office and stumbled down the hallway in an attempt to reach class 3-B. Arriving outside of the door to said classroom, she knocked on the door before opening it. A few pairs of eyes turned to look at her. Clearing her throat, she bowed respectfully to the teacher. "Sensei, I have a call from the office for Subaku Gaara," she said, her voice formal. 

 The red-haired teen she was referring to, turned his head to look at her, suspicion visible in his pale green eyes. The teacher nodded in agreement, before turning his attention back to the lesson. 

 Gaara stood up and made his way towards the brunette. Akira subtly smirked at him before stepping back. 

 When he closed the door behind him, his sharp gaze turned to Akira. "What do you--," but he was cut off because she had already grabbed his hand and was dragging him along with her. The red head gave her an irritated look; he seemed totally pissed off but he let it go, considering Akira was his best friend ever since they were kids. Something serious must have happened to her, since she had called him out in the middle of his lesson.

 The grip on his sleeve slowly loosened  as her feet seemingly struggled to go further. Once they reached the garden of the school, Akira fell on her knees, her hands immediately veiled her trembling face.

 Gaara sympathetically looked down at her, his eyebrow-less brows furrowed and serious scowl shrouding his normally blank face. "Akira? What are you... doing?" he asked, his voice evidently filled with concern. 

 Akira sniffled and fought hard to force back the sobs, but it was obvious that she was crying. When she removed her hands, her face was flustered and her glasses were stained with tears. Gaara, not knowing what was troubling his childhood friend, sat right in front of her and examined every inch of her face closely. "Akira... Tell me what happened," he said in a demanding, yet soft tone. 

 Akira finally calmed herself down enough, and looked up at him with her bloodshot eyes. "Gaara... I... I'm leaving," she confessed, the wind blowing her hair to the side. The red haired boy looked back at her with a new expression on his face, his wide eyes staring at her in shock.

 "Wha-What?" was all he could say, his fast-paced heart skipping a beat. Akira and Gaara had been friends since they were little kids and even if Gaara would sometimes be in his own world, Akira would always do funny things so he would take notice of her. They were attending the same school... until now. 

 Their paths were finally being separated.

 Akira wiped away her tears and faked a laugh, her nervousness making her go crazy to the point of hysterical laughter. "Gaara... my father called the school and informed them that this year.. was my last. I have one week left until I have to leave this school... and everyone behind," she paused and solemnly glanced away, "I'm... sorry." Her heart felt like bleeding to a fatal point and at that moment... time seemingly froze. 

 The silence, however, was cut off by a sudden honk of a car horn. Her father, Sato Yamada, was currently looking at her behind the glass of his window, motioning for her to come quickly. Akira muttered a small apology and wiped her friend's cheek, muttering something before running off.

 Gaara wondered why she had wiped his cheek and when he touched it, he realized that a tear had slipped from his eye. He was confused. He hadn't cried in such long time ago---not since he had lost both his parents under unknown circumstances. 

 The last words of Akira replayed over in his mind:

 "I'm sorry, Gaara."

 ~*~*~*~*~

 The ginger-haired girl closed the door of the car behind her, putting her glasses back on once she had wiped away the rest of her tears. The man in the driver's seat remained silent and drove off, his eyes glaring in the rear-view mirror back at Gaara. Sato never trusted Gaara Subaku and he had never had a good relationship with the boy's family either. 

 "Father..." Akira whispered, looking down at her hands which were resting on her lap. "Why... why are you doing this to me?"

 The man's grip on the steering wheel tightened, but his eyes stayed glued on the road in front of him. "Akira," he said---not showing any emotion yet, "Do you remember the Akatsuki gang I've been after for all of these years?" 

 She nodded in recognition of the name. The Akatsuki was a famous gang. They had been tormenting society for quite sometime now. Though, ten years ago, something had happened and her father had become obsessed with the idea of finding out who the members of the Akatsuki gang were and especially, who the leader was. As a policeman, he could easily collect information, but the Akatsuki knew how to cover their traces better than any normal criminal gang. These guys were professionals.

 The female furrowed her eyebrows, a question scratching away in the back of her mind: Just what exactly did the Akatsuki have to do with her having to leave Konoha Private School?

 "Today," her father continued, "we found their current location. However, it seems that the gang has new members who are experts at committing heinous crimes, yet the leader remains the same: concealed. We decided to send an undercover agent into their shelter, to join their mysterious gang in order to find out just who their leader is."

 "But Father!" Akira interrupted, clearly frustrated with his explanation, because, to her, they didn't seem logical at all. "What does all of this have to do wi--"

 "Akira, don't interrupt me ever again," Sato growled, his grey eyes staring intensively at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Now... as I was saying, we need to send an undercover agent. The members, however, are confirmed to be attending high school, more specifically Shinobi Academy, an all-boys' school, and for the role of the spy, the most suitable person would be... you."

 The man's words stabbed her right in her heart. So that was what all this was about? She was going as an undercover in another school so she could find out who the gang leader was...? That was what this was all about...?

 Akira tried not to scream out loud, but internally she was about to explode. The girl's widened eyes hadn't bothered to return to their normal shape as she looked over at him and said, "Father... I'm going as an undercover agent in an all-boys' school next year so I can join their gang? That's insane! How am I going to-"

 "I have everything settled. You have a fair knowledge of martial arts and know how to wield a katana; you will learn how to use a gun from me. You don't have many characteristics that would give away the fact that you're a girl and your hair isn't too long so it should be easy to pass as a boy," he paused for a moment as he turned the wheel and drove down the street leading to their home. "I have already contacted the Shinobi Academy's principal, Miss Tsunade, and she told me that the teachers will already have knowledge of your role in being there--"

 Her father continued explaining all those things to her but she wasn't listening. Her thoughts were somewhere else, possibly in a parallel dimension---somewhere away from reality. 

 The Shinobi Academy... and the Akatsuki?! Like hell I'm going to agree to that!

// edited by MadameAndiSenpai - 12/3/2015 //