Uchiha Akai knew he was drifting in time.
It was up for him. He hadn't been paying attention to his meager Chakra when using the Sharingan, so his body was overdrawn. It was unlike himself, who was usually careful and meticulous about every decision. But the Uchiha clan, Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina—whatever had happened, he wanted over with...
.... ah, dear Yumeka. Was this what you felt when you entrusted me with Yurime...?
But he had no one to pass on his trust.
Because this world is cruel and unjust.
So he'd need to carry Yumeka's love forever, until the end of time...
... the stupid Fox is right. Wake up, you Uchiha scum.
<>
BLAM! BLAM!
Uchiha Akai awoke to a throbbing pain everywhere.
He meant everywhere, as if the cortical surfaces of his brain were peeled, as if every fiber nerve of his body had trapped lighting. Invisible needles plunged into the vitreous bodies and optic muscles of his eyes. He carried mud for limbs, a furnace as lungs, and bones that turned to sand. How had he even managed to stand? How much time had passed?
The fact escaped him instantly. He knew.
Six hours.
Akai covered his left eye with one palm. How'd he know?
"The Sharingan," he murmured.
But there was a voice in his head murmuring along with him.
... the Mangekyo Sharingan... such enviable abilities...
Who? Mangekyo?
... to control the flow of time... isn't that touching the realm of the old man Sage of—
"Sage of whom?" Akai interrupted out loud.
It was Kurama who'd been speaking inwardly. He entered the seal of the Demon Fox to find its mouth hung agape. It took a step away from him, fur pricked upwards, and a shivering claw pointed in the air.
"Who—how'd you know my thoughts?!"
Akai covered his right eye with a palm this time.
"The evolved Sharingan... two different abilities," he muttered. Then he gazed towards the Fox. "What else do you know?"
Kurama shrunk further backwards and avoided eye contact like the plague.
"... the heavenly eyes that see the truth of all of creation without obstruction."
"Speak clearly."
"It's the advanced form of the Sharingan that has only been activated by a handful of Uchiha. They grant different ocular dojutsu, in addition to enhancing the basic perceptual and genjutsu abilities... that's all I know!"
Akai took a step forward. Kurama took one back.
"I'll say! I'll say! The Sharingan... is also said to have been inherited from the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths! That's really all I know!"
But he'd ignored the Fox's frightened ramblings and walked to Yurime instead. The Mangekyo Sharingan of his right eye that could read the Fox's mind... had understood her dreams, too. Her little brain was active yet her mind was blank, but she had begun to process the sensation of his warmth and presence.
Suddenly, he couldn't stay annoyed with Fox's irritating inner voice anymore.
"You didn't disturb her sleep all this time, did you?"
Kurama's nine tails unfurled with relief when it saw that his Mangekyo had faded. It gave an awkward grin, teeth showing, but lips never stretched to its eyes.
"Of course no, I hate the bawls and wails of these pathetic Human cubs the most—"
Akai's brows twitched.
"—b-but I can make an exception, every exception for her!"
Akai placed another gentle kiss on Yurime's forehead before his Sharingan spun again.
"I'll take that you've accepted," he said. "I'll remove the seal, so you can go about as you please—"
Kurama's eyes blinked. Akai knew it was trying to hide its joy.
"—but you'll be her pet for the duration of her life."
"That wasn't in the agreement! You said that you have a job for me, paying me for my power!" Kurama immediately erupted.
Akai saw it stand on all fours with its teeth bare, tails whipping the miasma of the seal murkier. He felt the sudden waves of heavy Chakra rush through Yurime's hair, making her little brows quiver ever so slightly, and his Mangekyo awakened faster than a blink of an eye.
It startled him, for it was beyond an instinctive response—not only nerve conductance, but something deeper, as if the air itself had bent to let him pass. The moment cracked open, brief and silent, like time flinched. But he didn't dwell on it.
Kurama froze for a split second, then thrashed around with its eyes blazing.
His hand hovered over Yurime's stomach, fingers steady. The iron bars that barred the Fox behind collapsed into the space as the mist faded. The fury that had mixed with fright in its gaze faltered into a pause, then a barest flicker of something else.
"A pet babysitter. You killed her Mother, after all. She needs protection as she grows up and a companion when she grows up. It's only fitting that you be the one to pay that back."
".... grrr."
Akai's gaze deepened seeing its recognition.
I'll use genjutsu to probe you more about the Sage of Six Paths later. For now...
"... tell me what you did to the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina. I have my favors to repay."
<>
It's rowdy outside, Uchiha scum. There's quite a few people. Oh, I can't wait to see that monkey Third Hokage's reaction when he sees I'm free, kekeke! Hey! Why is there the stench of Senju bastards around? Weren't they eliminated?
"Zip it."
Akai began to have some regrets. His throbbing headache wasn't going away and the incessant chatter of the stupid Fox was doing everything to make it worse. He really began to consider torturing it for more information, skinning the beast alive, and feeding it to Yurime. She hadn't even had her first taste of milk yet and he sure hadn't forgotten the problem of weaning with her mother dead...
... Yumeka. How can I explain everything to your parents?
The Fox must've sensed his murderous intentions because he heard its chatter turn to quiet pleading.
Y-you can't kill me... my Chakra will be reborn... and the Jinchuuriki will die with me... like that Kushina brat.
BLAM!
He crouched gently in front of Minato and Kushina's bodies. That had only made the pounding and sounds outside of the Chakra barrier louder, which he tried to ignore.
"Is there really no way to save them?" he murmured.
Kurama had clearly told him his claw had penetrated multiple organs of Minato and that withdrawing a Tailed Beast from its Jinchuuriki host would drain Kushina's vitality.
With Shijimanagare, the Mangekyo ability of his left eye, he'd only managed to delay the inevitable. Blood would seep out slower and hearts would beat for longer, but only the Sage of Six Paths had the qualifications to even attempt to save them.
"... what a pity."
The ninja world would claim one more orphan.
He turned to Naruto, now sleeping peacefully in Kushina's arms, and then to Yurime, who slept even more soundly. He was clear that the orphan very much could've been her, if things had gone differently.
Akai couldn't stomach that thought. He couldn't stomach how the continuous hammering of the barrier had stirred Yurime awake a little, or how the fact that the village might not accept Yumeka's sacrifice to seal the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
Hey, Uchiha scum. Curses, this is driving me crazy. Only you schizophrenic Humans talk like this. But Senju Tsunade is taking action. The barrier won't last. What are you going to do? Kill them all?
Akai really considered slaughtering them all, not even from the suggestion of Kurama.
He wouldn't blame the incident on the Fox. The Fourth Hokage wouldn't blame the incident on him. But the village, the Uchiha clan.... as well as...Yumeka's parents... they were all perfectly capable of pinning everything onto him and Yurime.
But he couldn't. No matter how much he hated the village and the ninja world, he needed them. He needed milk for Yurime to grow. He needed to honour Yumeka's love and repay Kushina's favor. He needed to protect Yurime and her pure innocent heart, which meant he needed more power, more ninjutsu, more knowledge about the Sharingan.
"... did you say Tsunade is with them?"
He needed to save the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina first.
Kurama had said they were on their way to the Underworld, but he dared to use Sharingan genjutsu on the Death God himself. He wasn't going to give up his plans easily.