The Smile of a Killer: Facing My Fear

== Flaring Emotions ==
Akane was sitting in the highest tree on the grounds. She looked as if she was waiting for something.
It had been a few weeks since the confrontation between old enemies had surfaced, and the truth about Okita Soujirou had been revealed to the Tenno family. The elder sister had been relieved to hear that Okita had survived the first encounter, in recognition of his strength. Despite his past, it was apparent that she believed that he had changed from his rogue ways and moved on with his life. His smile and politeness certainly told that tale.
And, against her father's obvious feelings, she continued to meet up with Okita, who had continuously come to visit Konohagakure. It was strange - despite beeing a seemingly rogue ninja, he was walking freely in and out of what should have been unauthorized territory for him. How in the world could he get away with something such as the two high-ranking targets he had struck at?
Even as the girl sat in the treetops, her sister was once again out today - possibly to see Okita again.
"Onee-chan stood me up again!!" She yelled into the tree branches. "It's not fair!"
It, indeed, was not fair. Although Michiyo had done her best in order to keep at pace with her little sister's requests for practice, she had taken a new interest in the Sōjirō. Now it seemed as if they were common friends, chatting daily, and visiting the outside often. That caused even less time for the elder to concentrate on Akane's training.
Akane hopped down from the tree and landed neatly on her feet. "I'm going to go find her!" She grumbled again to herself. "We were supposed to practice Shadow Clones today!" She walked up to her house and opened the door. 
"Tou-san! Kaa-san!!" She called in. "I'm going out!"
"All right!" The first voice to call out was her mother. "Don't get into trouble!"
"What your mother said!" Her father yelled.
"I won't!" She replied, lying through her teeth, and she took off into the forest jumping from tree to tree.
Her sister's signature was close by, moving at a slow pace. Obviously, she was taking her time and walking to a certain destination. At first, it would seem like she was simply returning from somewhere - the signature was moving right towards the destination of their household.
However, that possibility was abolished by the very fact of his signature right beside hers. That immediately gave away the reminder that she was once again with him.
Akane quickly spun a few seals and summoned a unique blue Phoenix. "Sui-chan, find Onee-chan. If she's with a guy, claw his eyes out." She whispered. "Now go!"
The Phoenix took flight, with Akane tagging along, her red hair whipping behind her.
It wouldn't have far to go.
After a few minutes of flight, it finally got to where the two had been located: walking through the forest. Michiyo was carrying a book of some sort in her arms, while chatting non-chalantly with Okita who was at her left side. Strangely, this time he had his katana strapped to his waist, not bothering to hide his identity as a shinobi as he chatted to his companion.
The bird spotted them and, following orders, immediately swooped down upon the man's head, talons bared.
"And then he started talking about--" That was when Okita stopped in mid-sentence, the squinted eyes and smile still on his face. His abrupt stop caused Michiyo herself to look at him in question.
"What--"
"Hold on one moment."
Then, with lightning-quick speed, the ghost moved its hand.
SLASH!
The bird had stopped short of its target, falling to the ground as it lost its ability to fly. One of its wings, having been chopped off by Okita's now-drawn blade, fell to the ground like a dead weight. Michiyo gasped in shock, as she recognized it.
"That's...!"
"It seems your family is after my head again." Okita said non-chalantly, sheathing his sword once more and looking in the direction of where he had sensed the following chakra signature. "Only, it's a different person coming..."
"Sui-chan!" Akane cried as she heard the bird's shriek of pain. She arrived where they were and she picked the bird up. "Sui-chan you need to rest. Go back now." 
The bird vanished from her arms and she stood up. "Jerk! You hurt Sui-chan!"
"Oh, no..." Michiyo muttered under her breath, knowing immediately what her sister's intentions were. "Akane, don't start jumping to conclusions at a time like this..."
"Onee-chan I see the blade!" Akane replied harshly. "I hate this guy! Why do you hang out with him? And in case you forgot we were supposed to train today!"
If it had been her father, Michiyo would've once again shown her fear under the harshness of the voice. But, coming from her sister, she only felt the natural emotion of irritation, her fingers clenching the book she held very hard. "I haven't forgotten about our lesson today." She said evenly, leveling her younger sister with an indignant glare.
"I was waiting in that tree for two hours Onee-chan." Akane said irritatedly. "My ass is frickin' sore!"
"It's not nice for someone of your age to use such coarse language." Okita piped up, before Michiyo to fire back a retort of her own.
"I wasn't talking to you." She snapped at him. "It's your fault Onee-chan is out here anyway!"
