Really, I should have guessed that I would nearly get crushed to death the moment I entered the Village. But I was naive and stupid, so I wasn't thinking. And now I'm paying for it.

"Kiba!" I shout, struggling to remove his arms from around me. "Hinata!" She has her arms around my neck, and both of them are currently squeezing the life out of me.

Then, the two of them are both plucked away from, held aloft by Kakashi. Kiba struggles pitifully, kicking his legs in an attempt to free himself from Kakashi's grasp. Both he and Hinata are being held by the backs of their jackets, both red faced.

Hinata's embarrassed, Kiba's pissed.

Just like old times.

"Good to see you, Akari."

I look over my shoulder at Shino, just walking up with his hands in his pockets. "You too, Shino," I say, offering him an enthusiastic smile.

He nods and looks over at our teammates' predicament. And I swear I hear him CHUCKLE. Kami, is this a sign of the apocalypse?!

"Hey, Kakashi," I say, gaining his attention. He drops Kiba unceremoniously, then gently sets Hinata on the ground. "While you go get chewed out by Lady Tsunade, I'm gonna head to your house. I really need to change..." My voice drops off as I survey my dirty, ruined clothing. Damn you Kabuto.

Kakashi nods. "Sounds good," he says, starting towards Hokage's Tower, one hand in his pocket. He offers a lazy wave over his shoulder, and I smile at his retreating figure.

In the next instant, Hinata is gripping my hand, pulling me along the street.

"H-Hinata?" I ask, slightly scared as to what's going on. Hinata isn't a very forward person. If she's taking charge...

"It's a surprise, Akari," she says in her soft voice, smiling just as softly.

"Ah, ok," I say uncertainly, casting a look back at the boys. "Hey Gaara!" I call.

He looks up and locks eyes with me.

"Do you know where you're going?" I ask, worried that he has no idea where his siblings are. "If you need help, tell Kiba to show you around!"

I see him nod in acknowledgement, before I'm dragged around a corner and lose sight of him.

Hinata drags me all the way to Kakashi's, and waits impatiently as I unlock the door and head inside. She forces me into my room, though how she knows which one is mine is beyond me. Byakugan maybe?

"Ok," she says, smiling behind her hand. "Now to get you ready."

"For what?" I raise an eyebrow at my normally shy teammate. What in Kami's name is going on here?

"For your welcome back party!"

Ah, wasn't expecting that.

"....party?"

"Yes! Kiba and I organized it! We're having a relaxing day at the hot springs to celebrate your coming back."

Oh. So not my return from the mission. My return to sanity, as it were. Ok then. I can get on board with that.

"Sounds fun," I say, grinning broadly.

About half an hour later, I'm ready for the hot springs. For some reason, for people under eighteen, they require you to wear a bathing suit. Maybe so they don't ruin our innocence. Whatever. I'm not really complaining. I'm a bit squeamish.

The only suit I own is a simple black one piece with pretty wave designs trailing along the fabric in a soft blue. I throw a cover-up over that and leave my feet barefoot.

Hinata asks me to go with her to her home, so she can change as well. She takes about as long as I did, emerging some thirty minutes later in a pale tan cover-up.

It's about the same color as her bulky jacket she's always wearing. I'm beginning to think it's her favorite color.

We make our way to the hot springs, bypassing the changing area and going to the springs themselves.

There's a few people already there.

"Kiba invited these guys?" I ask Hinata, raising my eyebrow. She giggles. "Yes, he did."

Already in the steaming water are Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and to my surprise, Temari. They all look up at our approach and smile widely.

"Akari!" Tenten shouts gleefully, waving at me. I smile in response. None of them freak out the way my teammates or Kakashi did, and I must say I'm grateful. I can't take any more tackle hugging today.

Hinata and I pull off our cover-ups an toss them over a flat rock at the edge of the springs. I hold back a gasp as I realize Hinata is wearing, of all things, a bikini!

And so are the rest of the girls.

"Am I really the only here with any modesty?" I huff, sliding into the water beside Sakura. She giggles at me, catching onto my meaning fairly quickly.

"Apparently," Ino says, flicking a strand of hair from her face, "you're the only one here with self esteem issues."

I turn a burning scarlet, and it's only partially caused by the boiling water surrounding me.

I hear a nervous splash from the other side of the dividing wooden fence, the boy's side. That's right, I was wondering about Kiba and the others. It's not like we have mixed bathing in Konoha.

