"Hello to you too, Akai Kiri."

Akai growled. "Don't call me that, Momochi. Don't you remember what I told you years ago? I. Quit. I retired. I don't use that title anymore." She snapped, but Zabuza laughed as his response.

"You can never quit, Akai! Unless you return the sword, you will have to bear your title! Red Mist!"

"As if! We both know that Yagura will only use it for his own benefits!" Akai yelled in anger, "He entrusted it to me, and I will keep it!" She exclaimed, as her free hand pulled out some senbons, the other tightened its grip on her dagger.

"You're hopeless. You really want a duel?" Zabuza asked, chuckling as he lifted his sword.

"Akai! Don't you dare agree! He's a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist! He will-..." Ibiki protested,  but he was cut off by Zabuza himself.

"So you haven't tell him, eh, Akai?" the Momochi taunted, lowering his large blade. Ibiki narrowed his eyes, looking at the girl.

"Akai, what is he talking about?"

Zabuza laughed, sending shivers down Akito and Shin's spines. "This girl... This demon girl is a part of us too! She's a Swordman! Or, should I say, a Swordwoman?" He said, smirking at the last part.

Akai cursed under her breath, glaring at him. "You have no right to spill out my secrets!"

"Why bother, Akai? Why bother hiding the fact that you selfishness made you lost your weak cousins?"

Akai's body starts trembling, in rage but not sadness.

"Mangetsu is far from weak! He's far stronger than you! And Suigetsu is just as great as his brother! The Hozukis are the strongest shinobis in Kiri!"

He chuckled in amusement. "But they're gone, right? Your father is dead, killed in his mission. Mangetsu, your cousin, and unfortunately my student, died in a battle against a group of rouges. And Suigetsu, he was kidnapped by a missing nin from Konoha. They all faced terrible fate, all because of their selflessness. It makes me wants to laugh, knowing-..."

"THAT'S IT!" Akai yelled in anger,  "I'll kill you, tashikani!"

Her team's eyes widen in shock as they saw her chakra ran through her weapon. Akai hold her dagger up in the air, her eyes narrowed in focus.

"HIRAMEKAREI KAIHŌ!!" She screamed. Light flashed around her dagger, and the blade transformed into a large sword.

Shin stared at the sword, observing it. Hiramekarei is a wide, flat blade with two curved indentations near its base, creating a sort of cross-guard. It has two handles, which are connected to one another by a short length of cord. He noticed how Hiramekarei was actually twin swords. The overall sword looks like a flounder fish in shape.

Akai's eyes were locked on her senior, analyzing his every moves. She slowly lowered her sword, holding the hilt tightly.

"I never wanted to show Hiramekarei... I hid it for years, but now, you've forced me." Akai growled, before she threw about 4 senbons at once, aiming for her fellow swordsman, who laughed and jumped away, preparing his own large blade.

"I've been longing for a good fight, Akai! Don't hold back!" He told her, grinning behind the bandages.

"Don't worry." She replied, as she began to run towards him,

"I'LL CUT YOU TO PIECES!!"

And the blades clashed.

| * | * | * | * | * |

Ibiki was far beyond frustrated. He had just found out that his only female student is actually a part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, cousin of the famous Mangetsu Hozuki, and rival of Zabuza Momochi.

He honestly didn't expect that. And to think that Akito and Shin was amazed, instead of shocked...

Akai jumped away, backflipped in the air, and landed smoothly on the ground. She separated the twin swords from each other, before she once again ran at her rival.

Zabuza clicked his tongue in annoyance. He grabbed Kubikiribōchō, and blocked Hiramekarei just a second before the sword went through his throat. Another blade was swung towards his head, and he quickly raised his free hand and threw a fist towards the attacker, who stumbled and fell backwards as the result. She, however, rolled on the ground and stood up, back on her feet.

Akai grunted at her now bruised arm. She didn't move, observing Zabuza. The Momochi has a bruised shin, a large wound on his stomach, and also bleeding shoulder, not including the random cuts on his skin.

Akai herself couldn't beg to differ. She has many wounds, too, but hers are healing faster. And Zabuza didn't fail to notice this.

Akai's eyes narrowed, watching as Zabuza created a water clone, before the two ran towards her. She instinctively raised her swords, aiming for the hearts as she rushed towards them.

The two enemies stepped aside, as they pulled out a kunai, and deflected the blades that were swung towards them, causing Akai to flinch under the pressure. She blinked, to find one of them gone.

In anger, she throws a kick at the remaining Momochi. Her foot hit his face perfectly, and he burst into water after that.

