Cataclysmic
Chapter 1
The moment I slipped into the bar, I felt their eyes upon me. The men at the stools sat there, mouths slightly open and mugs of ale hovering near their lips.
I ignored their curious gazes and went straight up to the barmen and leaned over the counter, curving up my mouth in what I hoped was a flirty grin.
"Hello," I practically purred the words, "I'd like a beer."
He squinted at me. Even in the smoky darkness of the small room I still looked young. Too young to drink. Not that I practically cared, of course.
"Piss off, kid." He replied with a snort , and I fought back a scowl. Stupid old man.
"C'mon, please?" I casually let my sleeve slip off my shoulder and pursed my lips in an expression of dismay.
I didn't miss the way his gaze looked down, and I pressed my chest together, an d gave him the expression of a kicked puppy. I saw him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.
"Well, I-I guess." His stubbled cheeks were flushed, and he was staring quite openly at my boobs.
I clapped my hands together in joy and squealed happily.
"Thanks!" I paused and winked at him, "I'll make it worth your while later."
He gave my body an appreciative once-over, and suddenly he looked quite smug. I raised my eyebrows at him and a tongue flicked out from his mouth and licked his spit-flecked lips.
Ew.
Holding back a shudder of disgust, I mimicked his actions – but hopefully it looked more attractive than his did.
"If you give it to me for free, I'll wait for you until your shift is over, and we can have some fun." I breathed huskily at him, and he looked like to was about to faint with happiness.
"Aye." He mumbled back to me, and I pecked his scratchy cheek, leaving a red lip-print.
He touched his face, looking satisfied, small eyes crinkling at the corners.
In a flash, he had turned around and started moving his hands rapidly and suddenly there was a cool glass of beer on the counter in front of me. He gave me one last longing glance before going off to serve someone else.
I slid onto the stool and crossed my legs, letting my kimono hike up my thighs.
Sipping at the drink elegantly, I let my eyes flicker around the room, catching sight of two men a few seats down from me, pouring over a pile of papers and chattering excitedly among themselves.
"We've done well," One was saying, waving a handful of green bills, "Those missing-nin were worth more than I expected ."
My ears perked at the mention of money.
I downed the rest of the alcoholic beverage and wiped my mouth with my sleeve. Squinting at my reflection of the glass , I applied another coat of scarlet lipstick, mussed up my hair with a pale hand, and sauntered off towards the duo, swaying my hips in a hypnotic action.
"Hey," Slipping into the seat next to them, I gave them my most winning grin, " I couldn't help overhearing you. Are you guys perhaps bounty hunters?"
They turned and looked at me with glassy eyes. Under the influence already. Perfect.
One of them puffed his chest up at my words, looking annoyingly proud.
"Yeah," He rasped, "Missy, we're the bes t bounty hunters around."
I tried not to roll his eyes at him, and settled for looking up and fluttering m y lashes.
"Sorry," I said, pouting prettily, "I had something in my eye."
"What ya want?" The other piped up in a deep voice, stroking his beard, "This is n't something a women should hear, young 'un."
I smiled pleasantly at him, resisting the urge to crush his throat with my bare hands.
"I'm just curious." I answered, trying to keep my voice smooth and falsely sweet.
They blinked impassively at me in reply, and I released a tiny sigh of exasperation.
"Mind if I look at these?" I gestured at the pile of papers, and they shrugged and returned to their beers, staring boredly at the wall.
Flicking through the pile, I noted that they were actually posters of criminals, and each one was titled 'WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE' in block capitals.
Hmmm.
My eyes saw something blue and I stared down at the poster in my hand. There was a picture of a man who was blue – literally the colour of the sky on a cloudless summer's day – with beady golden eyes and what looked like gills on his cheeks.
Interested piqued, I read on. Apparently his name was Kisame Hoshigaki, he was from Kirigakure, and the reward for his capture/death was a lot. He was worth half a million yen.
