[Akari's POV]
Time passed strangely in Konoha.
Days blurred into weeks, weeks into months. For someone who had once lived like a shadow, feeding in alleys and slipping between villages, it was… disorienting.
Here, I woke to the sound of Kushina banging pots in the kitchen. Here, Minato reminded me to train, teased me when I overslept, smiled like I wasn't a monster.
Here, I was family.
Even the sun didn't weigh as heavily on me anymore—not because I had endless resistance, but because Kushina and Minato made sure I was never exposed without reason. They didn't treat me like I was fragile. They treated me like… I was theirs.
It was dangerous. How much I liked it.
One evening, Kushina practically burst into my room, her grin wider than I'd ever seen it.
"Akariiii! Guess what?!"
I looked up from the book I was pretending to read (okay, fine, I was mostly using it as an excuse not to do chores). "What, you finally learned to cook something that doesn't explode?"
She smacked me with a pillow. "Brat! No! I'm pregnant!"
…
I blinked. My brain short-circuited.
"You're… wait. You're serious?"
Minato appeared in the doorway, looking both proud and sheepish. "She is. We just got the confirmation."
Kushina twirled around the room like she'd just won a war, giggling, "I'm gonna be a mom~!"
Something twisted in my chest. Warmth, fear, protectiveness, all tangled together. Because I knew this wasn't just "happy news."
This was the beginning of the storm.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I sat on the porch, watching the moon, my mind racing. I'd sworn to protect them, but… how?
I knew what was coming. The masked man. The Nine-Tails. Blood and fire.
I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms.
"I won't let it happen," I whispered to the night. "Not to them. Not this time."
[Shisui's POV]
Elsewhere in the village, my thoughts lingered on her.
Akari.
She had wormed her way into Minato-sama's home, Kushina's heart, even the village's good graces. Everyone thought she was harmless. Sweet. A lost girl with a strange bloodline.
But I'd seen too much.
Her chakra was wrong. Her healing, unnatural.
And now, Kushina was pregnant.
I stared up at the Hokage Monument, my fists clenched.
"If she's hiding something dangerous… I can't let it reach them."
My Sharingan spun faintly in the moonlight.
I'd protect them too. Even if it meant protecting them from her.
[Akari's POV]
The next morning, Kushina pulled me into a crushing hug.
"You're an auntie now, Akari!" she squealed.
My face burned red as I wheezed, "C-can't… breathe…"
She laughed, holding me tighter anyway.
Minato just smiled at us, eyes full of quiet warmth.
And in that moment, surrounded by their light, I swore it again—this time not just in silence.
"I'll protect you," I said softly, words muffled against Kushina's shoulder.
Her laughter quieted. She pulled back, eyes searching mine. "You promise?"
I nodded. "With everything I have."
She grinned, bright as ever. "Good. 'Cause this baby's gonna need the best auntie ever."
I forced a smile.
But in my chest, my vow burned hotter than fire.
Not even fate itself would take them from me.