"Ah-- Gomen nasai." The boy replied sheepishly, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head. "I caught up with your sister at the library. Apparently, she was looking for a book about the shadow clone techniques, so I wanted to help her find it!"
Oh, thank Kami Okita was able to explain things, for Michiyo would've went for a more impulsive approach to her sister's irritance. She sighed in relief. "There." She said amiably. "I was lookin' for somethin' to help us both!"
Akane instantly stopped dead and she looked rather embarrassed. "A..ashikarazu.." She murmured.
"Baka!" Michiyo snapped. "Now go on back to the house! I'll be there shortly!"
"I can't wait till Tou-san kills him." She muttered as she shuffled off.
Even as she walked away, however, she could hear their non-chalant voices sound in her ear.
"Ugh, I'm sorry about that... imouto can be a little hot-headed at times. Though, why in the world would you attack her bird like that?"
"If I didn't, it would've tore my eyes out. I apologize for the Phoenix. By the way... if it didn't hurt, would you care to... go out?"
Michiyo's slight gasp was heard. "A-are you asking me out on a--"
"Date? Indeed I am. You seem nice enough."
"W-well..if I'm not busy, then it'll be OK..."
"What time? I don't want to interrupt you if you have a busy schedule."
And now, they were setting up another time for when they would meet each other.
A vein in Akane's head throbbed. "Now I really hate him." She growled as she walked.
When she finally stopped at the designated place to wait, Michiyo acted true to her word. A few minutes after Akane's arrival to her house, along came her with Okita, who was as polite as to push open the door for her so she could come through. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at his retreating figure. "All right! Take care of yourself!" She called.
"Don't worry, I've lived for 18 years so far! I'll make it through!"
She chuckled at his comment. "What a carefree guy..." She thought mirthfully.
Akane broke into a run and arrived back at her house in a little over five minutes. She opened the door and sat at the kicthen table. "I'm back."
After her was Michiyo, although her approach was silent and calmer. She still held that cheery smile on her face, even as she took her own seat.
"Ah! Just in time, you two."
At that moment, Chiaki herself came in, carrying two plates of food in either hand. She had her own grin on her face. "I just finished makin' dinner!"
"Yay.." Akane said half-heartedly.
Calmly, Chiaki set the plates in front of both sisters, then turned around to head back into the kitchen. "Hm?" After noticing Akane's expression, though, she turned around and aimed a quizical eye at her. "What's the matter?"
"Sui-chan is hurt, and Onee-chan is going out on a date with the Soujirou bastard." Akane said, reaching for chopsticks.
There was a loud SNAP! as Ahatake's grip tightened on the cup he was holding, and the shards fell to the ground.
Immediately, Michiyo inhaled sharply. But she had mentally prepared for his angered reaction at her decision. Calmly, she reached for and grabbed her own chopsticks. "I'm not gonna lie, all of you. She speaks the truth." She said quietly.
"No you're not." Ahatake said slowly, taking a sip from his glass.
"...I'm not what?"
"You're not going out on a date with him." Ahatake replied, not meeting his daughter's eyes.
"Yes I am." The elder daughter's statement was a bit more forceful, and slightly angered. There was a hint of nervousness, but otherwise she kept her cool. "You may hate him, but I find him a very decent man. Just because you look at him as if you'd look at a bastard doesn't mean I have to."
Ahatake sighed. "I don't want to have to do this but if you insist on going out with him, I will ground you."
"Fine."
This time, her statement was bit out harshly, and she slowly stood up. With a furious and lazy swipe, she had swung her hand into her own food plate upward into the air.
CRASH!
It came to shatter in pieces, leaving the untouched food and the porcelain scattered across the floor. But Michiyo paid it no heed, pushing in her chair and walking off. "Not fuckin' hungry anymore..." She muttered bitterly, exiting the kitchen and heading for her room.
Ahatake did not say anything but started to eat, while Akane, shockingly enough, abandoned her meal and followed her sister upstairs. She knocked on her sister's door.
"GO AWAY!" Was the furious voice that came from inside, little restraint shown even towards the little sister.
"O..onee-chan it's me!" Akane replied, sounding slightly scared.
From her lying position on her bed, arms over her head, Michiyo only craned her neck to glare dryly at the door seperating herself from Akane. Once again, her thoughts registered the only sentence the younger sister had to speak for the situation to be like this.
"Sui-chan is hurt, and Onee-chan is going out on a date with the Soujirou bastard."
Thanks to those very words, it would be so easy to just ignore her and go to sleep.
