Sketch Swap!
Aimi had heard of the great Uchiha Itachi. Everyone had, from the lowliest civilian to the most skilled shinobi. He was a prodigy, the crown jewel of his clan and Konoha itself. Rumor and tall tales surrounded him, and Aimi guessed she'd heard them all, one way or another. The girls (she refused to call them women; tittering away like a schoolgirl was not how a responsible kunoichi should act) romanticized him, exaggerating his 'mystery' and his looks and overall making fools of themselves. The men both admired and reviled him. They admired his skill and his status, and hated his fast climb through the ranks (not to mention his pull over the fairer sex).
Aimi had her own thoughts about the Uchiha, and she kept them to herself. She had no reason to join in on the theorizing, and she found it rather fun to smile mysteriously when her friends brought the topic up. Aimi fancied herself an expert on Itachi, actually. She was ANBU, known as Tiger to the general population, and part of Itachi's squad. While taking orders from someone younger than her was strange, it did afford her the chance to get to know him the best way she knew how: spying. A glance here, an eavesdropped word there, and Aimi was slowly filling in the painting that was Uchiha Itachi.
Then came The Mission.
It was her first S class, gathering information about and possibly assassinating a notorious missing nin of some ability. The nin was suspected of stealing a critical scroll from Konoha. It had been assigned to Itachi, and the captain had chosen her and Crane to assist him. As the recon specialist of the trio, she would be responsible for the main objective: finding and trailing the nin. Aimi had relished the chance to prove herself as a kunoichi (and no small part of her enjoyed the chance to observe her captain).
"The clearing is secure, Captain." Crane said from his hidden perch above her. Aimi glanced at her captain, waiting for the signal to descend. He looked towards her and gave the signal. Without a word, she leapt down, landing silently in the moss. She started searching for signs in the dark: broken twigs, remains of a latrine, recently shifted dirt, anything to give away their target's passage. She found nothing, and sighed silently. This shinobi is a master of stealth. I guess with years to practice running and hiding from the villages, it's no surprise.
It didn't mean she was happy about that, though. She had been looking forward to showing off her physical tracking and recon skills, not just her jutsu. Still, Aimi was willing to temper her irritation. She took in a quiet breath and faced away from Itachi. He had his Sharingan active, and Aimi wasn't going to let him copy her prized jutsu. It was her grandfather's creation, and wasn't limited to bloodline. The series of jutsu he created were part of why she was considered a recon specialist, and Aimi wasn't about to let the secret to her success go.
Aimi quickly went through the seals, silently finishing the jutsu and closing her eyes. This particular one let her see chakra, much like the Sharingan and Byakugan could. She cracked her eyes open and glanced over her shoulder, catching sight of the blue blazes that were her team. She smiled just a bit; the jutsu was working. Quickly, she went through another set of seals, ending with a whisper of the jutsu's name. It was too quiet for her partners to hear, but Aimi could feel the prickle of Itachi's curious eyes on her back. She ignored them and went to work.
This jutsu allowed her to see traces of old chakra, up to a week old if she put enough power into it. While dojutsu users could do the same, it took years of training to do so, often to the exclusion of other talents. Aimi knew a few of the Military Police who had such specializations.
She blinked a few times, getting used to the new brightness of the clearing. There were many traces there, mostly from animals. She squinted and started searching again; looking for the human trace she knew was there somewhere. It took her several minutes, but she found it, smiling wide as she did so. This one is smart. Using an animal den to conceal an underground travel jutsu… It would take an earth specialist to find the physical signs, and he knows Konoha is short on those.
She signaled her find to her team, wiping the smile off her face for a more serious look. "Here," She said, pointing out the signs of underground jutsu usage. They were easy to spot once you knew they were there. "The target used an underground travel jutsu here to get away without detection. Judging by the direction we've been traveling in and the earth style traps encountered, we're dealing with an Iwa nin, possibly a deep cover agent posing as a rogue."
She went silent, waiting for Itachi's next orders. His Sharingan blazed in the night, looking over the area and tracing the path the nin took. Crane was silent, his mask hiding any expression he may have had.
"We rest here tonight. Tomorrow, we travel at full speed. Tiger, take first watch. I will take second. Crane, take third."
The ANBU nodded and broke away, starting to set up camp.
That night, Aimi learned much about her captain. During her watch, she kept her special jutsu active, both to see incoming enemies and to observe her teammates more easily. She learned about Itachi's chakra; it flowed like a calm river around his body, smooth as glass. It was a stark contrast to his physical sleeping habits. He moved restlessly yet silently, as started at the slightest noises. She realized that was why he had chosen stealth specialist Crane (who she knew by no other name) as the third member of the group.