He was a member of a criminal organization called Akatsuki and traveled with his partner Itachi Uchiha, the notorious mass-murderer, who was worth the same amount of cash.
"Hey!" I said loudly to the bounty hunters next to me, and they gave me tired looks.
"Mind if I have this?" I held up the poster of Kisame, and they shrugged. I slipped it into my kimono.
"Ye got a crush on him?" The one with the beard said, giving me a strange look, and my mouth twisted up in a smirk.
"Nope," I leaned in to the one closest to me with the raspy, chain-smoker voice , poster in one hand, the other hand resting on his chubby thigh, "Thanks to you, I've found my next target."
He blinked, a blush flaming across his cheeks as I leant forward to lightly brush my lips against his, and then I pulled back, hopped off the stool, blew them a kiss goodbye, and left the bar.
My body felt nice and warm, mainly because I had just robbed the duo blind and hidden the money inside my clothes. Kissing really was a useful distraction.
"I wish I didn't have to do it with gross old men though." I muttered, scrubbing at my mouth with my sleeve, "Fucking perverts.
Walking along the street, I squinted up at the darkening sky. It must have been around eight.
Hearing the sound of someone behind me, I spun around, my body sinking into an automatic battle stance.
A man stood in front of me, wearing a collared black cloak covered with red clouds and a conical straw hat on his hat from which many tassels hung, hiding his face.
"Can I help you?" I asked him calmly, although my heart was racing, the thudding sound echoing through my ears.
"Hn." He replied, and I blinked, taken off guard.
"Look mister, I'm not interested with ha ving sex with anyone at the moment. Go ask someone else." I sighed.
He didn't answer, just stood there, most likely staring at me, and I felt an embarrassed flush creep up my neck. I really hoped I had interpreted his grunt correctly.
"I'm hungry." He announced in a monotone , and I raised my eyebrows at his emotionless reply.
"So?" My voice was surprisingly sharp.
He didn't reply.
We stood there for a moment, eyeing each other and I released another loud sigh, slumping my shoulders in defeat.
"Lemme guess, you want me to show you somewhere to eat?" I said, and he nodded slightly, "Alright, whatever, fine. Follow me."
I turned around and led him to the nearest tea-house.
x.x.x.x
We sat at a small table, and I picked at my strawberry cake while the silent man opposite me sipped at his tea and ate his dango. I had meant to only drop him off at the tea-house, but for some reason , I went in with him.
Guess who was paying.
Hint: it wasn't him.
"So," I said, attempting to strike up a conversation, "My name's Ichigo. What's yours?"
He took off his straw hat and looked at me, and my eyes widened. He looked to be in his twenties, with black hair tied back in a loose ponytail and onyx eyes. The lines under his eyes made him look incredibly tired. He was – to be perfectly honest – really, really hot.
I released a low whistle when I looked at his headband. He was from Konoha. It also had a very noticeable scratch through the middle of it.
"So you're a missing nin," I said, squinting at him with red eyes, "You look kinda familiar."
He stared at me impassively, and I clicked my fingers in realization.
"You're an Uchiha!" I said triumphantly, "Itachi, right?"
He titled his head, proving me right. I leaned back, studying him curiously.
"So you've got the Sharingan, right?" Another nod.
"Where are you from?" He suddenly asked me, and I tilted my head, giving him an innocent look.
"No where," I tapped my chin with my finger, "Not that you'd know of."
He sipped his tea, looking at me emptily.
"So, the Sharingan, huh? That's pretty neat. You know your eyes would be worth loads on the black market."
The corner of his mouth twitched in what I hoped was amusement, and I grinned at him, propping my face up on the table with my hand.
"This village is a fucking shithole, though." I said, leaning in slightly, "Everyone here acts like complete assholes. And there's too many perverts. Watch out, Itachi-san, or they might get you."
"I'm a man." He deadpanned, and I laughed.
"It doesn't matter. As long as you're pretty, they want you."
He hmm-ed in response, taking another long drink from his cup, and I watched his graceful movements with envy.
