Chapter 1 - Humanity
It had been a really long trip. Her feet were hurting, her hair was matted, her clothes torn and covered with who knows what and she was just tired. It had been a good week or so since she had stopped moving for more than a few hours just to eat and rest. She had avoided all major and minor towns and villages, knowing that getting seen would be enough trouble.
She had heard that there were hunter nin in the area, and she didn't know who and what they were here for, so it was best if she just stayed well out of sight. About two hours ago, she had felt two very faint, but monstrously strong chakra signatures pass by her a few kilometres away, probably not close enough to have felt her own, or they may have mistook her for a scout and decided to attack.
Either these hunter nin were here for them or her, she didn't know, but either way she wasn't ready to risk it. She had been trying to get away from places where she knew shinobi patrolled, even though they weren't in a country that had a hidden village.
Her head snapped towards the east as the two chakra signatures she felt earlier surged, and she felt a few others rising, more than likely the hunter nins. Thankfully that meant they weren't trying to find her, but her curiosity was piqued by the severe weight that the two large chakras put on her shoulders, even from here.
The black-haired woman couldn't help but follow it, keeping herself hidden in the shadows with her jutsu and got close enough to see two men in Akatsuki garb fighting four hunter nin, with another four already dead on the muddy, and now bloody ground. There was a clash of steel here, and whiz of a kunai there, but the remaining four nin were no match for the other two, who killed them within a minute.
Both Akatsuki didn't even loose their hats in the scuffle, so she couldn't tell who they were, but she could see that one of them was huge, and carried a large sword and the other, while smaller, didn't seem any less intimidating with the aura he gave off.
She watched from the tree-tops to see one of the first cell of hunter nin who didn't seem quite dead yet aim a kunai at the much smaller man's head. Without realising she was moving, her arm came out from the shadows laid on the ground by a nearby tree to stab the man in his heart with her own kunai, and the one he had prepared to throw landed on the ground with a clink.
The two Akatsuki knew that someone else was there now, since her chakra had flared to stop the hunter nin so there wasn't much point hiding herself. She leapt down from her place in the tree's and pulled her kunai from the dead ninjas body before looking to the two Akatsuki, who she imagined were staring back at her blankly, though she couldn't see their faces from the hat's and high collared cloaks.
If they weren't going to thank her or even speak, she wasn't going to bother either. As she turned to walk away, one of them spoke up, in a gruff voice that she faintly recognised as someone she had known a very long time ago.
"Kenai, is that you?" they said with a brief chuckle, as if laughing at their own private joke.
"Fish-fucker?" she turned her head just enough to see him lift off his hat and give her that cheeky, smug and point-toothed grin that she had enjoyed all those years ago.
"Nice to see you too, shadow bitch." he responded as she walked over to him and gave him a light tap on the arm in greeting, which he returned by smacking the top of her head. He always found it amusing how small she was, when really he was just gigantic.
"Kisame, I presume you know the lady." the other man said, with a blank and quiet voice, but it was heard over Kisame's chuckles.
"Lady? Hah! I've seen more men with less balls than this one." Kisame replied with another one of his usual chuckles, just a bit louder this time.
"I never knew you swung that way, Kisame. Now I think about it, it explains a lot." the girl named Kenai teased with her small, but full lips curved in a devious smirk and blue eyes filled with amusement.
"This is Kenai, Itachi-san. I knew her from back when we came across each other as missing nin just before I met you. Similar situation actually. We were both being chased by hunter nin. Kenai, this is Uchiha Itachi." Kisame finally remembered his manners, somewhat and introduced the two.
Itachi took off his hat and was kind enough to bow his head slightly to the girl, though he kept his face blank. Kenai took a good look at him, seeing what Kisame's partner was like. She had heard of the clan-killing Uchiha, but seeing him now made her doubt the rumours that he went crazy and killed all his family.