Akai closed her eyes, as she put the twin swords back into one large blade. Holding it tightly with her hands, she took a deep breath, trying to sense his whereabouts.

'I'm going to kill him sooner or later...' Akai thought, 'Where the hell is he...'

'There.'

She teleported right where he is, and immediately blocked his sword. Her eyes widened in realization, as she saw her teammates' shocked faces right behind her.

"A-Akai..."

"Thank K-Kami..."

And that's enough to make her snap. A vicious growl left her lips, as she looked up, revealing her now-blood-red eyes.

"How dare you..." She hissed, as dark blue chakra began to surround her body.

Ibiki's eyes widened, as he quickly pulled his students away from the angry ex-thief.

"HOW DARE YOU TRIED TO HURT THEM?!!!" She screamed, causing Zabuza to quickly jumped away.

Her teeth turned shark-like, as mist began to surround them. The mist is thick, and it was red.

"I'll make you regret this, tashikani." She muttered, before she lifted her sword.

What happened next was a blur. Akai ran at Zabuza in such inhuman speed. Before he could block it, she swung her sword, hitting his chest, creating a huge gash on it. She didn't stop. She bent down, dodging Kubikiribōchō, and pulled out more senbons, lodging them into his chakra points, paralyzing his left arm. Then she kicked his shin hard, smiling when she heard a crack.

She separated the twin swords, and jumped high above him. Her feet kicked his jaw, slamming his body onto the ground, and she landed on him. She kneeled on his bleeding chest, causing him to coughed up blood.

One of the swords was aimed for his hand, and he was forced to let go of the Executioner Blade. The other half of Hiramekarei ripped of the bandages around the lower half of his face, revealing his sharp teeth.

He growled in anger, and in a blink, he already had a kunai stabbed through her stomach. She smirked, watching his hand went through her liquefied body.

"Have you forgotten about my bloodline, Zabu?" She taunted, as she stood up, and got off his body.

The Momochi glared at her, as he slowly sat up, and wiped the blood away from his mouth. He gritted his teeth, as he stumbled on his feet.

He grunted at her. "So the rumors are true. You mastered both your clans' kekkei genkai. Which one will you use as your name, then?"

She raised an eyebrow, before she chuckled softly. The mist got thicker, now completely blocking their view.

"Years ago, I used both of them. Now, I use none. I have no clan, I'm just a part of their bloodlines." She replied.

He narrowed his eyes, as he heard the sound of her sheathing her sword.

"Giving up already?" He asked, as he took Kubikiribōchō and gripped the hilt tightly.

Much to his shock, she laughed. "You're the one who has to give up! Look at your wounds, and what my mist has done to them!"

His eyes widen, as he looked down and realized what's wrong. Most of his cuts had re-opened, and they began to bleed again. The bigger wounds starts to sting more, and he flinched.

"A-Acid?!"

She nodded, grinning. "Congrats, tashikani!"

He growled, as he throws a bunch of kunais, which went through her body.

His glare hardened, as his hand instinctively covered the gash on his chest. "Until next time, Akai. I'll cut off your head." He cussed, before he disappeared.

Akai sighed. The mist cleared, and she punched a nearby tree as a sign of her annoyance.

"F*ck." She hissed, clenching her fist. She pinched the bridge of her nose, as she made her way towards her team, who were watching her every move.

"Stop staring, tashikani." She muttered, "I'm not going to kill you."

Ibiki noticed how her teeth turned normal, how her eyes were back to their grey color. She had her sword on her back, and her clothes has no severe damage. All her wounds are healed already, and to be truthful, he was glad.

"Explain." Is all he told her.

She looked away, motioning the others to follow her.

"So you are a Hozuki." Ibiki stated, more in confirmation.

She pulled out a senbon, and began to twirl it around her fingers. "Half. I'm a half Hozuki." She said, as she lifted her free hand, and turned it into water, staring at it for a while before she turned it back into normal.

"And the other half?"

Before Akai can reply, her teammates had already recover from shock and went crazy.

"You really are a part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?!" Shin exclaimed, as he rushed to her side, followed by Akito.

"And you are that Red Mist?! My brother said that only the Seven Swordsmen know Akai Kiri's real identity! And I can't believe it's my teammate!" The blonde added, grabbing her shoulders.

"How can you fight like that? You're-..."

"Enough!" Ibiki yelled, glaring at his students, "Those facts are proof of how dangerous she is!"

Akai froze, dropping her senbons.

Finally, she spoke. "I know it." She said, as she stopped walking. "Yeah, you're right. I am dangerous. People should have expect that. After all, I'm a criminal. Even worse, I'm a monster."

