You'd never want to encounter me in a dark alley. Not if you knew what was good for you. I'm a member of the dark organization Akatsuki. I've been a member for quite a few years; since my younger brother was twelve. He never really figured out that I was his older sister, but I think he did after I left. I was thirteen when I left and now I'm seventeen.
I'm a pretty efficient ninja, always ready and able to fight. I don't look a thing like my brother, more like my mother Kushina. My brother has the blond hair, blue eyes and wild energy I'm told our father possessed. Our mother had reddish hair, dark eyes and no one really knows what happened to her. I also have a bad choice in men. Well, you'd say it's bad. I say it's good.
His name is Itachi Uchiha, the brother of Orochimaru's little minion Sasuke. Yes he killed his clan, but he won't tell me the reason why he did. Supposedly it was to test his strength, but Deidera doesn't believe that. His dark eyes are like black holes, but in a good way. His hands are very gentle when he's not in battle. He is always so sweet to me, just me. He treats the rest of the Akatsuki like nothing. The organization is a very nice place to reside; the village didn't hold anything for me.
Until I learned that their next target was my little brother: Naruto Uzumaki.
I didn't understand why on earth they wanted to kill Naruto; he was so kind, so vibrant, and so full of life. Was it because of our father's legacy being the Fourth Hokage? No, that couldn't be. Maybe it was because Naruto had tried to stop Itachi's brother from defecting? To try to stop him like he couldn't stop me?
Lately—ever since I'd gotten the news—I'd taken to my room, drawing and then painting intricate portraits of my brother, paintings of our parents that I'd painted from pictures. I wanted nothing to do with the Hidden Leaf Village now, but I also didn't want my brother to die for some bizarre reason. Pein had to have some kind of grudge or reason behind this unthinkable mission.
All Akatsuki members were to go after him, so that there would be little chance of him escaping. And that meant that the last thing he would see is me delivering the final blow to him, thus ending his life.
"You seem distant lately, Tsuki," Yeah, my name is Tsuki Uzumaki. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing much, Itachi. It's just that I don't want to kill my brother." This was a little surprising to Itachi, because we never mentioned our severed family ties to each other. Usually they were spilled by Deidera or Tobi, the biggest blabber-mouths in the Akatsuki.
"Your brother is the Nine Tai—never mind. I didn't know that he was your brother." He moved so that he was behind me, staring quietly at the painting I was drawing of a beast that supposedly attacked the Hidden Leaf Village when I was young. About the time my father died, and when my mother vanished.
"Yeah, well, when you leave a village, it's a little hard to talk about your family, much less continue talking to them. You should know, although you've visited your brother before, haven't you?"
Then his hands moved to my shoulders, down my arms and settling on my waist. His head moved so that our faces were side-by-side, and our cheeks touching. When he breathed, it washed over me like the steam does when you take a hot shower. He moved so that his body was against mine, and he took the paintbrush from my hand and set it down.
"Forget them. Forget the family you once knew, because they don't exist in your life anymore. You're here now, with all of us…with me." As I was about to open my mouth to respond, Kisame came in, chuckling his strange, fishy chuckle at how close Itachi was to me.
"Come on, you two. It's time to move out." His grin was evil and the teeth were sharp and jagged. Itachi reluctantly moved away from me, and just stared bored at his partner.
"You mean that it's time to kill him?" I dared to ask, and when Kisame chuckled evilly, I knew I had my answer.
"Yep, Leader says it's time to get headed out. So, hurry up, will you? You and Konan sure know how to lag behind, what with being girls and all."
I chucked a piece of furniture at his head, and was pleased when it smashed into hundreds of pieces.
"Some girls may take forever, but not us. Anyway, why is Leader making all of us kill a brat? I thought he was still just a genin."
"That may be true, but he's different. He's got a kyuubi in him. The most powerful of them all." (Sorry if I got the demon name wrong.)
"The Nine-Tailed Fox? You're kidding?" That horrible monster who'd taken our father from us was in my brother's body?! No wonder he got so much trouble for it.
"Nope. He's our target for that reason. We're gonna extract the demon from his body, and he'll die. Zetsu's gonna want to eat him once we've got the demon and he's dead." My throat caught, and I could just picture his face-though I hadn't seen him in a long time, I was sure his round, pre-teen face would be more sharp and filled in—with his eyes slightly open, blood coming out of his wounds.
"Kisame, go get your sword sharpened," When Kisame had left; he turned to me and wrapped his arms around me.