"Where are you going?"
"To meet my partner." He replied. I assumed he was feeling more chatty after eating.
I waggled my eyebrows at him.
"Girlfriend?" I said, winking at him, an d he looked a little disturbed.
"Thankfully, no."
"Is she hot?"
"Kisame is a man."
Sniggering, I plaited my hair, looking up from him from my lashes, but then my eyebrows contorted and realization flooded my body.
I froze, thoughts and words flashing thr ough my head.
Kisame. Missing-nin. Itachi. Partners. Akatsuki. Worth a million yen together. Dangerous. Valuable. Target. Mission.
"Really, now?" I attempted to sound nonchalant, and he blinked slowly at me.
"Hn."
I took that as a yes.
"There's a bounty out on your head." I said the words softly, and his eyes met mine, and for a long moment we just stared at each other.
"You want money." He didn't sound angry. Just tired.
"I'm not going to attack you, Itachi-san ," I held out my hands, fingers spread out, "I'm unarmed at the moment. And you're too strong for me to take on, even if I did have weapons."
He titled his head, waiting for me to elaborate.
"I guess you could say I'm a bounty hunter," I shrugged, "I just do whatever I can to get by."
"How old are you?" He asked.
"Sixteen."
He stared up at the ceiling for a moment , and then flicked some dust off his sleeve. I watched him, eyebrows raised, and he stood up.
"Thank you for the meal." He bowed his head at me, and I couldn't resist letting a smile flicker across my face.
"That's alright." I patted his shoulder, letting my fingers glide over the soft material of his cloak, "Be careful, Itachi-san. If we meet again, I'll find you and get the bounty. Promise."
His mouth twitched into a smirk.
"I thought you were too weak to take me on." His voice sounded almost teasing.
I blinked. Was he playing with me?
"I'll have an army to take you on." I joked, and he arched a black eyebrow at me.
"Of course." He turned to leave.
"See you later, Itachi-san."
"Keep true to your promise, Ichigo-san." He leant forward, and I bit back a gasp . He hand reached up and his index finger lightly poked my forehead.
"Huh?"
He looked almost amused at my confused f ace, and suddenly, he was gone.
Shaking my head, I went and paid for the meal, and left.
x.x.x.x
It was night-time now. I squinted down the dark street, having gathered all my things in my bag, and I was prepared to leave this shitty village. I had only stopped here to snoop around and restock my supplies.
The narrow street was empty, except for a group of people heading towards me. There were four of them. I tilted my head , but kept on walking. When I was passing them, I brushed shoulders with one of them, and I glanced at their face, only to be see familiar onyx eyes which seemed devoid of emotion staring back at me.
"Itachi-san?" I murmured the words, and suddenly I was slammed against the closest wall, a hand around my throat, my feet dangling a few inches above the ground.
The light from someone's windows turned on, illuminating the scene, and I saw who was holding me, and it was definitely not Itachi.
"Who are you?" The grip around my neck tightened, and I hissed in pain, "And how do you know my brother?"
My eyes widened.
"Don't tell me... you're Sasuke Uchiha?" I was wheezing the words because it was increasingly hard to breathe.
He released me, and I fell back onto the group, gasping for air and gingerly patting my throat, wincing.
That was so going to bruise later.
He crouched down in front of me, and all I saw were the Sharingan spinning in his eyes, the very same that I had seen in the text books that I had idolized when I was younger.
The world around me wobbled and faded to black, and I slumped to the damp ground, unconscious.
x.x.x.x
That fire you ignited
Good, bad and undecided
Burns when I stand beside it
- Ultraviolet by The Stiff Dylans
Well, I hoped you guys liked it! That's the first chapter~
Sorry about the OOC-ness and the general shakiness of my writing. It should get better as I continue. Hopefully. :p
Mmm, so what did you guys think?
Leave a review, please! It makes me feel way more encouraged to update! :)
- Momo/Tortoise-chan