Ibiki glared at Ketsueki, while the Hozuki returned it with same intensity. Not even a minute since they met each other, but it seemed like they would never get along.

Sad that they forgot about the woman behind them, Mairu was already pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes closed as a soft growly escaped her lips. "...I already have to deal with this...?"

None of the men seemed to care about her. This pissed off the Yuki, and before they knew it, she already had grabbed both the men's wrists, clenching them so tightly that the two flinched and released their own grip.

"You two dare to ignore me, then shake your hands as if you're going to be best friends. You can't fool me! I know what's in your mind!" she yelled, as she dropped their now numb arms, "I'm going to kill this bastard!" she mocked, clearly seen from her gesture, from her voice and all, "Tell you what, both of you will die in my hands instead!"

The two males gulped in fear. Fortunately, suddenly someone came to break the tension.

"Mairu-san?"

"Ah, it's been a while, Shin! How are you?"

"As good as always! But please, don't kill Ibiki-sensei, I need him right now."

"Understood, boy. Take him, I still have some business with this Hozuki."

"I guess you're no better than the blonde one." Ketsueki hissed under his breath, receiving a slap on the back of his head from the woman. Ibiki merely smirked, waving his hand mockingly as he left the room with Shin, who shrugged with an innocent smile at the man.

"You're screwed, Ketsueki." Mairu stated, pointing at him in an accusing manner, "Why don't you tell me anything?! Had you at least told me, Akai wouldn't visit me with gloomy face, mourning for everything!"

"Mairu, I-..."

"How could Fuka marry you?! I don't get it, have you lost your mind?! Akai needs you, and you weren't there merely because of some idiotic vow or whatever!"

"How could you-..."

"I've known you just as long as Fuka did! You're really that easy to read, don't you realize that?!"

"Okay, fine! Why are you so mad at me?! What did I do wrong?!"

Mairu gaped at him, her eyes soon narrowed and she let out a heavy breath.

"I cannot believe you're still this stupid! It has been, like, almost ten years, you old man!" She exclaimed, "You weren't there for her, and she made new friends, but now you hate them?!"

Ketsueki's face paled, "Are you a psychic?! It's not even half an hour since you got here, and you found out that much?!"

"Oh, shut up." she muttered, walking further inside, "Just don't act foolish. I don't want Akai to get hurt again."

| * | * | * | * | * |

When the two Kiri shinobis entered the kitchen, they found all the Konoha nins inside, laughing and joking around.

"No, I really mean it, Scarface! It may offend you, but I don't care!"

"At this rate I'm going to forget the sensei title and call you Scarface as well, tashikani!"

"Akito, stop using my verbal tic! It feels weird!"

"I think it suits him, Akai."

"Shin, not you two! Scarface, help me here!"

"You're on your own, brat."

Ketsueki clenched his fists, but before he could give any remarks, Mairu sent him a warning glare, clasping her hands together with a wide smile.

"Alright! Now that everyone is here..." she trailed off, looking around as her happy look faded,

"What are we going to do?"

Akai's jaws fell agape, while Ibiki's eyes twitched. Shin bursted out laughing, Akito smiled in amusement. Ketsueki shook his head disapprovingly, and the woman herself started giggling.

"Oh, right," Akai suddenly started, "About Akane."

Everyone's face turned serious, and she let out a sigh, "I think I have to finish this. I'm going to talk to her."

"Why? I mean, right now you can just ignore her, brat."

"And forget the problem? No, it needs to be done. I can't live my life haunted by Akane forever."

"But Akai, Akane wants to kill you. Isn't it dangerous? She couldn't hurt you at the moment, you don't have to do it." Ketsueki told his daughter, but she gave him a meaningful look.

"But I need to do it, Dad. Your jutsu will wear off soon anyways, I'll just get back into my mindscape to do something with Akane." Akai stated calmly with a shrug, despite the expression her father now had.

"She hates you, and she would do anything to make you suffer."

"And no matter what, I'm the only one who can finish this problem. I don't want to make you do the same to me like to Mom." She replied, not once did she show a sign of doubt. Akito only gave her an approving nod, just like Shin, the two decided not to say a thing while he older Hozuki bit his lip.

"... If you lost, she would never let you have control ever again. Are you sure you can take this risk?"

"I can, I have to," she said, smiling as her father let out a sigh and kissed her forehead.

"Good luck, Akai."

Akai merely nodded, and closed her eyes. Once again, she was back inside her head, in the middle of a very familiar surroundings, where she stayed during the time Akane was in control, and vice versa.