"Itachi, I know this is wrong, but I don't think I could kill him. He is my brother, after all. Wouldn't you do the same for yours?"
"No, because he doesn't need anyone to protect him, but…I'll help you protect him. Just for you." And then he leaned to whisper in my ear the plan.
We ran through the forest—all of us—jumping from tree limb to tree limb, with the though of our mission deep-rooted in our minds.
I felt a weird, agonizing feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'd left the village with no pain or regret, not even glancing back once. I'd visited memories often, and sometimes I snuck into the village under disguise, watching over the immature brother.
Friends, teachers, favorite places, he had them. Gaining the respect that he wanted so badly. Who was I to take that away from him? Should he see my face as he dies? No…he shouldn't. Living is what he should do. Everyone I call "friend" is condemned to die. By the ones we used to know, or even people who know of us and what we've done. I had to stop this in some way. Even if it meant my death or having Itachi's disapproval weigh on my shoulders for the rest of my life.
We finally reached the large stone gates-having slipped by the guards at all of the other check-points—and stood at the ready, waiting for Pein's command. And it came.
"Tsuki, Hidan, Itachi, go after the boy. Send a signal if you need help. We'll distract the rest of the ninja here for you. Tsuki…I hope you don't disobey me. But if you do, then I had better hope you have a better idea for retrieving what we need."
I nodded my agreement, and set off with Hidan and Itachi to find Naruto.
Then an idea hit me. What if Pein waited until years from now, when Naruto was close to death as an old man, and then retrieved the fox from him? After all, Pein had like, six bodies, so he could live for a long time.
"Hurry up, Tsuki! You can't get distracted now!" Hidan shouted to me, and then I see something that makes me feel like I got punched in the gut. And I didn't expect it too.
He was talking to that pink-haired girl, uh, what was her name? Oh! Sakura something! And the other boy-very short black hair and dark eyes-was unfamiliar to me. He must be the replacement for Sasuke. Then their eyes shifted towards us, and Sakura and other guy got into a fighting stance.
"Ha, they wish to fight us? Thank Jashin for this." Hidan laughed to himself. Itachi glanced at me, but I wasn't looking at him. I was looking at the younger, mirror-image of Minato Namikaze…
His ocean eyes were wide and looking at me, his brain trying to wrap the idea of his sister coming back so blatantly and to be a member of one of the most criminal organizations ever.
"Tsu-Tsuki?" This was the moment of truth…to fight or flee.
"Itachi, what do I do? I can't fight him. He may be the Nine-Tail Fox vessel, but I can't fight my own brother. Would you?"
"He's different. Hidan, leave them. We'll get the Nine-Tail when the boy's on the verge of death. That's what we'll do." The three younger—barely-teenagers were confused. It seemed as though Naruto understood, and he motioned for the others to back off.
"Come on, let's go." I gave Naruto a last glance and he smiled. We were at an understanding. We left him in peace and I never went back to the village, knowing he was in good hands. When we returned to the base, Itachi held me all night, whispering to me and telling me that I was his and no one else's. That it was okay.
There wasn't any reason to stay where we were anymore, so I made a conscious decision to leave the Akatsuki, I mean, there wasn't anything else I needed to do there. Except…try to put my feelings for Itachi into words. I think he got the jist though, seeing as he came to my room one night, telling me that I wasn't about to leave him behind.
He went to Pein the next morning, and it went well, I think. Pein doesn't take things like that very well. We were told that should the occasion arise, we would be called upon once more. That was okay with me. As long as, if we had kids, I didn't want Deidera or Tobi-much less both of them-baby-sit. Deidera's mouths and Tobi's hyper-ness might scar them emotionally.
So things are pretty normal now, wandering the country-side and doing odd-jobs is cool. If we stay in a place long enough, then I take some time to teach poor children how to read a few letters. It's not the exciting life I used to know, but I suppose it'll do. I know Itachi is a big, bad villain and all, but I'm starting to wonder when he's gonna propose to me. He's such a scaredy-cat. But I love him. And that is the end of Tsuki Uzumaki, sister of the Naruto Uzumaki, and the beginning of Tsuki…not tied to anything other than herself. Except maybe a certain sharingan missing-nin. I did leave something behind in my room, an unfinished portrait…I guess it symbolizes my unfinished life…but I'll finish it someday, wherever…whenever. But I know it'll be with Itachi. My one. Only. True. Love.