〔 一 〕 beyond the descriptions

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Define the life.





The morning golden flower had broken through the sky as the glorious sunlight cascaded over a young child's face. Lying on the green meadows all alone—without notice, without a voice. She was in a deep trance, azure eyes capturing the clear blue sky, and letting her hair be carried by the gentle gust of the wind—which emphasized her scorching, fiery hair that resembled the beauty of vibrant ruby stones.

And once upon in the garden of gentleness, her heart was in deep bewilderment, pondering, weakly and wearily.

The sun's light had wrapped the darkness, filling up the world with bright colors.

The wind was rising constantly, never failed to give air to breathe.

The river that always flowed to the sea, yet the sea was never full.

The world was so grand for the little girl's perspective; every detail was so intricate and planned thoroughly. Her eyes could see things every day, but she never really understood it all. Eyes that had not enough seeing, nor ears heard everything.

Life is . . . What life is?

Over her quaint curiosity and severe confusion, suddenly there came a tapping.

Angling her head to find out, she saw her father smiling warmly at her.

"I knew that I would find you here," said he, sitting right next to her, "Akane."

The was a loving touch as he caressed his daughter's hair. He was always reminded of a red sunset, beholding her flaming, but gentle curly locks.

Akane remained silent, giving her father a soulful, stirring gaze. Minato suppressed an awkward chuckle. Even if she was his daughter, it was difficult for him to read what was on her mind.

After a long silence, finally, she uttered a word. "-chan," she called, "you're a genius, aren't you?"

He smiled candidly upon hearing her, rubbing a finger on his cheek. "Well, they say."

"Oh." That was only her response. And unconsciously, she grabbed her father's hand and held it tight—which Minato graciously returned, gripping it with the same amount of firmness. "Then, I have a question."

"Sure, what it is?"

Akane gave Minato a brief look, before she stared at the endless space again.

"Why there is life?"

The male adult was taken aback. For a young mind, truly, it was only a question based on a whimsical curiosity, but not for a mature mind.

Although he was validated as a genius—produced only once in a million—nothing in this world could give the exact answer to it.

He must be greatly astonished, but it proved to him how beautiful his daughter's mind was. And it warmed his soul, heart beating at ease.

And as calm as he could, he took a deep breath, face stretching in an amiable smile. "Why asked so suddenly?"

"Hmm, you see, -chan, I've read something on a book."

"Book?" he wondered.

Akane nodded with a hum. "Yes, I got from the Third Hokage's office."

Minato only chuckled faintly. "Don't tell me, you've snuck in again?"

"I did." This time, her face gleamed with a clear smile. "But he caught me and gave me an earful of scolding."

It wasn't the first time she did it, though. Minato himself taught her how to conceal her presence, even how to walk without committing sounds. It might work to someone, but never to the Third Hokage.

Even though being scolded, the Hokage would still give her the books she was interested in it.

She was still young, but really paid attention to the teachings and signs of the early lives—a keen child who was trying to understand the past.

"Then? What about the book?" The adult questioned.

"Right," she muttered. "In the book, it is said that this world is suspended over nothing, yet it's living."

Her first sentence. The intelligence she possessed amused him. So much curiosity in her, very undaunted, yet very innocent. Her aura was so bright, as though she was emitting tiny stars under the brilliance of the sun.

"There are planets, too, outside," she continued, "making this world not alone. It's appalling. Those planets might be existing, alive, yet there's no life found in them."

"So?" Minato mused, tilting his head on one side. "Is there a problem with that, child?"

"Nothing really." Now the sparks had faded and a dark-like cloud rendered her face. "It's just . . . On this planet, there's death. We don't remember what happened in the past, and in the future, no one will remember what we are. And on the scale of the universe, I—even you, -chan—are just a blink in time."

There was no way telling on how much it terrified Minato. But to whom he would cast the blame? She was born in an era where blood was being repaid by blood, and despair upon despair. It must have cultivated his daughter's young mind.

"I see," he only breathed, stroking his fingers through her hair. "In all honesty, I have no idea about all of this, but in years, I think I have figured the definition of life."

As if on cue, she came back to life upon hearing it. Quickly, she got up from the ground and settled her seat. She faced her father with an astute demeanor, hands both rested on her lap.

"What is it? What's it?" she chanted, frivolous.

Minato grinned, laced with smooth hums of chuckles. "Life is . . ."




༺═──────────────═༻



The day was pretty, the freshness of morning dew might linger inside the village, but outside, the remnants of the war was still brooding.

The Academy held a special trial for aspiring shinobi. The purpose was to experience what was to be learned inside the school.

Akane was one of them. It was expected, for she was the daughter of one of the high-ranking shinobi of the Konohagakure.

In this trial, they would be teaching self-defense, shuriken training, and some jutsu.

Of course, she had trained for this as well. With her own, secretly, or with her mother and father.