Part of her wondered what stressed her captain so much. Maybe it was his age relative to his position. Being a regular member of the ANBU was stressful for full adults, let alone a pubescent boy. Combine that with his status as the Uchiha heir, and Aimi felt stupid for wondering in the first place. Of course he would be stressed.
Still… Something was off. Stressed people slept with wild chakra. Their troubles would interrupt the flow, making it fluctuate. Someone sleeping like Itachi was would sleep with fire, not water. t was a mystery; one that would remain unsolved that night. Her watch was over, and she needed to rest properly before setting out tomorrow.
Aimi went to sleep and dreamed of the Sharingan.
The ANBU surrounded the area, moving swiftly and stealthily to avoid alerting their prey to their presence. They all had their masks in place, even Itachi (who was a badger). Their target was eating a rabbit he'd caught earlier that day. There were no signs of fire, yet Aimi could smell the smoked meat and see the careful way he held it from her position. Two elements. Special Jounin at least, most likely higher. Crane will have his work cut out for him.
Aimi went to work, setting up traps that led into more traps. They were simple, much easier and faster to construct than her usual fare, but also easier to break through. She hoped Crane would be able to make the kill cleanly, but she knew better than to expect it. Finishing with a tripwire, she looked towards the copse of trees where she knew Itachi was hiding. If things went wrong with the initial strike, he would drive the nin into her traps and engage him there. It was a dangerous plan, but they were nearing the border of Earth Country. Infiltration would be difficult, and assassination within those borders could set off the powder keg between Konoha and Iwa. Best to finish this quickly.
Aimi finished her work just in time to find a suitable branch to watch from. She was a recon specialist who was good with traps, not battle. She would most likely get in the way. So Aimi watched, her sharp eyes tracking Crane's movement in the trees across the small camp. She could feel a sense of anticipation in the air. It thrilled her and frightened her to the marrow of her bones.
This was it. Her first S class, about to be completed.
In slow motion, she watched as Crane burst from the trees behind the nin, stalking silently towards him, katana unsheathed. He started the seals for a jutsu, manipulating his katana effortlessly but losing the speed he usually had. Aimi felt the hum of electricity in her bones an instant before Crane struck, driving his katana deeo into the heart of the ninja. There was a quiet grunt of surprise, and as Crane pulled his sword out, the shinobi fell to the ground and dissolved into mud. Aimi felt her eyes widen and her throat constrict as Crane stepped back in alarm. The earth started to flow like water, and suddenly Crane was gone, pulled underneath the land without even a chance to scream. The thrill of anticipation was replaced by terror, and Aimi wondered for the first time if they were in over their heads, if they should have brought more people along.
The shinobi came up through the ground, rolling his shoulders and looking over the spot where Crane disappeared. "Hmph. Damn Konoha. Think I'm that stupid, do you? Sittin' out in the open with hot merchandise in my pack. Idiots," He looked satisfied with the spot, and turned around. "Alright then, come on out, I know you're there. Damn Konoha never sends just one moron to get killed."
Aimi didn't dare move. Does he really know we're here? From the look on his face and the killing intent radiating from him, he did indeed. Aimi resisted the urge to gulp; it would give away her position. A breeze blew through, rustling the leaves and freezing the cold sweat on the back of her neck. She shivered. Slowly, her hand went to her kunai pouch, ready to grab one and throw it at a second's notice. The wind stilled, and nothing moved. Not Aimi, not the shinobi, nothing. The tenseness in the air could be sliced with a knife.
Something had to give. Aimi steeled herself. I will not be the weak link. She thought darkly. Part of her didn't believe it, but she quieted that part instantly. She waited with bated breath, muscles tense and quivering, ready to spring.
The Itachi stepped out. His mask was firmly over his face, giving him the fierceness of a badger. His steps were measured and even, and Aimi wondered if he was simply holding his anger inside or if he truly didn't feel anything about Crane's death. The shinobi smiled, showing off broken teeth. "Ah, there you are! I bet there's another one hidin' around too, eh? The lass. It's always two lads and a lass. Bet she's too scared to come out; gels were never cut out for the shinobi life. One thing you should learn, kid; never trust a lass with your back."
Aimi could almost feel the tensing of Itachi's muscles. She herself was bristling. Kunoichi are just as useful as shinobi! She wished, wished so hard it hurt, that she was more combat oriented. She vowed to find a ninjutsu or taijutsu specialist to teach her once this was over. She didn't dare think if.
"Hand over the scroll and your life will be spared," Itachi said tensely, staring down the man from behind his mask. Aimi cut off a gasp. He's offering him a chance to live! After what he did to Crane, after what he said? It baffled her. She knew if she were down there, she wouldn't have given him time to think before attacking.