"Ino!" Hinata cries, throwing her hands to her mouth. "T-that's mean!"

"It's true," the haughty blonde replies. "Akari is the only girl in this spring that doesn't want to show off."

"Would you like me to freeze the water, Ino?" I ask seriously, lifting my hand from the water. The droplets falling from my skin become icicles as they drop back into the water, melting in an instant. "I'm sure you'd make a very beautiful ice sculpture." I smile a bit devilishly and she swallows, shaking her head furiously.

"Thought not," I mutter smugly.

Barks of laughter erupt from behind the fence, and I smirk. Kiba is so easily identifiable.

"Excuse me for a moment," I say to the girls, climbing to my feet. Water falls off me in dripping sheets, and for a brief moment, the memory of Kabuto nearly killing me with his torrent of water resurfaces. Then I shake off the memory of a few days ago and reach up, grab the edge of the fence, and pull myself up so that I can peer into the pool below.

"Hey Kiba!" I say brightly, spotting the Inuzuka with ease. "Thanks for the party! I needed this."

He grins at me, Akamaru atop his head. The Ninken barks, clearly excited to see me again, even if we only saw each other an hour ago.

I rest my arms ?on the top of the fence, able to hold myself up with little difficulty.

"Heya, Slothy," I greet, smiling at my best friend, who's sitting at the edge of the pool with his legs dangling in the water. He blinks at me, then grins back. Good, no one's making a fuss about my change in temperament. I don't really need the reminded, anyway.

Other boys in the pool? Choji, Neji, whom I'm not really paying attention to, and Shino, who is so far sunk into the water that only his nose and above are visible. And as I glance down, I spot two familiar, but unexpected, faces.

"I didn't think Sand Ninja liked the hot springs," I muse, grinning down at Kankuro, who's actually kind of cute without his black suit and face paint on, and Gaara.

Yikes.

They're both shirtless.

Sure all the others are too, but it's different. I haven't known these two all my life, haven't seen them in this situation before. Ugh, I'm getting as bad as Ino.

"We got an offer to join the party," Kankuro says, linking his hands behind his head. "Couldn't pass it up, now could we?"

"Well you could have," I say, swinging my legs up and over the fence. I perch there, gripping the wood with both hands, off to the side a little so that I'm not directly over Gaara and Kankuro. "But I would never have spoken to you again," I finish, smiling pleasantly.

Kankuro sweat drops.

"Hey, Akari!"

I look back at the girls. Sakura looks furious, her eye twitching and her teeth gritted. "Yeah?" I answer nervously.

"Were they listening to our conversation?"

Oh.

Every boy, besides the Sand Genin, blanches, guilt written all over their faces. I wink at them.

"Course not, Sakura," I call back, smiling easily. "Kiba's just being obnoxious as usual."

His cheeks color as an indignant expression crosses his face. "Obnoxious?" he repeats, lifting his nose into the air. "Not possible," he declares.

But the girls relax, relieved Ino's comments "weren't" heard by the boys. I'm kinda happy about that; least they weren't intentionally trying to humiliate me.

I smile down at the girls, then return my attention to the boys. "Kiba, you're the king of being obnoxious. Worse than Naruto, really. We held a vote."

"What?!?!"

"Yeah," Shikamaru agrees lazily, stretching his arms above his head, yawning like he's been up the entire night. "You won by a landslide."

"Stop joking around!"

"Who's joking?" Shino says calmly, somehow audible despite the fact that his mouth is underwater. Jeeze, Kakashi let me see his face. What's Shino's problem?

"That right!" I say, giving the Inuzuka a closed eye smile, swinging my legs contentedly. "It was between you and Naruto for a while. Then the whole 'I'm gonna set Shino's hair on fire' thing happened."

"I was high!"

"Excuses, excuses," I laugh, thoroughly enjoying how red his face is becoming.

A few soft giggles sound from behind me; so the girls ARE paying attention, huh?

"Relax, Kiba," I say, waving a hand at him. "We're just having some fun. Isn't that the point of any party?" I ask, tilting my head to side.

As his face turns a deeper shade of crimson, everyone laughs. Until a yelp escapes me as a hand clamps around my ankle and drags me off the fence and into the water, throwing up a huge splash.

I resurface, completely drenched and seething. Who the HELL has the nerve to pull a stunt like that?

Ah. Neji.

I hadn't noticed him approach the fence, because I was ignoring him. And he took advantage of my lack of concentration. Damn him!