Her teammates' eyes widened.

"Akai... Please don't say something like that... You're not a monster..." Akito told her.

"You saved us... You're our teammate, and we care about you." Shin added.

"You should just hate me!" She yelled, clenching her fists, "Leave now! Leave me alone! Stop pretending that you care! I know you hate me, so drop the act!"

Before they can protest, she cut them off. "I am a demon! A monster! I failed to protect my own family, despite all my powers! I killed many people just to survive! And I took away what people have, thinking that it might make them suffer like me!"

She turned at Ibiki, tears streaming down her face. "Do whatever you like! Read and mess up my mind! I don't care anymore! You already see the real me! The real Akai Kiri! There's no need for me to hide anymore!"

"And once you're done..." She muttered, "Kill me. Lock me up, torture me, do whatever you want. Feed me to your dogs, burn me alive, it doesn't matter!"

"Akai..." The Morino trailed off, as he approached her. He raised his hand,

and he slapped her cheek, hard.

"Snap out of it, brat. You are Akai. Akai Hozuki. Akai Kiri. A Konoha Shinobi. Stop this nonsense, I can't tolerate it. Would you really throw everything away? Look at your teammates. They don't care about your status, your origin or your identity."

She bit her lip, as she turned. Akito was smiling at her, waving, while Shin is grinning, giving her a peace-sign.

"B-But I-..."

"No but's!" Shin said, as he patted her shoulder, "You are Akai. That's all we care about. Yeah, your status are cool, but without that, you're still awesome!"

She smiled, and turned at Akito. The blonde raised an eyebrow, smirking. Akai narrowed her eyes, and his lips curled into a smile, and he shrugged, giving her a look that said 'You-know-what-I'm-going-to say-already'.

She was about to reply, when suddenly she fell onto her knees, and starts coughing.

"Akai!"

"I-I'm fine! D-Don't... worry... I'm al-..."

She was cut off in her mid-sentence, when her eyes fluttered closed, and she lost her consciousness.

| * | * | * | * | * |

When Akai woke up, they were in the middle of the forest, her arms were tossed over the Morino's shoulder and he was carrying her in a piggy-back style. Her head was rested gently on his shoulder, and no one could see that she had opened her eyes.

"What do you think happened to her, Sensei?" She heard Shin ask, and the Morino shrugged his shoulders causing Akai's head to rise slightly and drop back down.

"I don't know. We can ask her when she wakes up, but for now, we should get home as quick as we can." Ibiki said, and Akai let out a large sigh and turned her head over so she could see her teammates. 

"Akai!" Shin and Akito screamed out, and Morino stopped walking. Her teammates came running towards her and came to a screeching stop beside of Ibiki.

"What happened?!" Her teammates asked in sync, and Akai hesitated for a minute. She couldn't tell them, not yet.

"I just pushed myself too far. Too much chakra use, the fight with Zabuza just kinda wore me out." She said quietly with her head rested on the Morinos shoulder still.  "I shouldn't have got so crazy with him, but I feel if I didn't, I would have lost more so I'm sorta glad I did."

"You need to be more careful next time." Akito said, staring up at her. She nodded slightly and tightened her arms around Ibiki slightly to stop herself from falling off. She slightly expected him to scream at her to get down, to stop trying to choke him. But he didn't, he just gave a gentle sigh and gave her a slight push up so that she wouldn't slid off of his back.

The rest of the time, the group walked in silence, the only sounds around them being the sound of nature and the breathing between all of them. It was peaceful, rather too peaceful for Akai's liking.

Every once in a while she would glance around, making sure that nothing was coming to counter attack them because she honestly did not have the strength to fight again. But the closer they got to Konoha, the more she relaxed and allowed her eyes to slowly close.

| * | * | * | * | * |

When Akai woke up again, she was laying in her bed in Ibiki's house. Beside her was a chair, a chair that was occupied by the Morino who didn't have his trench coat on, and was wetting a rag. As he turned towards her, she closed her eyes again. Ibiki sighed heavily and placed the rag against Akai's head in a slow motion, patting it slightly.

"I know I've never been the nicest to you, Akai. But that's because you were introduced to me as a criminal, as someone I couldn't trust. However, you proved to me that I can trust you. I'm sorry for never being the nicest, but I'll start trying from now on." Ibiki said quietly to Akai, and this is when she fluttered her eyes open.

"It's okay, tashikani." She replied, letting out a soft sigh.

No matter how strange it sounds, she's not used to acceptance.

She stared at the ceiling, tapping her fingers on the bed. It was silent for a while, until she asked him a question.

"Where's Shin and Akito?"