Akane didn't even want to partake in the trial, but she couldn't disobey her mother—especially that Kushina was very temperamental.

Soon, the trial had started. First, the introduction. Approximately, there were twenty-five children gathered in the assembly ground of the Academy. They were slightly nervous, still unfamiliar with each other. It was no wonder why.

The instructor came announcing to start the self-introduction. It was because Akane had distinct features, the instructor wanted her to go first.

She stood there, all of the strangers set their eyes on her. The red-headed girl was uncomfortable, gritting her teeth secretly. She wanted this trial to be over already, thus she stated her name. "Akane," she muttered, having no glimpse of interest, "Akane Namikaze."

Upon hearing her, the specters let out a word of awe. It was always like that. The 'Namikaze' would always ring a bell.

The introduction carried on, and all she ever wanted was to escape here. She could have done it all along, but her mother—Kushina—was guarding her. Kushina knew that there would be a huge possibility that she would ditch this trial, so she decided to accompany her.

"All right, next!" The instructor declared, cutting her thoughts.

"Itachi Uchiha."

Her eyes caught a certain young lad—perhaps on her age. An expression of the profoundest pride gleamed for a moment in the young man's refined face once declaring his name. He was, certainly, a good-looking kid with beautiful and aloof onyx eyes and raven-colored hair.

And on the other hand, Itachi felt a pair of piercing stare on him. Slowly, he traced where the gaze coming from.

Then, it caught him a little off guard when he found out it was the Akane Namikaze's stares.

Their eyes met.

Her eyes were like the oceans—it had a life, but something was very uncertain. The emotion in her eyes was fathoms deep that Itachi recognized so well. It was as if he was staring at the reflection of his own eyes.

Their gazes held for a brief second, and fluttered away.

The two had focused their attention on the instructor, who was, by the way, discussing the mechanics of the first lesson of the day: kunai training.

The class was basically a test to see if the participants could hit the twenty human figures set up all over the schoolyard with kunai in a short amount of time. Each student had to take a turn individually.

Akane remembered what her father taught her before: memorize the targets in the mind first, then sort them out based on the distance, and calculate the trajectory that would allow her to go round with the most convenient moves.

Itachi went first before her. She admitted to herself that was eager to see the capabilities of the young man.

As the teacher gave the signal to commence, Itachi launched the eight kunai he held in both hands at eight human figures simultaneously.

That barely took three seconds! Akane astonished.

From the same spot, she watched Itachi begun running, trailing out the route he had pictured in his head, and made a swift tour of the yard.

He managed to hit all the targets at an insane speed. It probably took him thirty seconds to finish the task. And inside his head, he could've done it even faster.

Akane, meanwhile, had her mind in the wonderstruck, felt like time slowed down at Itachi's pace.

"W-Well done. All right, next up," the teacher said, captivated by the skills of the young Uchiha.

Without responding, Itachi returned to his place among the excited students. And before Itachi's eyes, the next student was racing towards the yard.

It was Akane. She wanted to praise him, but his performance had been so incredible that she couldn't say a word and it was already her turn.

As their paths were about to meet, they stared at each other's eyes again, wanting to speak a word. A 'great job' or 'do your best' might be enough, but no words had formed.

There, Akane stood in the middle of the yard, eyes glued on the eight kunai pinned between the gaps of her fingers.

The Uchiha kid did it in less than a minute.

-chan could do a stunt such as his, but I doubt to myself . . .

She was waiting for the starting signal of the instructor, and in her peripheral view, she noticed her mother.

"Akane! Good luck, 'ttebane!" Kushina cheered with her usual speech tic. And that relaxed her daughter's mind.

She only smiled and concentrated on the given task. She was usually unmotivated to do something like this, but she was oddly inspired by the kid who went first before her.

As the instructor gave her the signal, she began to set the kunai in motion. She must have been in a good mood, for the kunai landed perfectly in the first eight targets.

The challenging part was the location of the figures, all of them were located in annoying places: at a top of a tree, rooftop, or behind an open window.

She ran around the school at top speed, wary that her skills couldn't be parred with Itachi Uchiha's.

Most of the participants manage to complete the task in just over five minutes, panting all the while, but she didn't want that to happen to her, thus she made a little effort to exert better.

And at last! The final target.

If she would estimate the time based on her breathing patterns, it roughly took her two minutes to hit the final target—the one at the top of a tall tree located in the nearby forest of the school. She could hit it with her strength alone, yet there was an urge inside of her to climb the tree itself.

But before she could do so, with unfortunate luck, she lost her footing on the branch.

She opened her eyes wide in shock, and she was falling.

And anyone who had to see her must be petrified.

It should scare her . . . I should be.

But she found herself being lulled by the air. Her hand reached out towards the blazing sky. Grasping, wanting to grasp the endless canvases of blue.

However, she must be aware that falling on the ground wouldn't be nice.

