Naruto: Akira’s Story

Fight, flight, or freeze. Usually, when a person faces a critical situation, they react in one of these three ways.

Most often, when danger strikes, people freeze up. Faced with a threat, they don't take any action that might improve their chances of survival. In movies, everyone bolts at the first sign of trouble, but in real life, someone who's spent their whole life in the city and whose biggest scare was a stray dog will freeze up half the time. So, it would be a lie to say that, seeing a VERY dangerous man charging at me in a rage, I reacted like a fighter.

Focus my chakra to reduce the damage? Ha, I wish. In reality, all I managed to do was throw my arm up in front of my chest - right where that big guy's foot was headed.

When you're in danger, your body dumps a good dose of adrenaline into your blood, speeding up your reflexes and sharpening your senses. That's probably why I felt, in vivid detail, how the bone in my arm snapped, punching through the flesh and poking out. For a jonin, a regular person's bones are nothing. I could already picture his leg driving further, snapping my ribs and shredding my insides - though, thankfully, I didn't get to feel that part. The force of the kick sent my body flying several meters.

I thought I'd crash into Kurenai, who was standing a meter behind me, but just as I was about to hit the ground, I felt someone's hands on my back, softening the landing.

I forced myself to focus, fighting to stay conscious, and looked for the source of danger. Asuma was still standing where he'd kicked me, his leg raised. Was he trying to look cool? Why?

"Asuma, what the hell are you doing?!" The hands supporting me disappeared, and I had to tense up to keep from collapsing right there. My heart was pounding even harder than it had during Guy's training, my stomach was in knots, and there was this weird metallic taste in my mouth, even though my mouth was parched.

Kurenai stepped in front of me, kunai in hand, but Asuma didn't react at all.

"Assaulting a civilian with intent to cause serious harm. I didn't expect you to be so emotional, Asuma-san." I hadn't even noticed someone step into the middle of the street.

ANBU? Judging by the figure… a kunoichi. Wait, was she the one who stopped him? What an interesting shade of purple in hair. [ image ]



From where I was, I couldn't see the "battlefield" clearly, and with the sun already low, the shadows from the houses covered most of the street. It was hard to tell what had stopped Asuma. But one thing was clear - that ANBU showed up just in time. If she'd been half a second later, I'm pretty sure Asuma would've put a hole right through my chest.

"Jonin Kurenai, take the injured to the hospital. Also, expect a police officer to come by soon to clarify the incident." The voice behind the mask was definitely a woman. The armor and uniform made it hard to tell at first, but her stance - and her voice - gave it away.

After she spoke, she glanced our way, and that was all I needed to figure out how she'd stopped that rampaging jealous maniac.

The slits in her mask couldn't hide those bright, blood-red eyes. Sharingan. And the worried look on Kurenai's face was the last thing I saw before my body was hit with a fresh wave of pain.

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[ Third POV ]

"I see. Well done. You're dismissed, Crow." The ANBU nodded and vanished. Taking off his hat, Hiruzen closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"I've always said that drinking is unprofessional for a shinobi. Our sensei always told us a shinobi should keep a clear head and be ready for battle at all times." The voice in the office was calm and a little raspy.

"Please, Danzo, can you spare me your vision of the perfect shinobi, at least for now?" Hiruzen said, gripping the pipe he'd pulled from under the desk.

"Whether I repeat myself or not, it doesn't change the fact that nearly half the jonin hit the bottle after missions - and these are professional killers, mind you." Danzo's face twisted at the last words.

"If a few drinks help them keep their sanity a little longer, I don't see the harm. Asuma may act calm and collected, but he's got a temper. Honestly, I can even understand him a little. Not everyone would be happy to see the girl they've loved since childhood getting cozy with some random guy. But… let's leave love life out of this. We're not old ladies gossiping on a bench." After three tries, Hiruzen finally got his pipe lit, took a deep drag, and blew the smoke toward the window. Seeing his friend's grimace, his mood lifted a bit.

"All right, but if you think cutting his mission pay for a few months will make him see the error of his ways, I'm afraid we'll soon have one less good writer in our village."

"Oh, you've read his book already? I'm surprised. I thought you only read reports and paperwork, not entertainment." Hiruzen smirked.

"Unlike you, Hokage, I know how much a book can influence people's minds. Some of my ANBU keep a close eye on new releases. By the way, your student is about to publish a new book."