Then again, maybe he was expecting that. He seemed as baffled as she was, his eyes going wide and his jaw dropping. It only lasted for a second before he burst out laughing. Aimi scowled darkly. "You'll spare me? What kinda ninja are you, boy?"
Itachi answered quietly while the earth nin gasped for breath. "I am one who does not wish to waste life. If you surrender the scroll, you will walk away today. If not, you will die. Make your choice."
The nin stopped laughing now. He smirked and glared at Itachi, sizing the thirteen year old up. "You Konoha nin r'lly are a buncha arrogant assholes. I'm thrice your age, boy, and I've been hunted by better ninja than you for longer than you been on this world. Lemme give you a choice: you walk away now, nice and slow, and your little girlfriend there doesn't get killed."
Aimi's eyes widened. She started to move, but a rough hand clutching a very sharp kunai to her throat stopped her in her tracks. This time she couldn't resist a gulp. She felt the tip of the kunai pierce her skin. A drop of blood welled up and trailed down, driving home her predicament. The nin behind her (the real one? A clone?) chuckled darkly.
Her captain was statue stiff, not even sparing a glance towards her. She knew he knew where she was. Part of her desperately wanted him to look at her, to actually show that he cared. They were on the same team, in the same squad! He should care! Aimi despaired.
"You have chosen to threaten my squad," Itachi said firmly, unmoving. "Your life is forfeit now."
The nin burst into another fit of laughter. "And whatcha gonna do about it, boy? You make one move and your gel gets it. Leaf nin are never that cold, so don't try to bluff me!"
Itachi shook his head. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. Tiger is in no danger at all. In fact, it is you who is in danger."
And things started happening very quickly. Itachi moved forward in an eye blink, tackling the nin to the ground. The kunai against her throat pressed hard for an instant before disappearing entirely; Aimi went slack with relief, hearing the familiar squelch of a blade piercing flesh behind her. She turned 'round and saw Itachi behind her, decapitating the mud clone.
BOOM!
She whirled back around, watching the plume of smoke and debris rise up. Exploding Clone. Itachi knew this would happen! Aimi admitted she should have too; she had been blinded by the mission rank as well as Crane's sudden death.
"Tiger, move into position." Itachi said quietly before leaping out into the field to face the nin once more. He didn't believe that his blast had killed the nin; Aimi didn't either, after meeting him. He was too wily, too cocky to fall for something like that. She moved quickly towards the trapped trees, silently creating some Bunshin to confuse and lead the nin into her traps.
She stopped in the highest branches of an old tree, kunai ready to launch the moment she saw the nin. She heard him first, hacking and coughing in the smoke. As it cleared, she could see him. He was bloody, the bandages covering his body ripped and torn. The Jounin vest he wore (obviously stolen) was soot darkened. Aimi wasted no time, launching a barrage of kunai and quickly going through the handseals for a Kage Shuriken, making one one hundred. The nin, disoriented and hurting, couldn't begin to dodge them, though he tried.
The kunai flew into him, but they didn't skewer him. Instead, they ricocheted off of him, landing in the dirt. Aimi scowled; Rock Armor. Now that she was looking for it, she could see the glint of sunlight reflecting off the surface of his forearm. That explained how he survived an explosion at point blank range. It also makes this much more difficult. I'm the only one with a water affinity.
The nin finished coughing and wiped blood from his mouth, glaring up at where Aimi was hidden. "Damn gel, I'm goin' to make you wish you hadn't done tha—"
"Suiton: Mizurappa," Itachi said, his hands clasped in the Hare seal. The nin was bowled over immediately, caught in the powerful wave of water. Aimi felt her eyes widen, and she mentally slapped herself. Sharingan. The Copy Wheel Eye. Of course the captain knows Water type jutsu. She felt disappointed; she wanted to be the one who defeated the nin. Aimi shook herself, letting loose with a another wave of shadow kunai to enrage her target. It was good the captain knew some water jutsu; he was their combat specialist.
The nin didn't even bother dodging these kunai, instead flipping through handseals at a rapid pace before ending on a Tiger. "Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!"
He exhaled, and a huge dragon head made of fire barreled towards Itachi. The captain only had an instant before he was reduced to ash. Aimi yelled out, gaining the attention of the nin. She swore quietly, cursing her knee jerk reaction and starting to move deeper into the trees. The nin's jutsu had set fire to the trees nearby, and she wouldn't have long before the whole place was nothing but ash.
"Going somewhere, gel?"
The nin appeared in a flurry of pebbles, kunai ready to slash out her throat. Aimi reacted on instinct, substituting with a nearby log and unsheathing her katana. She deflected his thrown kunai and kept running, steadily heading for her trapped area. She dodged his other kunai and smiled; they were here. Time for the fun to begin.