"Neji," I growl, brushing strands of wet hair from my eyes. "If I get kicked out for being on this side, I'm shaving your head!"

He just smirks at me, arrogant as ever.

"That's it!" I attempt to lunge at him, wanting to freeze the water in his body, but two arms lock around my waist, holding me in place.

"Let go, Shikamaru!" I demand, looking up at him. He shakes his head, also smirking. "Can't do that, Akari," he informs me lightly. "Murder is a crime, you know. Don't need my best friend getting sent to jail."

I huff as he releases me, creating another splash as I fall into the water. "Fine," I mutter, kicking away from Neji and pressing my back against the sweating wooden fence.

"You ok, Akari?" Sakura shouts from her side. I sigh and answer affirmatively. Another bout of giggles fills the air once they know I'm alright.

"Damn Hyuga," I mutter, sinking deeper into the water. My hand brushes someone's arm, and I glance up to find that Gaara, though strangely not Kankuro, is as drenched as I am.

Man, he must have gotten hit when Neji pulled me in!

"Sorry!" I squeak, sitting up straighter, swiping the dripping hair from my eyes. "I didn't realize you got soaked too."

Gaara's eyes roll up, looking at the soaking wet red hair now falling in front of his face, as though he's only just noticed. He reaches up and brushes the water from his eyes with one hand. Then he looks back at me, offering his rare, yet comforting smile.

"It's not a problem," he says. Behind him, Kankuro is snickering behind his hand, laughing at me and Gaara for whatever reason. I frown at him, but don't say anything.

After another minute of listening to the boys' easy banter, I abruptly stand and start out of the pool.

"What're you doing?" Kiba asks, swimming to the edge just as I step out.

"I don't want to get in trouble for being in here," I say, casting a dirty look back at Neji, who skillfully ignores me while talking to Shikamaru. "I'll head back to the girls' side."

"But wait!" Kiba cries, jumping from the water and grabbing me around the waist. "This party was my idea! You have to stay with us!"

"Don't go all perverted on me," I say, elbowing his side.

"I'm not," he insists. "I just... you're my friend, we finally you back and..." His voice trails off and he steps back, letting go of me.

I blink, before softly smiling. I turn around and wrap my arms around Kiba's neck, hugging him tightly. "Ok, if it means that much to you," I whisper, against his ear so no one else hears.

Then I shove him back into the water, jumping in after him. Besides, I can get revenge on Neji easier from this side.

Just as my head breaks the surface, someone clamps onto my hand and pulls me through the water, parking me next to Gaara. He glares over my head at his brother, who smiles cheekily before swiftly swimming away. Leaving us alone.

Kankuro ends up next to Kiba. The Sand Genin whispers something in the Inuzuka's ear, and a grin lights up his face. He grins at me, sending me a thumbs up.

I blink. What... what the hell?

Looking at Gaara provides no answers. He's only steadily glaring at his brother, eye twitching in annoyance. Quite obviously, he's as pissed as I would like to be. But I find that I'm pretty calm and content with the situation. And I don't like seeing Gaara so upset. He deserves to be happy for once in his life, now that he's changed.

I reach for his hand underwater, entwining our fingers. His irritated expression instantly vanishes from his face as he turns to look at me, eyes wide in surprise. I smile, squeezing his hand. And I don't drop the smile, even when I hear Kiba and Kankuro's excited whisperings.

After the slightest moment of hesitation, Gaara returns my smile, relaxing in the water again.

I've never really noticed before, but Gaara's pretty cute. Especially when he's this relaxed. And I love his eyes. Even back before the Chunin Exams, when they were filled with hate, they were that beautiful sea-foam color. Huh. I guess if I could recognize beauty back then, I didn't fear him as much as I thought.

And now... How I feel about him... I think I--

"Cannonball!!"

I instinctively duck under the water, dragging Gaara with me, as someone catapults into the hot spring.

Both Gaara and I pop back up, and catch sight of Naruto, grinning sheepishly at everyone he caught in his massive splash.

"I warned you not to do that," a weary voice sighs.

Oh man, it's Kakashi. Bare chested, yet still wearing a mask, he slips into the pool after Naruto, shaking his head at his student. Currently, Naruto is surrounded by all the other boys, killing intent rolling off them in waves. As he disappears beneath the water, dragged down by more than a half dozen hands, I duck behind Gaara.