She noticed his red and black swirled eyes and stepped right over into his personal space to have a better look. "An Uchiha. I've only ever seen the Sharingan once before." she smirked at Kisame before stepping even closer to the Uchiha who moved his head back reflexively and narrowed his eyes at her, though it wasn't really in a threatening way, the young man was confused as to why she would want to look when he could easily kill her with a single glance.
Kenai hissed in response but chuckled afterwards, unaffected by his 'What are you doing?' glare and fell into step next to Kisame, not knowing where they where heading, but following anyway.
They seemed to be in no hurry now that the hunter nin were gone and kept their pace at a casual stroll while Kisame and Kenai threw insults back and forth with laughter and smirks while they caught up, having not seen each other in years, while the Uchiha kept to himself.
"I see you've actually grown some boobs. I was starting to think you really were a man when we went our separate ways." Kisame noticed, not hiding the fact that he took a quick look at her before speaking his mind.
"That's funny, because I was starting to think that you might never grow some balls. I'm glad to see you aren't just a fish-fucker any more." she quipped back not missing a beat, and Kisame had a look of bewilderment before roaring loudly with laughter, knowing that he had lost that battle.
As he bent back with laughter, she glanced the other way and saw that even the Uchiha had a small smirk across his face that was barely noticeable. "Look at that, I even got the Uchiha smirking. I was starting to wonder if the wind had blown and kept your face stuck the same way."
Kisame stopped laughing suddenly, and looked straight to his partner, expecting him to be cranky that Kenai had taken a dig at him, but his remaining tiny smirk said that he didn't really mind.
"I'd be careful about toying with Itachi-san. He has a shorter temper than me." Kisame said, giving his partner a glance before looking back to Kenai, who looked like she couldn't care less.
"I thought he was some sort of genius. I'm sure he is smart enough to know that I'm only messing around. But you on the other hand, fish-boy. I only say these things to harden you up. I know you are very sensitive sometimes." she chuckled mischievously, still enjoying how easy it was for her to win against him.
"It seems you have met your match, Kisame." Itachi spoke up, drawing Kenai's attention back to him.
She wrapped an arm around the Uchiha's shoulders even though he was a bit taller than her, who tensed at the contact and shook him lightly while she laughed, "It seems he has Uchiha, it seems he has!" she let him go, surprised that he could still walk after how tightly he tensed but ignored it anyway.
"But seriously, how are you Kisame? Akatsuki now? I suppose it is only fitting. You being the Monster of Kirigakure and all. The thing that parents in your home village scare their children with." she smiled happily, getting the feeling that Kisame was doing well.
"I'm surprised you haven't been sought out to join the Akatsuki. That jutsu of yours is damn scary stuff." he replied with a shake of his head, not kidding about her jutsu being scary.
"It really isn't scary, unless I use it to be scary. When I used it against the hunter nin, that was the first time I had used it like that in a year or so." Kenai replied, her shoulder-length dark hair catching in the wind.
"What is it, if I may ask?" Itachi said, being purely curious in her power, having not seen of something like that before.
"It's called Kage Oni. I'm one of the last one's left I believe, aside my siblings who are stuck in whatever hidden village has picked them up, if any are left alive." she shrugged casually and scratched the back of her head whilst speaking, "Basically, all shadows are where I hide in. It works best at sunset, because the shadows are longest. It's weird to explain. Let me show you, and watch closely with that dojutsu of yours."
They stopped walking and Itachi watched with Sharingan focused eyes as the girl walked over to a small shadowed area created by a tree and knelt down and disappeared before popping up a moment later. She saw a connecting shadow about ten metres away, and she concentrated and let her arm appear, waving at the two men, and let it come back and she lifted the same arm out of the shadow, waving it again.
"That's just the most basic part. The real freaky shit is this..." she disappeared entirely, and decided to fuck with Kisame by using the tree he was leaning against to grab him putting both hands over his mouth watching him struggle in surprise, as he stepped away from the tree, her still holding on until she was dangling just by her grip and decided to let him go and chuckling as he glared at her while he stepped away from her quickly.