Aimi deliberately tripped the very same wire she'd finished tying before the fight. It snapped with an audible twang, and Aimi fell. The nin stopped behind her, obviously enjoying her helpless position. "Heh, I was right. Never let a gel become a ninja. Can't even set their own traps right! Hahahahaha!"
Aimi smirked darkly behind her mask as the log crashed into the back of the shinobi's skull, sending him flying. He landed hard on the leaf-covered ground. He didn't even get the chance to get his bearings before a net of ninja wire caught him with a snap, thrashing around as the sapling whipped back and forth. Aimi stood up and tripped another wire near her, tightening the rope around the sapling and bending it back much like a catapult. With a chuckle at the look on the nin's face, she sliced the rope holding the tree down and cut most of the way through the rope holding the net, causing it to break free at the apex of the tree's swing.
The net and ninja flew far, landing just inside the area Aimi had coated with sticky chakra infused water. He was caught like a fly in honey. He struggled, but he was stuck fast. Aimi went through the handseals for Mizurappa and pummeled him with the water. His rock armor dissolved under the deluge halfway through, but Aimi didn't stop; he needed the fact that women were equal to men beaten into him before he died.
The nin hacked and coughed, and Aimi smirked at his back. "I guess I shouldn'a un'restimated you, gel. You Leaf can get real pissed when your mates are dead."
"Indeed."
Aimi wanted to whirl around, but she restrained herself and turned more slowly, looking for all the world like she expected to see her Captain standing there. He was singed and holding his right hand away from his body. He gave her a nod before turning to the bruised and beaten nin.
"As I told you before, you chose to threaten my squad's life. Through their actions, you have been brought down. Now," Itachi moved closer, kneeling down and focusing his gaze on the ninja's eyes. His voice took on a hypnotic, otherworldly quality as he continued, "Tell us where the scroll is."
At first, the ninja was silent. Aimi could see a vein throb in his forehead as he fought against the Sharingan's pull. He clenched his jaw tight, and Itachi just leaned in closer. The shinobi was no match for him.
"A mile…w-west from here. Buried under a chakra marked r-rock."
Itachi nodded and leaned back. He turned and started walking. Aimi followed without a word, subtly strengthening the sticky mixture.
"H-Hey! You Leaf can't jus' leave me here!"
Itachi stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You're very right," He said and looked forward again. "Crane."
Aimi's eyes widened. She turned back just in time to see her very much alive partner burst through the ground, katana skewering the ninja through his skull. He nonchalantly pulled his sword from the corpse, stepping lightly around the blood gushing from the wound. He nodded at her and Itachi before leaping for the trees. Itachi turned and breathed out, fire engulfing the body and turning it to ash. He went to the trees next.
Aimi lingered for a moment, watching the fire burn. She turned at last, joining her team with much to think about.
It didn't take long for them to find the rock and return the scroll to Konoha. Life went back to normal for Aimi; her friends heckled her about Itachi, she smiled mysteriously. The girls sighed over him and the boys grumbled about him. Things changed, and things stayed the same.
Aimi had learned much about her captain on that mission. She learned that he had exceptional chakra control, even while he slept. He had excellent control in general, of his voice, his expression, everything. Despite this, he slept fitfully, worry and stress overwhelming him in the night. . Aimi guessed he was repressing it during the day, most likely for little Sasuke, his brother. Everyone knew Itachi had a soft spot for his brother. The Incident had been enough to prove that.
What most people didn't know was that Itachi was a pacifist. Aimi had gone back over the mission in her head over and over, as well as taking up a more active spying role on her captain. She saw the way he avoided conflict, even verbal disagreements. On the mission, he'd let her and Crane do the bulk of the work; he only cast two jutsu, neither with intent to kill. Some would say the exploding clone was made with killer intent, but Aimi wasn't so sure. With his Sharingan, Itachi had to have known about the rock armor the nin wore. He would have known his clone wouldn't kill the man.
Itachi's pacifism had at first made Aimi question his placement as an ANBU Captain. ANBU were often called on to kill without question, the captain's most of all. Aimi had questioned… until she thought about the Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen: the only Hokage to ever retire, and the only Hokage to return to the position. He appointed the Captains personally, and it wouldn't surprise Aimi to learn he'd put Itachi in the ANBU to try to add some humanity to them. It had worked to a degree; less of the ANBU who worked under Itachi had shadows in their eyes. At the same time, though, Itachi's eyes were dull and lifeless when he was on the job. They only truly lit up when he was with his brother.
She wasn't quite sure what to think about that. She wasn't quite sure what to think about her captain.
Things changed, and yet they remained the same.