However, it didn't leave her mind what her sister was like. At a young age of 12, she was still rather immature compared to Michiyo. She displayed it very well with her personality, cute and carefree, but sometimes clueless and annoying. It may have been possible that she had never known it would turn out to be like this.
So, her sensible nerve kicked in, and she allowed herself to speak the words without much emotion.
"Door's unlocked."
Akane opened the door slowly and walked in. "Um..are you mad at me Onee-chan?"
Michiyo turned her neck so that she would once again be face-down on the bed, but she lifted her arm a little, just so that Akane could hear her voice. "'Course not, you little git. I'm frustrated at Tou-san."
"Well...you're going out with the guy that killed his friends Onee-chan. And as our father he has every right to stop us from going out with people he disapproves of."
"I think he's changed."
With dignity, Michiyo brought herself to a sitting position on the bed, though not yet looking at Akane. "It's been years, imouto. Years. Sure, a few years..." She shrugged a little. "But that could mean the difference between a good person and a bad person. I don't care about his past.... all that matters is the present. And as of the present..."
She took in a deep breath, as though hesitant to say the words herself. "I think Tou-san's wrong about him." She said finally, letting her words sink in.
"Yeah but your opinion doesn't matter." Akane replied. "Tou-san is set on killing him so just let it go. I myself will be happy to see his head roll on the ground. He irritates me and creeps me out."
"Let him go? My opinion doesn't matter?"
Eyebrows furrowing a bit, Michiyo closed her eyes and scowled slightly. "If that's how you feel about it...then leave right now. There'd be no point in talking to someone who thinks like that, and talks like that. Here, I'd figure you'd understand how I felt about it..."
Once again, she lay on the bed, this time on her back. Her hands were behind her head in a relaxed manner. Her eyes were still closed, but she obviously wasn't asleep, as she opened one eye to look over at her sister's expression.
Akane looked affronted. "Fine. If that's how you feel I'll go kill him myself." She snapped and turned on her heel, exiting her sister's room, slamming the door loudly.
For a moment, Michiyo didn't move. Then, after a moment, she slowly allowed herself to stand up, pulling herself off of the bed and onto her feet. Calmly, she walked over towards the closed window and opened it up. Then, raising both of her hands, she went through a few seals before resting on the final one. A Phoenix, one the size of an eagle, came to rest on her hand, gripping the skin gently with its talons.
"My sister Akane." She spoke, and the bird tilted its head to the side. "She's going off somewhere to where she might get hurt...or worse. I want you to follow her and keep an eye on her, nothing more. In the event that she's in trouble, report back and alert the family. Understood?"
The Phoenix nodded its head slightly, and Michiyo smiled. "Good. Off with you now. Keep yourself discreet as possible from her and the Phoenixes she might summon..."
With that, the loyal bird took off from her fingers and flapped its wings, out through the window and into the night sky.
Akane had indeed summoned a Phoenix, hers was fairly large, and she had perched herself on it's back. "I'll find him." She growled. "No one takes my Onee-chan away from me! I'll find him and kill him." The Phoenix screeched loudly as it picked up speed. "Scan the area!" Akane ordered. "If you see him, attack without hesitation."
A little ways behind, and near ground level was the eagle Phoenix, keeping at a steady pace with the carrier Phoenix. Its eyesight was enough to spot the two flying overhead, yet it kept a discreet flight pattern and moved through the forest canopy, where its visibility to the large Phoenix was limited.
But it didn't screech just yet. After all, Michiyo had given the strict order not to alert unless Akane was in trouble. So far, that was not yet happening.
"Where is he??" She growled, clearly getting frustrated.
Finally, she could see him.
He was sitting in the dark shade of a tree, rather comfortably in fact. With a pencil in hand, he seemed to be writing in a notebook of some sort, humming quietly to himself without a care in the world.
Akane's eyes flashed and she pressed her hand's to the bird's back, supplying it with extra chakra as it opened it's mouth and fired a massive ball of flame at the man.
It was as if a meteor had come from the sky. As he finished writing a word, Okita could see the orange illumination of the ground around him, along with his book. His half-lidded eyes immediately widened all the way open, and his pencil stopped moving.
He craned his head upwards...
...just in time to see the fireball right in his face.
It connected, and immediately the area was set ablaze with the fires of passion. The nearby forestry and foliage was burned to ash by the intense heat, crumbling into dust on the ground. Even the small Phoenix had to back off its flight pattern in order to retreat from it, the light temporarily stunning it.
Akane glared down at the ground. "Is he dead?"
She got her answer right away.
"Oh, darn..."
