Chapter 25

Just to clear a few things up about last chapter.

1. Gamer's Mind in War Dog is NOT a standard Gamer's Mind. Go and read Chapter 1 again, it specifically says that it lets her ignore or embrace emotions. Nothing about stopping negative mental effects, that would be if she slept. So if she actually waited until the next night passed, she actually would have been freed from Kotoamatsukami's influence. But she isn't perfect, she didn't realize that, plus Kurama was pressuring her a bit.

2. Yes, to a degree, people in Konoha would have felt Kurama's Chakra. Don't forget though that this was in ROOT HQ, a place I expect was covered in Fuinjutsu to prevent any kind of detection. As such, only decent sensors would have felt it. After the explosion, he had no need to use his Chakra any longer.

3. Akari is being a bit of a Fix-it Felix kinda gal right now, but that's because she keeps getting missions that push her into those messes. Don't forget that right back in Chapter 1 the Entity specified that while the world was her oyster, she would be pushed into certain canon events, following a vague guideline of what the original Universe went through.

Okay, that's enough of that. If your questions haven't been answered here, then check your inbox, chances are that I've sent you a message directly! If not, hit me with a message if you want a response, my inbox is open, I check it regularly, plus I love talking to you all! And thanks so much for your awesome words, it meant the absolute world to me when I stopped playing Bannerlord, opened my email, and saw 11 individual reviews, none of whom had anything really negative to say about Chapter 24!

Anyway, enough rambling about how awesome you all are, on with the chapter!

(And yes, this has been re-written. I'm happy with the first 4 sections, it was the 5th one of Akari at the Gate that was no good for me. Now it's changed to it's her getting home, I feel like it's far less forced, actually does something useful by establishing stuff, and just in general is way better!)

Chapter 25

Stretching her arms out, Akari checked her Chakra levels, then formed a few hand seals.

With the same nip of her thumb as only a mere hour ago at most, she performed the Kuchiyose no Jutsu, summoning Bao this time. Since the underground was pitch-black, she fired a Great Fireball Technique upwards, providing plenty of light for a short while. "Ahh, hello there Akari-chan. Ro was just telling us about how you had summoned him to help you find a cub." Akari sighed, but nodded all the same. "I see. But it wasn't just a random child, now was it?" How perceptive Bao was truly amused her at times, but for right now, she had a Kit to find.

"Yeah, it's Naruto. I would have just resummoned Ro to find him, but you're the strongest of your clan, so if I run into any more hostiles, I'd prefer a panda who can fight. Ro is a good tracker, sure, but a good fighter? Against one, he can skirmish, but more..." She trailed off, Bao nodding in agreement.

He tipped his nose upward, a light laugh coming from his throat. "I see you have been busy." He was, of course, referring to the giant underground sphere they were now within. The fact that it hadn't collapsed was a testament to many things, most notably being how for once, Akari's luck was actually helping her. "I can feel the Chakra of your Bijuu, may I ask what happened?" Akari hopped over the small gap between them, then up onto the shoulders of the giant Panda.

Hey, if he wanted a tale, he could carry her. And it meant he wouldn't have to give her directions, he could just take them to wherever Naruto was. "Uhh, well, after Naruto got kidnapped-" She started, not bothering to explain why she was away from the house in the first place. "-I summoned Ro, who led me out of Konoha a short distance, right into an ambush. I unsummoned him, and used that technique I mentioned before to summon two old friends and companions of mine." Bao snorted in amusement, he knew there was more to it than that, but didn't say anything, merely prompting her on.

"Then I got caught in a Genjutsu, but one I couldn't break out of, even with Kurama's help. So, we ended up breaking my seal." That admittance almost made the Panda trip over his own paws...almost. "It meant he could take control of my body, and since I was the one inflicted by the Genjutsu, it was bypassed. The guy who used it apparently could only use it once, that was a major gamble though. If he could use it multiple times, we both would have gotten enthralled, then we'd be fucked. Anyhow, we killed the bastard, Kurama and I talked for a little while, then he entered me again, only without a lock this time."

