She trudged forlornly through the woods, the tip of a katana pressed into her back. "I just had to get caught," she muttered to herself. Whilst attempting to steal secret scrolls from the Leaf she had been discovered and in her desperation to flee, she had foolishly lowered her guard. Which resulted in her being followed and captured. She was aware that her three captors were taking her back to Konoha for punishment but she was resolute that she'd draw out the trip back as much as possible.

"Move girl," one of her captors ordered as he shoved her forward , she slowed defiantly in response. The captor growled from beneath his ANBU mask whilst he raised his fist. Closing her eyes she awaited the blow, but it never came. Peeking an eye open she realised her captors' attention had been diverted towards two figures shrouded in the shadows. Squinting her eyes she saw they were wearing black cloaks adorned with red clouds, she internally disapproved of their choice to pair cloaks with straw hats, whilst her captors began to move forward cautiously. One stayed back in order to bind the girl's feet before joining his comrades.

The more aggressive captor threw an order over his shoulder to her. "Stay there, do not move". Raising an eyebrow she looked down at herself seriously doubting her chances of going anywhere with hands and feet bound by rope.

"Idiot," she breathed. The two figures began to slink forwards, their forms ominously mixing with the shadows around them. The captors instinctively stumbled a few steps back in response.

"We are ANBU of the Leaf, name yourselves!" one yelled, his voiced strained with apprehension.

"Gladly," the taller of the two figures replied. Both figures discarded their hats and the female gasped in fear.

"I am Hoshigaki Kisame," one announced. He was tall for a man and appeared to be entirely blue, looking distinctively like a fish.

"And I am Uchiha Itachi."

The captor's looked uncertainly at each other, unsure of whether to attack or flee. Fear filled them as they became aware they were confronting two S-ranked criminals. They however were not given much of a choice. Kisame unveiled Samehada from his back before gliding towards his opponents, raising the gigantic sword before bringing it down onto one of the shinobi. Itachi stayed back, withdrawing a katana, his sharingan blazing. The woods were filled with the sound of metal meeting metal as kunai tackled sword, the battle raged.

The female saw her chance and waddled out of the danger zone, berating herself for choosing the life of a rogue she began to undo her bounds. Pausing for a brief moment she silently prayed that the two Akatsuki members did not see her, otherwise her fate was certain.

Managing to undo the ropes, the female ran into the woods, black hair billowing behind the fleeing form. Her luck however was short-lived when she rebounded off of a muscular chest and on to the ground. Looking up, blue clashed with red, and all she saw were the spinning tomoes of the sharingan before collapsing backwards.

Kisame approached the Uchiha who was rebinding an unconscious female.

"Are we going to kill her?" he inquired, glancing at the girls porcelain face. Itachi suppressed a glower as recognition filled him.

"No, she may be of some value".