"Are you alright?" he asks curiously, his voice a whisper, as though he recognizes that I don't want to be noticed.

I nod. "Yeah," I whisper back. "I'm just nervous Kakashi'll get mad if he sees me here."

"He isn't mad."

I jump at Kakashi's voice. From his place at the edge of the pool, he smiles at me beneath his mask. "I trust you, if not the guys," he says, rolling his eyes, both of them since his headband is off, at the guys, who are engaged in a wrestling match as they each try to pummel Naruto. Only Shino is exempt. But that's probably because he's already out of the pool, wrapping a towel around his wet hair and simultaneously hiding his face. He waves over his shoulder, presumably at me, before disappearing back into the changing rooms.

Can't he be normal for once and show me his goddamn face?

"Hey Kakashi," I say, peeking at him over Gaara's shoulder. "Where's the Uchiha?"

"Sasuke?" He shrugs, sinking into the pool with a contented sigh. "He's... How do I put this?" He scratches the back of his head, one eye scrunched closed. "Sasuke is... lost. Lost on the road of life."

"..... So. Very. Cheesy."

Kakashi rolls his eyes and turns away, effectively ending our conversation.

"Why are you concerned about Sasuke?" Gaara asks curiously.

I start, upset that it seems like I was showing concern for that jerk. "I'm not," I say pointedly, grinding my teeth at the mere thought. "I just thought that it was weird. The rest of his team is here, but he's... whatever the hell Kakashi was trying to say. I honestly couldn't care less about that bastard. He cares too much about power for my liking."

"You don't desire power? I thought that most Ninja strived to get stronger."

"Don't get me wrong," I say, running my fingers through my long black hair in an attempt to detangle it. I fail miserably, my fingers caught in the damn knots. "I DO want to become stronger. But it's only because I want to protect my Village, my friends and my...." I almost say 'family'. But I don't have any of that left. So I swallow and push on. "Sasuke on the other hand, from what I've gathered about him... he just wants revenge. And that revenge will solve nothing and help no one..." My voice trails off as I recall Itachi's confession. I told Gaara but he's the only other person who knows what the elder Uchiha said to me. And Kakashi doesn't even know about the Akatsuki encounter, or about Kabuto. I made Gaara promise that he wouldn't say anything. I'm safe in the Leaf Village, and I don't want to worry anyone.

"You're right," Gaara says, snapping me from my thoughts. "That's not a reason to want to acquire power."

I nod, resting my head back against the fence.

"Is everything alright?" Gaara asks when I remain silent for a few minutes.

"Yeah," I say, rubbing my eyes. Images of our fight with Kabuto keep flashing through my vision, blotting out the real world. "I'm just thinking..."

"Having the time to think can be a terrible burden." I can tell from the look in his eyes that he knows exactly what thoughts are running through my mind.

I nod my agreement and reach for his hand again. I take comfort in the warmth of his hand pressed against mine, and manage to discard all thoughts of the gray-haired "Genin".

***

The party lasts for a few more hours, and during that time, Kiba somehow manages to coax the other girls to their side of the pool. I mostly just spend time with Gaara and his siblings, though. Temari and I are finally acting how we used to, and I can't deny how great it feels for things to be back to normal between us.

Before the party (more like vacation from life) ends, Kakashi and I walk back to his place. Shikamaru offered to walk me home because Kakashi had to leave early, but I decided I was tired and wanted to hit the hay a little earlier than usual.

"Feeling better?" Kakashi asks. We walk through the lit up streets of Konoha, bright twinkling lights keeping the jovial mood up.

I smile, before dissolving into a yawn. "Yeah, a lot better actually. I needed to unwind after... after finally seeing their graves."

He wraps his arm around my shoulders comfortingly. "I understand," he says, and I have no doubt he's telling the truth.

Inside his apartment, we take our separate ways, after I say goodnight to Kakashi.

I quickly change into my night clothes: An overlarge purple shirt and white shorts with purple polka dots. Then I collapse onto my bed, sighing in relief. I really am exhausted. We didn't sleep much on the trip back to the Village. That didn't really affect Gaara, but me? Different story.

Just as I close my heavy eyelids, something about my room's atmosphere changes.

Chakra!

A hand slams onto my back, pinning me down no matter how hard I struggle. "Forbidden Jutsu: Four Barriers Chakra Sealing!" a voice hisses.

In the next instant, every ounce of chakra is ripped from my body, and I pass out into darkness.