By the end of the explanation, Bao had nearly tripped at least three times from being surprised. "And, I take it he is content with this decision?" He asked, surprised when he felt Akari's Chakra fluctuate, just a little, even as she muttered a distracted agreement. "Hmm, imagine that, the mightiest of the Bijuu actually settling down with a human." He yelped as Akari swatted the back of his head with her fist.

"Okay, calm down boo, he was joking. But yeah, he said he's happy with what he has right now. Besides, he admitted that even if he left me behind, he would be hunted down and re-sealed, only he would almost definitely be put in someone far more hateful and aggressive towards him." Akari then bopped Bao on the head lightly a second time. "But please, don't say that again, you REALLY pissed him off. He's still ranting about how he's gonna ram a Tailed Beast Bomb so far up your ass you'll be puking Chakra out." The panda blanched at the threat.

"I won't."

The sides, about a quarter of the way up the giant spherical crater, still had the halved remains of rooms and hallways, the remnants of the freshly-obliterated base.

Letting Bao climb, Akari looked across the crater to the other side, crafting a few seals before extending her palm to fire another Katon Jutsu out, watching the small fireball blast across the area before fizzling out, not even reaching the opposing side. "Kurama, you really did a number on this place." The Bijuu snorted from inside her seal. "Hey, I'm being serious. What if we were under Konoha? Couldja have not held back a little?"

The Bijuu growled. "If I held back, who knows how many of those rodents would have escaped to attack us later on. No, this was the safest option. Besides, I can feel where all the ningen within Konoha are thanks to their emotions, we aren't under them. We're still close-by, but even if this collapsed, far enough away that it probably wouldn't have any effect." Folding her arms, Akari conceded the point. She still wasn't happy how he absolutely blasted an underground hole in Hi no Kuni lands, but it was definitely better than getting bogged down and killed by hundreds, maybe thousands, or enemy nin.

She turned her attention towards the far closer wall, where only a few dozen feet above them, a room could be seen, two walls missing as the room was hit by the blast diagonally. Bao planted his paws down again, Akari peering over his shoulder to watch the really beautiful flow of Chakra the panda was calmly using to anchor himself to the wall, using his claws for extra grip, slowly working his way up the wall at a leisurely pace.

Or rather, a leisurely pace in her eyes. By panda averages, Bao was positively flying up the wall, but to Akari, it was pretty slow. With a final press, his paws hit the floor of the room, Akari stepping off his shoulders like a lift amidst Kurama's huffing amusement at his new ant-rival being used as a glorified beast of burden. "Thank you for that Bao." She said earnestly, but didn't spend long in the room, barreling through the lone door. "Now, which fucking way is he?"

Bao followed her through on all fours, tilting his head a few times before looking straight ahead. "He's not far, you were just blasted lucky he wasn't caught in the blast radius of that attack." Akari grit her teeth, that would have been...devastating. "Left!" Akari's feet skidded on the floor, deciding that instead of running ahead then having to turn around, she'd just tail Bao closely.

Until he came to a dead stop, sending her smacking into his back. "Bao~." She spoke softly. "Did you do that on purpose?" The panda shook his head, hiding his small smirk behind his fur and the fact he was facing forwards. "I'd hate to have to replace the rug in my home with a panda-skin one, from the animal who didn't get me to Naruto as quickly as he could. It would be such a...shame~." Her eyes pinwheeled into red at that moment, reminding Bao quite firmly about what exactly he himself had said about her. She was like a panda in a lot of ways, and right now...

Mama wanted her cub back.

Blinking awake, Naruto looked around his room.

It...wasn't his room. His room had a few posters, some scribbled artwork of his own, and the one drawing his Kaa-chan drew for him. His bed was orange, because what bed couldn't be his favourite colour, as was the carpet. Unfortunately for him, the walls were where his mother drew the line, letting him have one third orange, then the other two thirds other colours, so he went with yellow and dark red. The colours did not go well together, but there were the colours of his and his mothers hair, so he was happy with it none-the-less.