Okita was in a standing position, arms at his sides, and his gaze towards the fire. His expression looked rather lamenting as he stared into the bright orange flames. Anime-style waterfall tears were coming from his eyes. "I was almost done on that chapter..." He said in mourning. "Guess it'll never be finished now..."
Then, expression clearing up immediately, he looked up towards the aerial Phoenix. "Is something the matter, imouto-san?" He questioned, the smile returning to his face once more. "I can understand the situation with your Tou-san, but..."
Akane drew her sword and jumped down from her perch. "DIE!" She cried, swinging her blade down.
There was just no room for words anymore...
Instead of yanking his sword out immediately, he simply sidestepped, allowing Akane's sword to crash into the spot where he had been moments ago. "I don't wish to fight you, imouto-san." He insisted.
"Sorry I can't say the same for you!" She replied harshly, gripping her blade tightly and charging at him again. She raised it, ready to pierce his chest.
He squinted his eyes again in what looked like a comically frantic expression. "W...what did I do?" He protested, even as he side-stepped once more to dodge the attack.
"You trying to take my Onee-chan away from me!" She yelled, getting more frustrated as she couldn't land a hit.
Immediately, he stopped, eyes widened, and the comical expression fading quickly once more. He stood still, looking upon the girl with a surprised gaze. "N...nani?" He questioned. "Michiyo-san's been kind to me recently... but you surely don't think...?"
She ignored him and set her blade ablaze. "JUST DIE!" She roared, closing the distance between them shockingly fast, and swinging the burning metal upward at him.
Immediately, his eyes were shadowed over his bangs, and he put on his small smile. "I guess... words won't do it this time." He said quietly, using his opposite hand to grip the hand of his own katana hilt. "Battōjutsu... Shuntensatsu!"
Then, with his own motion of god-speed, he unsheathed his kunai and unleashed his attack, his sword colliding with her flaming blade. He raised his head, his pale blue eyes staring into hers. "No words can counsel your wrath. So I have no choice but to face it head on. Just for your sake...I won't hold back. Prepare yourself."
Then, with an upward thrust, he pushed Akane backwards and her sword upwards, pulling and thrusting his own sword back for a split-second lunge strike.
== Phoenix Falling ==
Quickly, Akane blocked the strike of the man's sword with her blade's sheath, and once again made a swipe directly at his heart, her frustration only increasing.
Once again, he allowed himself to step back, the heat of the blade's flame seeping across his skin. "Using your sheath to block my strike? A unique tactic..." He commented, performing his 360-degree spin once he had finished pulling back. "Though, I can't help but wonder how it will last as a defense!"
His own blade came for her once more, this time in a side swing of his own.
She jumped out of the way, and swung her blade down again, but in a surprise move, shot the flames off of the blade at Okita as a projectile.
Swiftly, he dodged, his figure vanished away from her.
However, this time, it didn't appear near her.
SLASH!
Immediately, the sound of a sword cutting through flesh could be heard, and a scream could be heard.
A phoenix's scream.
For in the sky, The Soujirou had taken the liberty of relieving it from life, now descending from the belly of the beast. The cutting strength he had put into the attack was enough to chop the enormous bird in two pieces, killing it instantly. "Kenjutsu..." He whispered. "Descending Claw."
The phoenix burst into flame and returned to it's own dimension where it would be reborn. Akane was furious. She charged blindly at him, not even paying attention to his movements. "Petal Release!" She cried. "World Order!" A massive wave of petals formed around her and took the shapes of giant spikes, which began to branch throughout the area, cutting down trees and other objects, forcing most animals to flee the vicinity. Akane was panting. That attack should have ripped him to shreds. If not...she was about out of chakra.
RIP!
Once again, the answer most unfortunate to see was given right to her.
From the beginning of the fight, Okita could easily see that she was being driven by her emotions. She had acted on impulsiveness and brashness, not even bothering to consider what she might be up against. He had to give her credit: she had fought down her fear of him and raised her sword against him with the intent to kill.
But it would never be enough. As long as he had his own emotions surpressed, he held dominance over her.
That very fact was emphasized by the gash that nearly severed her torso and spine in two parts. "I told you..." He spoke softly, his voice chilling her ear. "That I wasn't going to hold back on you. Even if you're Michiyo-san's little sister, you're still my opponent. That will always leave me one alternative: to kill you."
She couldn't say anything. He had killed her phoenix. Blood pouring onto the ground as she collapsed, all that was left was for Death to take her in his arms.
As she finally fell to the ground, Okita raised his blade up once more, the bloodied sword seemingly itching for one final blow. "Please forgive me for stopping your potential. You could've been a great fighter..." He said, in last words for the girl. "Farewell, imouto-san."