The scene took form in the middle of a battlefield. It was dark, and the full moon shone through the dark clouds. The ground was covered in blood, dead bodies littered everywhere, along with rusty weapons. The smell of rotting corpses, fire and smoke hit her nostrils, but Akai brushed it off and continued walking. She was used to it, ever since she was 9 years old, the time when she gained the Red Mist title.

"I thought you wouldn't came back, Akai."

"I never said I wouldn't." Akai calmly replied, and turned around.

Akane was sitting on one of the fresh corpses, holding a broken katana in her hand, while she continuously stabbed the dead man's arm in a bored manner. "I can't trust you. You're a liar."

Akai sighed, brushing a few strands of her blue hair away from her face. "Yeah, I know." she trailed off, as she sat down across Akane. The red-eyed girl still didn't look up, mindlessly playing with the corpse.

It doesn't bother her. Akai looked around, smiling sadly at the scene around her. "Do you remember, Akane?" She started, picking up a dull kunai and started spinning it around, "You used to help me killing hundreds of innocent souls, following Yagura's orders. Slaughter, assassination, torture, interrogation, even execution. We both were invincible."

Akane frowned, But she gave her a small nod. "That was long ago. I liked you, not anymore. You were my ally, but now? You have changed, Akai."

"Believe me, I wish it wasn't this hard."

"But you're the one who started this." Akane stated, raising her head and glared at Akai, "I hate you, Akai. You lost Suigetsu and left Kiri for what? Living as a thief for years. What a coward."

Akai's gaze soften. "I guess you're right. I am a coward. I left Kiri because I thought I had no reason to stay. Not to find and save Suigetsu."

"More than just that, Akai." Akane said, shaking her head disapprovingly as she lifted the katana in her hand, blood dripping down from the blade, "You pushed me away, you forgot about me, you acted like I didn't exist." She growled, pointing the katana at Akai, "That's a very bad joke. I hate it. I despise it so much. It was hard getting out of here, but with you being in so much pain, I can finally return."

"And I'm very disappointed, Akai. Very, very disappointed. You don't even keep your title. Red Mist, the nickname we both worked so hard to get, you just threw it away!" She yelled, as she threw the katana at Akai, who caught the blade, and dropped it, along with the kunai in her hand.

"I'm sorry. But now I understand. I shouldn't hide who am I, I should just accept it. I should be proud, instead of ashamed. I shouldn't have ran away, I should have face everything. I should have fought."

Akane slowly raised back onto her two feet. Akai followed her actions, their eyes never left each others'. "I should have accepted you, Akane." Akai said firmly, "Would you accept my apology?"

Akane smirked. "I need a proof. A proof that the old Akai, the old Red Mist is back. Show me, Akai. Prove me, and then I will give your body back."

Akai nodded firmly, a glint of determination in her eyes. She pulled out her dagger, raising the blade and pointed it at Akane. "Hiramekarei Kaihō." She commanded, and the dagger turned into its original form. Akai split the large sword into two, before she threw one of the blade at Akane, who caught it with ease.

The two girls both took a step back, moving into their stances. Red mist slowly appeared, but the two payed no mind. Their eyes were locked into each other, while their grip on their swords tightened.

"I'LL CUT YOU TO PIECES!!"

With that yell, the two of them lunged at each other.

Akai swung her sword up, trying to attack Akane from below, but Akane stepped aside, narrowly avoiding the blade as she also lifted her sword, and tried to hit her side. The two identical blades clashed, while the wielders glared at each other, and jumped away. As Akai landed, she quickly looked around, but Akane was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, Akai, give me a challenge." Her voice echoed around, "I'm here, all around you. Be careful."

"That's my line." Akai replied, chuckling slightly, as her fingers turned into a single handsign.

The mist turned into a darker shade of red, and it didn't take long before Akai heard Akane's yell of pain. She appeared right in front of Akai, and started swinging her sword continuously, eyes filled with rage. Akai kept on blocking and dodging, turning herself into water every once in a while.

"Are you trying to kill me?! Turning it acidic while I'm inside?!" Akane growled in anger, as she slammed her sword down. Akai blocked the blade with her own, trying to push it away as she gave Akane a mocking look.

"You asked for it."

Akane's eyes widened slightly, before her smirk grew wider. "I guess I can't blame you. I underestimated you, Akai. Seems like you still have some skill left."