This room was nothing like that. It was cold, and really dark. Not dark enough he couldn't see, but still dark enough to be ominous. The walls were stone, as were the ceiling and floor. The bed he was on was really bland, the thin futon laid on a plinth of stone with a single pillow and practically transparently-thin cover. His clothes were still the clothes he remembered going to sleep in, but he knew that he had fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for his Kaa-san to come back home from her mission, he wanted to surprise her.

Unbidden, his mind began panicking. What if he had surprised her and she'd hurt him, or he'd hurt her, and now he was locked up for being bad? Or, or maybe he'd wandered off and didn't remember it, and now some bad ninja had captured him? Well he wouldn't let them take him. He was going to be a Ninja! He was, because his Kaa-san promised that he would be, and she never lied to him. Footsteps approaching his room alerted him, and using what he'd learned from watching students practising at the Academy when uncle Sei had to look after him, he hid beside the door. When it opened, he leapt out, fist swinging, his eyes closed, as maybe his enemy wouldn't be able to do much to him if he just swung his fists and charged them, he wouldn't be afraid if he didn't know what to be scared of after all.

If he was a bit older and more logical, he would have probably decided that antagonizing his captors would be a silly idea, but he wasn't, he was still only four years old. As such, when he went wind-milling at his opponent, he was surprised to actually find his fist impact something...soft. Then something began to giggle, leading to soft laughing before it erupted into full-blown belly-laughter. He opened his eyes slowly, his fists having stopped swinging, to see a giant black-and-white beast blocking the doorway.

Behind it, somebody was laughing themselves silly, leading Naruto to flush red with embarrassment and ball his fist up again, leaping at the enemy with a battle-cry. The slightly-surprised animal merely put his large paw i nthe way of Naruto's fist, careful to avoid letting the boy cut his hand open on his razor-sharp claws. of course, Naruto didn't notice this, all he knew was that his arm had just been grabbed. "No! NO, LET ME GO! LET ME GO-OHOH!" He screamed, snot running down his nose as he tried to rip his own arm off and get away.

A whoosh of air, and he felt something embracing him from behind. He tried to headbutt whatever just grabbed him in a panic, but a soft, very familiar voice spoke in his ear stopping his frantic, panicked cries of fear and pain. "Shh, it's okay cub, I'm here. He's a friend." Whimpering, Naruto barely noticed when the creature released his arm, turning around and latching his arms around his Kaa-san, trying his best to squeeze the life out of her.

He felt his arm tingle, opening tear-filled eyes to see his mother with one hand on his arm, glowing green with Medical Chakra as she fixed the torn muscles in his arm that he'd ripped apart trying to pull his arm away from the summon."K-Kaa-san..." Akari smiled at him, her free hand releasing his back and brushing his hair back. "KAA-SAN I'M SORRY!" He yelled, slamming his head back into her midriff, his tears freely running down his face.

Akari merely rubbed his head with a bemused expression.

She didn't know exactly why Naruto was sorry, but she was never more glad that she kept spare clothes in her inventory.

When Kurama made her basically explode, her clothing had been blasted into millions of pieces. It was a shame, since she like the forearm guards she was wearing that day, but they weren't irreplaceable. The only really annoying thing to replace was her Hitai-ate. It was always sewn onto the side of her scarf-hood, and that too had been obliterated, meaning that she'd have to get one re-issued.

Sighing, she finished healing Naruto's arm, using that now-free arm to sign to Bao that she could take it from here, and that she thanked him for his help, even if it wasn't necessary in the end. Bao questioned whether or not that was wise, but Akari reassured him, saying that Kurama could feel that they were the only life-forms nearby he could sense with his ingrained emotion-sensing abilities. The big panda shook his head with a smile, vanishing with a puff of smoke and a reminder that she owed Ro a 'wagon-full of bamboo' as she put it.