"Hoho, wonderful. I can't wait to find out what happens to Momo in the Land of Hot Springs." He grinned. "So? The book must be pretty good if you think he's a good writer."

"To my surprise, yes. I even forgot about my work for a few hours." Danzo looked out the window.

"Well… I'm impressed." Hiruzen nodded a few times.

"If the main character didn't remind me so much of a Uchiha, I might even reread it. But that's not the point. The book has some interesting ideas that could help us improve our intelligence operations."

"That's great!" The Hokage slapped the table.

"Yeah, but what interests me more is something else - or rather, someone else. The author. You can chalk a lot up to imagination or a different way of thinking, but someone who's never served in an intelligence unit would never come up with some of the things in that book. And let's not forget, we only know what he's told us about his background, and that worries me."

"You really think he's a spy?" Hiruzen frowned.

"No, I doubt it. No matter how good an act he puts on, it's hard - if not impossible - to hide your reflexes. And according to my ANBU, he's had no training at all. Spies like that are useless. As for his combat skills… the fact that he closed his eyes when your son hit him says a lot."

"So what's the problem?" The Hokage was surprised.

"Given his psychological profile, and the fact that there's no information about him anywhere… it's a miracle. And you know I don't believe in miracles. I don't buy that he lived out in the sticks, never interacting with people. That theory falls apart when you see how well-educated and sociable he is.

Hiruzen, this man's origins are a mystery, and I'd rather see people like that underground, with a hole in their neck." Danzo finished coldly.

"I hear you, my friend. I understand your concerns. But as we can see, he's not planning to leave anytime soon. So, remind me - how much harm and how much good has he done for the village since he arrived? Nothing to say? Exactly. Because, like me, you see his value. If you weren't so worried, you'd probably try to recruit him yourself."

"Maybe, after a full interrogation," Danzo admitted.

"There you go. Now think - what's more important: the chance to get even more benefits for the village, or finding out why someone tried to cover their tracks?"

"That information could be vital for the village," Danzo said, frowning.

"Hoho, my friend, if you've forgotten, let me remind you - our village and our country are the strongest, both economically and militarily. How could a regular person possibly threaten us? And… hehe, for some reason, I get the feeling he left his homeland because the local men weren't too happy with him."

****

[ First POV ]

Man, try courting a few pretty girls, and you'll have ANBU under your window for one, and the head of a clan of killers ready to gut you for another. Well… in that case, he'd probably be right - she is his wife, after all. And for Kurenai, I got a beating from Asuma. Damn, and it was just a goodbye kiss. If Asuma had caught me leaving her house with a big grin and a hickey on my neck, not even ANBU could have saved me. And Tsunade might just kill me herself.

Ugh, what an idiot I am. I kept telling myself not to get too close to girls who are already taken. But… is she really taken? From her talk with Anko, I gathered that she and Asuma haven't even kissed. Is it my fault he's so slow? So what now? Will Asuma just accept that someone's stealing his "girl"? 

Not likely. Judging by the anime, he was serious about Kurenai. It's almost a shame things turned out this way… ah, who am I kidding? If I knew I could get away with it, I'd steal that cutie from right under his nose. He doesn't deserve Kurenai - he'll just leave her with a kid and die somewhere fighting the Akatsuki or on a mission.

Yeah, there's no way I'm getting out of this clean - I'm already banged up, my arm's in a cast. But the question of "what now?" is still hanging over me.

I looked at my right hand, sealed up in a cast, and sighed. Should've used my left - now writing my book is going to be a pain, and I'll have to put training on hold for a while. Luckily, med-nin work miracles - I'll only be in a cast for two weeks, then another week before I can use my hand again. Bone broke and poked out? No problem - in a month, my arm will be good as new. If Tsunade had treated me, I'd have recovered even faster. I got lucky with my ribs - just a few minor cracks that would've healed on their own.

"I see, it's all right, Ayumi-san, you don't need to worry. Thanks for visiting." I never thought she'd be the first person I'd see when I woke up.

While I was out, Kurenai had apparently gone to my restaurant to tell my staff I was in the hospital. Thankfully, Ayumi quickly shut down the girls' urge to drop everything and rush over. Kurenai sent word through her that she'd visit after lunch, once I'd recovered a bit. 

Well, that's not so bad - my medic won't let me out for the next three days anyway… Ahem, looks like tomorrow's picnic is off, and I'll have to explain how I got hurt… yeah, great. Thanks, Asuma - hope you run into Hidan.

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