A soft smile crept onto Ibiki's face. "They're coming soon. I don't know what they're planning, but they were very worried about you. You shouldn't have scared us like that."

Her gaze softened. She knew how it feels. She was so scared, so desperate when her mother suddenly began to cough up blood in the middle of singing her a lullaby.

She shook her head at the thought. No, she can't give up now. She doesn't want her teammates to feel the same. To experience that loss... She doubt they would be able to bear the pain...

"Akai? You alright?"

She blinked, to find her sensei eyeing her in worry, his eyes narrowed. She gave him a soft smile.

"I'm fine, tashikani."

Before he could question her, the doorbell rang. He grunted and took his coat, as he stood up. "I'll be back soon." He told her, before he walked out of the room.

As soon as he closed the door, she quickly sat up, gritting her teeth in pain. She immediately lifted her blankets, to notice that all her wounds had been treated. She sighed in relief, and removed the wet cloth from her forehead. She leaned on the pillow, taking deep breaths to prevent her sickness from acting up.

Then she looked around. When she spotted her sword at the corner of the room, she smiled, in relief and amusement. It was obvious that the person who put it there could barely lift the blade. And all her belongings are also there, untouched.

The door suddenly burst open, forcing her out of her thoughts.

"Akai!" Her teammates almost screamed, as they rushed to her side, and began to shower her with questions.

Instead if answering, she turned at Ibiki, giving him a small glare. The man smirked, and walked away.

Akai slid back down, now laying on her stomach, as she covered her ears with the pillow. Not long after, someone poked her shoulder.

"Akai? What's wrong?"

She groaned at the innocence. "Are you guys done rambling yet? It's giving me a headache."

Shin and Akito cringed, slowly nodding. She threw the pillow away, and faced them.

"First: Don't ask anything. Because you guys are noisy and I'm not going to answer you anyways."

"Second..." She trailed off, "Sorry for making you worried, tashikani."

Shin grinned. "You seems okay now! Sakura said Naruto has been looking for you. What do you think about ramen?"

She raised an eyebrow, but nodded nevertheless.

| * | * | * | * | * |

"Eh?! It's not fair, dattebayo!"

"Life isn't fair, just deal with it, tashikani." Akai smugly replied, crossing her arms in victory, "I honestly won't be able to take care of the village, unlike you. I will mess up everything."

"Even just pulling weeds and picking up trash?!"

"Even that, tashikani."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, slurping down the rest of his 4th bowl. "Say, Akai..."

She turned at him, as she put down the money to pay her ramen.

"TELL ME THE DETAILS OF YOUR MISSION, DATTEBAYO!"

Shin laughed, while Akito shook his head disapprovingly. "No need to scream, Naruto." The Naokaze stated, hiding his amused smile.

Naruto pouted, and pointed at the fellow blonde. "Then tell me, dattebayo!"

| * | * | * | * | * |

It was late that night before Akai finally made it into her household that she shared with Ibiki. She was trying to be as quiet as she could, but Ibiki was still awake.

"Oh, you're home." He said, and Akai just nodded at him with a smile before she slowly slipped off towards her room. 

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Ibiki called after her.

"To my room, tashikani!" She said as she threw her arm up in a dismissing manner towards the Morino. The jonin just chuckled quietly as the girl slipped into her room.

Akai slipped into a pair of pj's and sat down on her bed. She gather the covers up, and stared up at the dark ceiling. It was only now that it was starting to really kick in that one of her old 'friends' had tried to kill her honestly. That he had exposed her for what she really was. That he told her teammates of the terrible things she had done.

But for once, she trusted her teammates to not tell a lot of people, if they told anyone at all. She trusted them more than she trusted most.

And all she could do was hope that they wouldn't give her a reason not to trust them.

Letting out a sigh, she lay down, her hands behind her head.

"I wonder how will the Smoker and the Masked Perv react when Scarface told them the details of the mission, tashikani..." She muttered. Her hand reached out for Hiramekarei beside her bed and began to swung it around, attacking an imaginary opponent.

"Akai? Are you asleep already?" Ibiki asked, as he knocked on the door.

"Come in, tashikani!"

"Would you mind-..." Ibiki stopped in his midsentence when he saw how easily she swung the giant sword, with one hand, while he struggled just to lift it up.

"How could you-... Forget it. Goodnight." He said, sighing, as he walked away and closed the door.

Her grin grew wider, and she burst out laughing.

| * | * | * | * | * |

Hehe... did you expect that? Do you like the surprise?

Anyways, please comment. I want to know what you guys think XD

Don't forget to vote!

~MidRav