She resisted the urge to yell back that the pandas literally lived in a forest of bamboo to the cloud of smoke, instead swiping Naruto up onto her left arm, reaching over with her right to form a cross, which poofed into existence two-dozen Shadow Clones. They all knew her plan, funnelling out of the room and away from the crater, vaguely in the direction of Konoha, with Akari quickly following them after throwing a final glance around the room. As she exited, she one-handedly went through a few seals, spitting a considerably-large fireball into the room before swinging the door closed.

"Time to go home." She muttered, patting Naruto on the head with her free arm.

They slipped in quietly through the same gap she'd used to exfiltrate Konoha, Akari bee-lining for home whilst trying to stop herself from grinning.

Naruto had never experienced travelling at even a Genin-level of tree-hopping...in fact, he'd never even been tree-hopping, so the journey through the forest was very unique for the young boy. As such, he was looking around in amazement as trees whizzed past, the wind blowing his hair around wildly. Akari quickly hopped up the side of a building, scanning the horizon with a sweep of her eyes to locate the direction of their apartment, then began hopping across buildings.

It was a bit awkward trying to travel whilst holding Naruto on her back, but the joyous laughter erupting from his lips as he let his enjoyment be known was well worth the effort. Before too long, the pair arrived at the apartment, Akari quickly nudging the door open with a dextrous foot. After that excitement, Naruto quickly burned out, slumping on Akari's back as his tiredness caught up to him.

Carefully, to avoid jostling him, she levered him down onto the sofa, guiding his head onto one of the cushions and brushing his blonde hair away from his face. "There's someone coming up from below." Kurama mentioned in her head. Nodding, she planted a kiss on Naruto's forehead, then went to the kitchen, one eye trained on the door even as she rummaged in her inventory for something to eat.

She observed as the only other blonde she knew in her life stepped into the doorway, blinking at her. "Heya Dei." She spoke, a thin smile on her face. He made an aborted gesture to enter, leading Akari to roll her eyes, Shunshin over and drag him over the doorway, shutting the door behind him before activating the seals wrapped around the entrance. "Honestly, you'd think with the amount of times you've looked after Naruto you'd be able to get over entering my apartment." The blonde rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Want a drink?"

"It's fine, un. I just noticed your door was open earlier, you and Naruto were gone, so I got a bit worried. I figured you might have dropped him off with your brother because of an emergency mission, but the fact that your door was open confused me. So, what happened, un?" Akari shook her head, pulling two mugs from a cupboard despite Deidara's protestations.

"Oh you know, the usual, someone wanted to kidnap Naruto to get to me, I killed them all, big deal. I have to report to the Hokage anyway. You know how I was watching the Kumo guys tonight?" Deidara's eyebrows rose, mouthing a few words silently in surprise. "Yeah, they actually tried something. I went toe to toe with the Kumo Head Ninja and won, but when I got back...he was gone." Filling the two cups, she carried them back to the lounge, where Deidara was sat on the other sofa, placing a mug in front of him then sitting beside Naruto. "So, I see they finally got off their asses and made you Chunin." She nodded at the teen, who was wearing a Chunin vest now.

Deidara took the mug with murmured thanks, using it to warm his hands. "I wanted to surprise you, un. They hosted the exam in Kiri this time around, but nobody there appreciated my art, so..." He trailed off with a smirk, Akari stifling a giggle. "Then again, with Akana breathing down their necks, they didn't even consider not sending me for the exam." Akari smirked. "She went to the Chunin Office, apron and all, rolling pin in hand, to tell them what-for."

Putting a hand over her mouth, Akari stifled her laughter forcibly. "That sounds like Akana-obaasan alright, such a mother hen. Honestly, the woman would adopt half of Konoha if she could, and the other half would be forced to come round daily for cookies." Deidara grinned at that. "Honestly, I just wish she'd take more Ryo, I only ever spend it on ninja-tools and getting stuff for Naruto." Deidara adopted a faux-offended look. "Oh hush, I bought you that container of Halloysite, that shit was expensive to get ahold of, they only mine it in the Land of Valleys."