Promptly, she firmly gripped the kunai on her hand. As she maneuvered in the space, in one powerful strike, she thrusted the kunai to the trunk of the tree to minimize the speed of the gravity pull.

Yet one kunai wasn't enough, for the force was strong. Grabbing another kunai, she stuck it on the tree. And that sufficed it all, stopping the momentum of the force.

She sighed, feeling tired already.

The red-haired young lass looked down, learning that there was only at least a meter before her frail body would land on the ground.

"Safe, I guess," she said thinly under her breath.

Down, was a thick bed of grass with growing daffodils at the root edges of this tree. That alone made her smile.

Letting go of her hand onto the kunai, she willingly allowed herself to fall on the field grass. As she laid down, beneath an olden tree as it shared its shade to her. Her eyes were fully open, being greeted by the yellow heads of daffodils swaying up and down along the wind. They were many but very delicate. They were like little sun greeting her a good day.

Looking up, she touched the bark of the tree.

"Amazing . . . You're amazing, tree." If it wasn't for this tree, she might have not survived the fall.

For her, there was something grandiose about these trees. They were designed meticulously among other living things. They swayed, moving perfectly along the course of the wind. And as they stretched upwards toward the sky, drinking the rays of the sun, she stretched her arms up too, fingers spread toward the sun.

The sceneries captivated her, swallowing her in a reverie. Nothing mattered to her now.

Only her and this moment.









Minutes prior to the accident, all who had witnessed her fall—particularly to the Kushina—had rendered them motionless.

"AKANE!" The woman called out frantically. She saw how her daughter lost her balance and there was no way she could calm down.

As fast as she could, Kushina rushed to the tree where the accident happened.

Itachi happened to be near the scene. Out of curiosity, he wanted to know how she had been after the fall.

He sprinted after the older woman who shared the same hair color with the girl.

Upon reaching the setting, the was something that his eyes first time laid upon.

He saw her lying beneath the tree, flaming hair being scattered freely on the ground. And if he could hear the daffodils that had been surrounding her, they must be jovial to be graced by the warmth resonating the sunlight dew.

"Akane!" Her mother worriedly exclaimed while kneeling on the ground. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Wounded? Did you break some of your bones? Or hit your head?"

First of all, the girl should be annoyed about ruining her definition of peace.

A sigh escaped her lips, closing her eyes. And it would be troublesome if she didn't respond to her mom, thus she was forced to. "I'm okay. I'm not hurt. I'm still whole."

"But why aren't you standing up, dattebane? You're really hurt, aren't you?" Her mom, Kushina, could be really a worrywart, and sometimes, she would over-exaggerate things.

Akane's mind was still in a reverie, still being oblivious of Itachi's presence. With a heavy-lidded gaze, she looked at her mom, head almost nodding off.

"Because . . ." the child's voice was low, very timid and expressionless.

"Because? What because?" Seeing her daughter in this kind of start worried her even more.

Akane made it looked like as if she was fallen ill from the impact from the ground, when the very truth was . . . she was extremely lazy to stand up, nor to explain things.

She also loved smelling the nature's scent and being one with nature's spirit. Her entire body felt as if it had been chained to the spot. Her brain was working hard for her to construct a sentence. And trust the little girl, she was working hard.

"Because," she started, "I like it here . . ." Even though her voice had no enthusiasm, she managed to lift both of the corners of her lips with a plastered, forceful smile.

That ignited Kushina's rage, as if a volcano had erupted and spewed out smoldering lava. She knew well when her mother was in a state of being dreadfully outrageous: her hair would dance on the air as she created a sinister expression.

"Do you have any idea how much you scared me, huh, Akane? And here you are, dozing off to your own world! Good grief, you're really a child of your father!"

"Oh," she mumbled innocently, "so I'm told."

Akane was particularly used to see her mother's anger, and it eventually amused her on how her mother's furious chakra would react to her hair.

Unintentionally, the little girl laughed-a genuine laugh. She was the mother she knew ever since when she had no sense of understanding.

It was as if her daughter uttered a magic word, and her fury had melted. Akane's laugh reminded how Minato would laugh at her, especially when she was this mad.

A sigh was withdrawn out of the woman's lips. "Really, 'ttebane. You may have my looks, but you're more of a little Minato."

The daughter raised her hands, asking for her mother to help her stand. With a smile gracing Kushina's face, she did hold her little hands and pulled her up.

Upon on her feet, she dusted the dirt off her ninja attire. And in the corners of her perception, she noticed a person standing a few meters away from them.

Itachi became aware of Akane perceiving his presence. He could have cared less about her, but he followed his own will to see her.

It wasn't because he was worried or something, but it was because he was testing himself.

A test if she was worthy of his curiosity.

And from what he had seen . . . It seemed like she was deemed worthy.

Smiling, he disappeared out of her sight.

Akane's eyes chased after his aura.

But he was already gone.






handtheirend


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