She allowed her face to appear, but it was only very dark and hard to make out and she practically crawled out of the shadow, and landed on the ground silently and smirked at the Uchiha who looked quite impressed with her display.
"I find it amusing how parents tell their children they shouldn't be afraid of the dark. There is a reason the dark frightens people. It's not the dark itself, it's what it may be hiding." she smirked darkly and huffed in amusement.
"Shadow bitch." Kisame muttered quietly, still being a little cranky that she managed to scare him, although he probably should have seen it coming.
She grinned devilishly at him, and kept on strolling Kisame following while shaking his head and Itachi keeping his head down. They walked and made random conversation about whatever they thought of, including various insults and quips flying back and forth between the shark-nin and the small girl.
"So, are you guys headed any where in particular?" Kenai asked randomly, wondering if they were just moving for the sake of it, or if they had a purpose to their travel.
"We were mostly trying to get away from the hunter-nin. But now I guess we are just going to find somewhere to stay. Sound alright, Itachi-san?" the blue-skinned man asked his partner, even though he was probably going to be told something else.
The Uchiha responded with a small nod, and Kisame smirked and began chuckling like always. Kenai looked around, remembering why she was actually coming out this way in the first place. She recalled crashing/hiding out in an abandoned farm-house not too far from here, which was where she was planning on going to.
"I might be able to help with that. I was heading to an old little place west of here. Don't know if it's still standing or if there is anyone else in there with the same idea, but we'll find out soon, if you want to come with me." the woman informed the other two shinobi, putting her hands behind her head and yawning after she spoke.
Kisame expected Itachi to decline, not being the most trusting person, but he didn't say anything and just continued walking in the same direction, so he took that as consent and looked back to Kenai. "Lead the way, shadow bitch."
In just under two hours, Kenai found the house, making sure to thoroughly check it out before telling the Akatsuki that it was safe. She opened the front door, and bowed politely then spoke in a posh voice. "Right this way, gentlemen." gesturing to the inside of the house.
It was the same as the last time she was here. Dusty, dark and stuffy. She opened a few of the windows that weren't broken or cracked and Kisame sat down on a decrepit lounge, that made her cough and splutter with the puff of dust that rose from it's worn cushions.
Itachi walked over to a bookshelf in the corner of the room, looking at all the old titles, wiping the dust off one before gently picking it up and lent up against the wall next to the bookshelf, opening the old tome and reading silently.
After Kenai had tried her best to air out the place, she sat down on the floor and got out some spare blank pieces of paper and writing tools from her pack and wrote the write assortment of letters so the jutsu she was preparing for would work correctly. Kisame talked to her and she responded every now and then whilst concentrating, Itachi staying quiet in the corner of the room, but occasionally glancing at the woman, wondering what she was up to.
"Okay, all done." she announced out of the blue, getting up and stretching while the two men watched her curiously. "Stay here, this jutsu will keep us hidden." she explained simply before strolling out the front door and disappearing for a few minutes.
"So, Itachi-san, you seem oddly trusting of her. I didn't think you'd want her around. Any reason for that?" Kisame pondered out loud, the other man glancing back at his book with a blank expression.
"She merely gives off no sign of deception. Also, it's quite amusing to see you put in your place by a good looking woman that is half your size, and with even less discretion than you." he replied simply, no emotion in his voice, and since his head was buried in the book, he didn't notice his partner raising an eyebrow at the comment suggesting that Kenai was attractive.
"Fair enough then. She certainly comes in handy with things like this as well. No wonder she hasn't been caught. I doubt anyone can hide better." Kisame chuckled at the thought of the 'shadow-bitch' who was setting up a perimeter out the front.
Said woman walked through the front door at the cessation of that conversation, and Kisame watched her walk in the room and sit down again, just where she was moments before, placing down her last piece of paper in front of her and closing her eyes.
"Stay still please, gentlemen." she took a deep breath before smirking deviously, "Oh, and Uchiha, I'd say more it should be more than a little less discretion. I practically taughthim how to not give a shit." a small laugh escaped her as Itachi's gaze moved from his book to her face instantaneously.