Akai scoffed, before her body suddenly liquefied. It happened so fast, surprising Akane, because before she could react, a kick was sent to her side. Akane almost couldn't block it, and she lost her balance.

"You talk too much." Akai stated, already back in her stance. Akane's smirk turned into a sadistic grin, seeing the look in her opponent's eyes. She stood up, cracking her fingers and stared back at Akai.

Now, this Akai is the one she liked. The true Red Mist, with no doubt or mercy. So focused on her enemy, not even a twitch or a little tremble from her. Frozen like a statue, but she would launch an attack once the enemy got within reach.

And Akane knew how Akai is. Once she's in her stance, she would wait for her prey to come, unless condition required otherwise. Unless she's angry, and really wanted to kill the enemy. But that's not the case right now.

Akane let out a sigh. Well, this fight would be hard. Both of them were actually the same person, they had very similar skills and all.

Akane raised her sword up onto the same level as her eyes, her line of sight locked onto Akai, who didn't even react at her action. Despite how she resembled her old self, Akane wanted a much more interesting fight.

And so, Akane ran towards Akai. As she almost reached her, Akane transformed into the mist itself. It stings, the pain is eating her alive, but Akane only gritted her teeth, re-appearing behind Akai and quickly thrust her sword forward. The blade managed to create a large deep gash on Akai's right shoulder, and Akane couldn't help but to brag mentally.

Her triumph, however, was short-lived. Akai already had her left hand holding her sword, not seemed to be affected at the wound. She turned around, using the momentum to swing her sword harder, and managed to hit her side. Before the wound could go deeper, Akane's body liquefied, and she re-formed a few steps away from Akai, her left hand applying pressure on the wound on the side of her stomach.

Akai lunged at her opponent, and as Akane took some steps back, Akai stabbed her sword onto the ground, holding the hilt tightly as she lifted her whole body up, and slammed her heel onto Akane's head. The red-eyed girl managed to block it with her arms, leaving bruises, while Akai landed right in front of her, and sent a roundhouse kick to her new wound, causing Akane to fell into her knee due to the pain.

But Akai didn't stop. She grabbed her sword, and tried to stab it through Akane's body. Akane almost failed to block it, their blades screeching as they collided. A burst of chakra came from Akai, coating her sword in dark blue, and Akane hurriedly jumped away, while the chakra had grazed her cheek.

"Damn, that was close!" Akane exclaimed, cringing slightly. Akai only shrugged, lifting up her sword and once again ran at Akane. She stumbled to stood up, but she quickly swung the sword as Akai got within reach. However, it was useless, as Akai's body instantly liquefied once it came into contact with the blade, while she re-appeared even closer, and stabbed Akane. The sword went through her body, and Akane coughed up blood. "I give up. You win, Akai. You proved it to me," she whispered, dropping her sword.

Akai's gaze soften, as she held Akane's shoulder and pulled out her sword, before throwing it away. Akai pulled her into a hug, and Akane tensed at the contact. Soon, she relaxed, staying still in Akai's arms, unable to do anything. The mist around them disappeared, and a small rain began to fall.

"Sorry. Sorry for ignoring you all these years." Akai muttered, and Akane pushed her away. She almost fell, but Akai gently caught her. The red-eyed girl stayed on her knees, not bothering to move, while Akai crouched in front of her, eyes full of worry.

Akane, much to her surprise, smiled. "I also did lots of bad things, Akai! I'm sorry, too. I guess we're even?"

Akai gave her a soft smile. "Yeah, I guess we are. So... what now?"

"You take your body back, of course!"

"Thanks, Akane. But if you want, you can still switch turns with me, as long as you don't make it that painful."

"Nah, no need to." Akane replied, waving her hand dismissively, "I'll just ask you every once in a while. You should go now, everyone must be worried."

Akai nodded, but when she wanted to stood up, a hand stopped her. "One more thing, Akai! I need you to make a promise."

The grey-eyed girl raised an eyebrow, and Akane grinned. She raised her hand, covering her red eyes, the grin never left her face as she tilted her head. "Don't ever forget me again, okay? Remember, I'm still you."

Akai's eyes became teary, and she nodded her head. "I promise, Akane. You should talk to me every once in a while, too, alright?"

Akane's grin grew wider, and she gave Akai a salute, before her whole figure faded away. Akai let out a small relieved breath, watching as she slowly disappeared, before she stood up and grabbed the two halves of her sword. Putting them back into one, Akai then turned the giant blade back into a dagger, putting it back to its place.

"Don't worry, Akane. I won't make the same mistake twice." Akai muttered, before she closed her eyes.

