Time passed like water slipping between fingers.
In what felt like a blink, Kushina's belly had grown heavy with life, her steps slower but her fire just as fierce. The Namikaze home had transformed into a bubble of anticipation. Minato came home earlier when he could, smiling a little softer, his gaze never leaving Kushina too long. The warmth in that house was suffocating sometimes.
But I couldn't bring myself to hate it.
I had never known family. Not real family. And now, every time Kushina shoved dango into my hands, or Minato ruffled my hair with that calm, proud look… I felt something dangerous.
Belonging.
Dangerous, because I knew what fate demanded of them. And I had sworn, silently, in the depths of my heart, that I would tear fate apart before I let them be taken from me.
But warmth wasn't enough.
At night, when the house was silent except for Kushina's gentle breathing, I slipped away. Into the forests. Into the shadows.
The Mangekyō Sharingan flared in my eyes, a crimson kaleidoscope reflecting the moonlight. The power inside it was intoxicating—distorting space around me, bending perceptions, igniting chakra into raw destruction when I willed it.
And my body accepted it all. No strain. No blood. No weakness.
I tested techniques from the Scroll of Seals one after another, imprinting them into muscle memory. The Shadow Clone? Simple. Summoning? Child's play. Even the Flying Thunder God… it would take time, but I could feel my cells memorizing the formula as if I'd already practiced for years.
But the one that made me smile the most… was Edo Tensei. A jutsu not just of war, but of control.
When the time came, I would not fight alone.
The days blurred. Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen left until the child's birth.
Kushina refused to sit still despite Minato's hovering. She would laugh and swat his hands away. "I'm not glass, y'know!" she'd huff, then immediately sit down with a groan.
One night, as I helped her lower herself onto the couch, she gave me a tired grin. "Akari, you're really like the little sister I never had. Once the baby's here, you're gonna have to help me keep him out of trouble, okay?"
The words hit harder than I expected. Little sister. Not monster. Not weapon.
For a heartbeat, my demonic hunger quieted.
I smiled, brushing a strand of her hair back. "Don't worry, Kushina. I'll protect you. Both of you."
She laughed softly, unaware of the oath I had just sealed in blood.
But while the Namikaze home basked in light, the shadows thickened outside.
I felt them sometimes, watching. Zetsu's presence brushing faintly across the edges of my awareness, vanishing before I could track it. He had kept his promise to stay rare, to only intervene when necessary. But that meant only one thing—he was waiting.
Watching me sharpen my fangs.
And soon, he'd want me to use them.