She held his gaze evenly and the look she gave him suggested that she certainly did hear the 'good-looking' part, but just decided to keep what seemed to be his version of embarrassment under wraps, which was a barely perceptible widening of his eyes and slightly raised brows. Kenai gave him a suggestive wink, torturing him a little more, and enjoying how he composed himself very carefully before looking back to his book.
Kenai formed a few hand seals and Kisame held in his laughter so he didn't distract her, amused at the exchange between her and his partner. A small prick on her right thumb allowed a drop of blood to land on the piece of paper, activating the seal.
"Kage Oni no Jutsu: Kakurenbo." she muttered quietly, before her chakra soared and then disappeared into nothing.
Kisame knew what she had done and the Uchiha had an idea, of course, his being a genius and all, but he decided to go out on a limb and ask her what she did, even though he may have felt a little concerned as to how she heard his earlier comment and even more so by her reaction.
"You used your jutsu to hide us in shadow?" he asked with a quiet voice, ignoring Kisame who was chuckling darkly in the background.
"Yep. That will keep us hidden, maybe even from your Sharingan." she smirked at him, knowing that the tiny flash behind his eyes when he met her blue orbs wasn't something he was used to.
"And you used another part of your jutsu to...eavesdrop on our conversation?" he asked again, trying to keep his voice level while Kisame laughed louder in the background.
"Yep. Let's just say, I have eyes and ears everywhere. If I leave my mark somewhere and I'm close enough to be in range, and with a lot of concentration and chakra, I can hear what is happening. I left a few inside whatever is left of my village, which is mostly how I keep up to date with everything." she summed up and yawned, feeling a little drained since she hadn't done something like this in a while.
Instead of moving, she stayed put on the floor, and simply dragged a crappy wooden chair over to her, and crossed her arms on the seat and rested her head on them. There was a nice bit of quiet until it got too dark and cold.
Kenai went outside to find a nice small pile of firewood that seemed dry enough to use. Chances are, it was still here from the last time she hid out here, which was probably a few years ago. Normally she wouldn't travel so far north until it was well into summer, but everything down south was getting boring.
She brought it in and the two men, Kisame looking like he was ready to sleep, and Itachi was regarding her with curiosity that resulted from boredom while she used a small bit of fire-natured chakra to start the fire, which quickly started, but would burn for quite a long time. Before she got comfortable, she brought the rest of firewood in, just in case it rained through the night and it got wet.
Itachi put down his book, since it was dark within half an hour and it was too dark for him to read by only the orange light the fire gave off. All three of them were hungry, and thirsty, but none of them had any food, and Kenai shared the rest of her water between them, until it was gone.
From memory, she knew that the place did have old utensils for cooking with, beds and cupboards, but the first time she found the place, it seemed like it had been abandoned out of nowhere, so there was expired food, and other things laying around from the last tenants that she had gotten rid of.
Kisame groaned with hunger and Kenai struggled to remember where the nearest town or village was. She was hungry as well, but Kisame needed food more regularly since his stamina stores were kept up by eating and making use of the energy he gained from it.
Itachi, as always never voiced his complaints, but she could see him place a hand over his stomach, when he thought no one was looking. Kenai finally had enough of Kisame's grumbling and went out to try and find some fruit or something nearby. Nearly a kilometre away, there was a few small apple trees, but most of the apples were small as well. Either way, she didn't care and she took them back, using the length of her shirt underneath her travelling cloak to hold them as she dashed back.
Both men were clearly happy to have something to fill their stomachs, Itachi's reaction being barely noticeable in comparison to Kisame's loud chuckle and sigh. The blue-skinned man nearly grabbed all of them, until Kenai smacked him in the head and walked over to Itachi and let him take a few first, before she sat down on the seat she had been resting on before, leaving Kisame gawping on the lounge.
She glared at him, making her point known and threw him half the apples that were left, making certain to throw them hard and fast, and luckily, he caught them all, but glared back at her when he took a bite of the first one, practically devouring the whole thing in one go.