The blonde bomber shrugged, dipping a hand into one of the pouches on his new vest, then raising it out still-chewing. "Yeah, but I can just use normal riverbed clay. Using better clay doesn't change how beautiful an explosion is." He opened his fingers, the glob of clay having been turned into a miniature dragon, which took off and began flying around the room aimlessly, soon joined by other, smaller constructs.

"I guess. So, how are things going with you and Ichika?" Deidara looked uncertain, lifting a hand up to allow a small flock of birds to fly from his palm.

"I don't know. One minute she wants me to be there for her, the next she yells about wanting space. She wants something to eat, but she doesn't want anything I can think of. It's just so...troublesome sometimes." Akari snorted, one hand idly raising to let the dragon land on her fingers, the clay construct having been faltering slightly. The living clay creature nuzzled her hand with the top of its head, curling up and imitating sleep on the palm of her hand.

Akari brought her hand down, sliding the little dragon off to sleep on top of Naruto's head, giggling lightly at the sight. "Well, you just have to interpret what she wants. She doesn't want you to literally be right there for her, a single step away watching her every move. She just wants to know that you have her back. Besides, I know plenty of people who are just as indecisive about food. You could offer them any dish in the world and they'd still hum and haw about it for hours on end. But...just make sure to cut her a little slack. At the end of the day, she has to deal with the knowledge that every time you leave the village, you might not come back." Deidara looked a little guilty, but his eyes were resolute.

"I know that Akari, but...I can't just give up on being a ninja. She's worth a lot to me, but...this is what I wanted since I was a kid." Akari smiled at him.

"Then make sure she knows that. Don't forget that there are two people to a relationship. You could waste away doing everything possible to make her happy, but at the end of the day, if you aren't both happy with what you have...you should take a step back to see exactly what's wrong. I'm not saying anything is wrong, you two are really adorable together-" Deidara blushed red at that. "-but, just make sure to take some time with her to sit down and talk. Really talk about things, not just like what the weather has been like. Anyways, if anything...thanks for noticing." While he looked confused for a moment, when he realized what Akari was talking about, he just gave her a wan smile.

"Nnh...thanks for finding me first, un."

Okay, I changed it.

Yeah, I hated it way too much to leave it as it was. It just wasn't right...it honestly felt like just nothing but filler. The idea I had at the start was fun, but it slogged down the story.

The fact was that tomorrow onward I'm going to be really busy, so you'll only really be able to expect new chapters on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays, Thurs/Sun I'm going to be busy, probably too busy to write much.

As such, I really wanted to get Chapter 25 out so you guys had something to tide you over, and it cost me, because...quite frankly, it SUCKED.

But...FUCK YOU CHROME!

I wrote out a lot of this, then it didn't save for some reason, so I had to rewrite the entire section of them getting back into Konoha aside from the first two paragraphs. Whatever, hope you enjoyed boos!

Name: Akari Uchiha

Level: 53

Age: 16

Experience: 46,445/53,000

To Next Level: 6,555

Title: Sannin-slayer - Defeating one of the three legendary sannin is no easy feat, but you managed it. Future opportunities unlocked.

Secondary Title: Tokubetsu Jonin - +25% experience gained during solo missions.

Health Points: 11,030 - (100 Base + (Vit x End)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 2106/m - 35.1/s - Vit x End - Halted when afflicted with bleed status.

Chakra Points: 32,620 - (100 Base + (Int x Wis)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 6424/m - 107/s - Int x Wis - Halted when continuous chakra drain Jutsu in use.

Strength - 66

Vitality - 54

Endurance - 39

Intelligence - 73

Agility - 65

Wisdom - 88

Luck - 41

35 Skill Points Available