Then, without hesitation, he swung the blade downwards...
SCREECH!
Immediately, the sound of a phoenix screeching loud made the sword stop, inches from giving Akane a decapitation. Immediately, he swung the blade away in order to get the blood off before resting the back of the blade on his shoulder. "It seems that I was being watched the whole time..." He said to himself, looking towards the sound of the voice. "I'd better leave."
Then, turning on his heel, he started to walk off, not noticing the bird as it immediately flew off in the direction of the Tenno household, its screeches sounding in that very direction.
Ahatake was the first to here the cries of the bird and he thrust open the door just as it landed outside.
It wasn't too soon that Chiaki had followed through soon after, followed by a rather concerned-looking Michiyo. "What in the hell...?" Chiaki asked in irritance, glaring at the bird. "What's the pro--"
Without hesitation, it flew upwards and back towards the direction of the battle area with immense speed. Frowning, Chiaki wasted no time in following it, sure that her husband would follow.
Ahatake took off after the bird. Who would summon a Phoenix to alert them anyway? Was Akane in trouble?
Despite her status as grounded, Michiyo decided to pursue them both, kicking off with her own speed as she reached up with them. Her face was slightly pale, heartbeat quickening as she realized how much time had passed since Akane had gone.
Could he have really finished her off in an instant? No... he couldn't have been... he had to have been holding back! These thoughts plagued her, even as she chased after the bird with great haste.
However, when they finally reached the place, Okita was long gone. In its place was the very person he had fought against, lying in a pool of her own red blood. The sight was enough to make Chiaki mutter softly, "Holy shit..." and rush over, while Michiyo's hand was shaking slightly.
"You were wrong, Michiyo... you had miscalculated the whole time..." 
She could only look on helplessly as Chiaki's hands glowed the medical blue in the healing process.
"K...kaa-san?" Akane mumured.
"Quiet, kid..." Chiaki said sternly, feeding more of her chakra into the large wound. "I'm surprised you aren't dead yet. Your spine's almost been snapped in two... so conserve your energy--"
However, just as she got done saying that, the blue around her hands abruptly vanished, and in her kneeling position she fell to one hand, coughing violently. Michiyo's eyes immediately widened as she rushed over in an attempt to calm down her mother's fists.
"Kaa-san!!"
"Y...your bird..."
However, Michiyo hadn't needed to call it for such a situation. As if understanding Chiaki, the phoenix flapped its wings and flew over Akane, dropping a few of its feathers at the center of the wound. What Chiaki hadn't healed, those feathers did. With a POOF!, the bird vanished back into its realm.
Akane sat up. "Dammit..." she muttered. "He killed my Phoenix. He must have known what it could do."
"He did." Ahatake replied. "I used the Phoenix down on myself in my fight against him. Seems he has a good memory."
Michiyo, after a moment, turned away from the recovering mother. She folded her arms across her chest, her purple bangs shadowing her eyes and expression. She remained silent, as she watched the silent unfold, with newfound thoughts on what she had seen as her "friend".
Akane sighed. "I have to get stronger." She grumbled. "Stronger than this. And the first step in gaining strength is FOOD!"
"What!" Chiaki held a rather dumbfounded expression on her face. "You just ate!"
"No I didn't." Akane replied. "I left my food on the table to go talk to Onee-chan, who got mad since I didn't share her opinion of Soujirou."
It was expected for Michiyo for fire back some sort of hot retort. But, in a surprise move, she simply walked forward and past her family with that same shadowed expression on her face. "If you all are done, I'll be inside..." She muttered, vanishing in an instant.
"Onee-chan is sad.." Akane murmured.
"No shit." Chiaki agreed, frowning a bit as she stood back up, brushing herself off. "It'd be a good idea not to bother her."
"No Imma go cheer her up." Akane replied and she walked off after her sister.
A tick appeared on Chiaki's forehead at the disregard for her order. Out of annoyance, she reached up and grabbed the back of Akane's collar in order to stop her. "Betcha tried doing that before, and look where it got you?" She questioned sternly, her authority showing. "She's not just sad. She just got her view of a friend turned upside down, and she needs time to think about it. Don't."
Akane was still trying to move. "Aww...meanie..."
"Now, we gonna go back, so you can eat, like you said?"
"Fine.." Akane said, sounding disappointed. "Better be good."
"Good."
With that, Chiaki and Akane disappeared as well, sure Ahatake would follow close behind.
Unfortunately, it was all too clear that it would simply get rougher as the time progressed.
The End
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