After that, Kenai pointed them in the direction of the two bedrooms, and didn't bother to include that she was just going to stay in the living room, more or less to keep watch, but also because she still didn't feel too comfortable in this place. It brought back memories that she had been trying to ignore for a good number of years.
Kisame made his way to bed, saying goodnight to 'Itachi-san' politely, and giving Kenai a quip, which she just responded with a middle finger raised in his direction, since she was slowly eating her last apple, not even turning to look at him when she did it, leaving her and the Uchiha in the living room.
The fire was dying, and since Itachi was now seated on the lounge that Kisame had vacated a few minutes ago, with his eyes closed, she didn't think he would get up and place more firewood on it, but much to her surprise, as soon as she stood up, the Sharingan-possessing young man walked over to the firewood pile, and took a few pieces over and gently laid them on the fire as Kenai watched him carefully.
She was going to sit back down, but the warmth the fire gave off when it soared back to life was much to enticing, and instead she walked over and made herself comfortable on the single-seater couch opposite to Itachi, hanging her legs over one side, and resting her head on the barely-working armrest.
"I'll...uh...go to the nearest village tomorrow, and pick up some food." Kenai said quietly, lifting her head up just enough to look at the Uchiha when she spoke and he merely watched her and nodded his confirmation in response.
"Any reason why you are so quiet? You can actually talk to me instead of nodding, you know." she asked with the tiniest edge to her voice, not so much to show that she was angry, but just to maybe encourage him to not be such a 'silent-as-the-grave' type.
Instead of speaking, the dark-haired man decided to make it a little more fun for himself, and just lifted his head up to look at the woman, who stared straight back into his red and black eyes and nodded again, the light of the fire showing the tiniest shadow on his face, telling Kenai that he may have been smirking a bit.
She huffed in a mix of sardonic amusement and laid her head back on the armrest, and decided there wasn't any point trying and she just tried to sleep. After about half an hour, she realised that Itachi didn't seem to be leaving the living room, so she figured that she would use the bedroom, instead of letting him see her be a mess with mused hair, tussled clothes and sleepy eyes in the morning.
"Well, if you are going to sit out here, I'll use the other bedroom." Kenai said with a yawn at the end as she crawled out of the ancient seat and to her feet.
"It is only fair. You are the lady here. I'll keep watch through the night." Itachi responded without his voice changing, though if Kenai was looking at him, his gaze held slight amusement, finding that he was rather enjoying having a quick witted woman around.
"Lady? Me? That's the funniest thing to ever come out of your mouth, Uchiha. Maybe you do have a sense of humour somewhere under that blank mask of yours." Kenai turned to look at him with a lopsided smirk that Itachi couldn't help but find funny.
"I still am human, even though I am a shinobi first." he retorted with a much smaller, but still there smirk that made her laugh out loud, even though he was half-serious.
"Heh, many a true word is said in jest. But you've got it the wrong way around. It's the second thought you have before you complete your duty that makes you human, and makes you who you are, not the duty itself...Itachi." she sobered when she said his name and gave him a small nod in the form of a goodnight and he returned it with a look in his eye that she couldn't entirely put her finger on.
He was surprised to hear his first name come out of her mouth, since all she had called was 'Uchiha' and the look on her face suggested that there definitely seemed more to her than the quick-witted insults and lack of class front that she put up. His Sharingan caught every single tiny expression when she spoke and he saw that she almost looked lonely.
The young man was startled when he found himself thinking that he would like to know more about Kenai, and not just in a cautious and general distrust of someone he'd only met today, kind of way.
But then he recalled what she had said about second thoughts. He knew all about those. It was the only reason his beloved little brother was alive right now, and probably the only reason that he was still breathing too. Even though he had been brought up to never think of anything but his duty, put everything his family and village wanted before what he wanted, she had just shown him that he was more human than he realised.
With a small smirk, he allowed himself to fall into a light sleep, so he could get some rest, thinking about how Kenai had already challenged his whole thought process, even though they had only met just today...