Her body slowly faded away from inside the mindscape, and she returned back to reality.

| * | * | * | * | * |

It has been a while since they left Akai in her room.

Akito tapped his feet impatiently, keeping a stoic look on his face while he watched the two men in front of him; Ibiki and Ketsueki. They might be the oldest, but they act like new genins, with ridiculous rivalry over something meaningless.

The two had been glaring at each other, daring their 'enemy' to make a first move. It was clear the two despised each other, but so far no one has said a word yet.

Ibiki sat beside of his students, and across the room was Ketsueki and Mairu sitting close to each other. The room was filled with an awkward silence, until Akito rose from his seat.

"I'm going to check on her. It has been a while." He stated, before he left, walking upstairs towards Akai's room. He stopped in front of it, and hesitated for a few moment, but then he decided to take the risk.

"Well, here we go..." he muttered, grabbing the door handle and pushed it open. He could see Akai sitting on her bed, looking through the window, a small sad smile on her face.

"Akai?"

She turned, and upon seeing her usual grey eyes, he let out a sigh in relieve.

"Oh, hey, Akito."

"So...?"

"... She won't harm me anymore."

"Ah, I'm glad..." he said, "You look pale, Akai. You alright?"

She weakly nodded, and although he knows there's something off, he decided to drop the topic.

"I'll call the others, okay?"

| * | * | * | * | * |

When Akito reached the living room, he was utterly pissed.

Both the two adults, Ibiki and Ketsueki, had stood in front of each other, one crossing his arms and the other looked like he tried to keep his calm, but failed miserably.

"So, when were you planning on coming back and telling Akai you were actually alive?" Ibiki said with slight venom in it.

"I had planned on it, I just wanted the time to be right."

"Oh, so the time wasn't right when she was 7? When she turned 10? When she was fending for herself and trying to make sure she could go from day to day, it wasn't the right time?"

"The time was the time when I said it was. When I could find her. She moved around too much! How was I suppose to find her?!"

"She's your daughter. You should be able to find her whenever. You should have never stopped looking!"

"I never did!" Ketsueki said back at Ibiki, raising his voice only slightly. "Day in, day out! I never stopped looking for her!"

"And that's why she ended up with me right? Stealing from random people to survive, disrespecting every single person that she talked to because that was the only thing she knew!"

"AND THAT WASN'T MY FAULT! Ketsueki screamed, clutching his fists slightly. Mairu had placed her hand on his back, rubbing up and down slowly in an attempt to calm the angry Hozuki down, but it didn't seem to be working. "I wanted her back more than anything! She is my entire life after my wife died, all I had left of her! I spent years and years looking for her! And don't ask like YOU were a role model guardian over her, because under your supervision, MY daughter was pronounced dead!"

"Because she never told me about her sickness! She overused her power, overdosed on her own pills! In what way could I have prevented that?!"

"Maybe by be-..."

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Akito screamed, looking back and forth between the two grown men. "Can both of you just stop it already?! Throw away those ego of yours, stop being so f*cking selfish!!"

"Akito..." Shin said quietly as he placed his hand on the boys shoulder, but it was quickly shook off.

"You two want to stand here and argue over who loves her more? Argue over who was the better guardian when she could be being killed by the monster who lives inside her head every. single. day. You two want to sit here and point the finger?! Then how about you point it at yourself? Because NEITHER of you were there for her when she really needed you." the blonde boy yelled, and the two older men finally sat down slouched back against the board behind them, neither of them saying a word to the other after the Naokaze's outburst. No one said anything after that, and the room was just filled with quiet regret.

Finally, Akito spoke up. "Listen. You don't have to be so overprotective. You both have raised her, and she grew up, even if she spent most of her time alone. She can take care of herself. All you have to do is to be there when she needs you. That's all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ibiki muttered, while Ketsueki nodded.

"You fight again, and I'll kill you. Anyways, I checked not long ago, and..." he trailed off, grinning slightly, "Akai's awake."

Everyone instantly rushed upstairs, Ketsueki being the first one who reached the door. He slammed it open, but the sight in front of him made him froze completely.

The room's empty.

"Well... Damn. She's not here."

| * | * | * | * | * |

3609 words. Long update, but oh well.

Do you like the fighting scene? It was written long ago, I don't edit it much, hope it's enough.

Tell us what you think! Do you like it?

And your predictions! What will happen next? Where is Akai?!

Let me read your comments~
And vote, too, okay? Thank you, and see ya!