Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Surprise surprise…
FULL SUMMARY
A double agent trying desperately to smother his conscious.
When Uchiha Shisui offered to use the Kotoamatsukami on his family, he was fully aware of the consequences. Now years later he still feels the weight of his guilt slowly crushing him; but he's almost mastered the art of ignoring it. Almost…
A girl who has never been taught the meaning of morals.
In Nozomi's world, it's always been 'strike first before your opponent has the chance to defend itself'. It's all she's ever known. But now the world is changing and she finds herself questioning if there really is a right and wrong, and where she will stands in the ongoing battle of morals.
An ANBU Captain struggling to keep the peace between his family and village.
Uchiha Itachi has been called many things in his life. Genius, prodigy, powerful, rational, wise beyond his years, silent, and even creepy… But perhaps the one word to describe him most is the one no one ever uses: pacifist. And he will do anything to ensure the protection of what he holds dear.
No one is what they appear and everyone has agendas of their own.
In a world where no one can trust anyone, three different lives find themselves converging on each other. The question remains is, when the dust finally settles, who will still be standing?
So I was rewatching the episode about the Uchiha Coup D'état (or was it the Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution 'The Two Uchiha' cut scene...? I think it was) and it came to my attention that when Shisui mentioned he was going to use Kotoamatsukami on his clan, the elders made it sound like he would become a nuke-nin (which, given the legality of it all, it's kinda obvious)... anyway, my mind, as usual, starts spitting out ideas from that one little quote!
So yeah, I'm totally screwing over the canon. And not in a good way.
IMPORTANT! Time is very nebulous in the story. It follows multiple characters and 2 different plot lines so make sure you pay attention to the time and date given before the POV starts.
vvv
Red as Fate
Silver of the Half Moon
Young Eyes too much like the Old
vvv Konohagakure; Hi no Kuni vvv
vvv November 29; 10:32 pm vvv
vvv Omnipresent vvv
It was quiet; the air was still, silent… dead. As if the very essence of it had been sucked away by some unknown entity. The world seemed to know that great change had come, and it was holding its breath to see which way the balance tipped.
Out of this unnatural stillness came a man, a teen really, who appeared suddenly in a deserted street with naught but the barest of flickers. He stood there for a moment, his head hanging low so that his unruly black hair covered his eyes. His fists were clinched tightly at his sides, fingernails biting into the soft flesh of his palms. On his right hand, a trickle of blood ran down his fingers and consolidating into a small drop of blood.
It fell.
The teen took a deep breath and looked up at the last quarter moon of Autumn hinging high in the sky. Slowly his blood red eyes featuring a strange pattern faded into black. Instinctively his inflamed left eye closed, it was too painful at the moment to keep it open. He could do this. There was no going back, he had the courage to go forth.
That's what he told himself, at least.
A choking sob escaped the boy's throat and he hastily wiped away fresh tears and smearing the smallest amount of blood across his cheek in the process. Who was he kidding? He had just betrayed his entire village and clan all for the sake of peace. If ever there was a time that his nindo was tested, it was now. How could he walk out of his home like nothing had happened? He didn't have the strength to play the villain, he feared that he would lose himself if he tried. But he had to leave; the authorities would catch him if he stayed here and he would die as a traitor, his deed wasted. No, he needed to abandon the village and watch over it from the shadows just like he always said.
The teen turned around and lifted his chin, his black eyes settling on the four proud faces overlooking his precious village. Looking upon the four Hokages, the teen felt a strange indescribable strength chase away his doubts. He felt more confident than before he even betrayed his village and clan. The boy raised his right fist, thin trails of blood trickling sluggishly over his wrist. "It's up to you now, Itachi. Don't waste my sacrifice." The boy whispered to the wind.
And with that, Uchiha Shisui shunshined away. Not even the leaves underneath his feet shifted with his departure. The only sign that he had even been there was a single drop of blood splattered on a still green leaf.
vvv Yūgakure; Yu no Kuni vvv
vvv November 29; 10:32 pm vvv
vvv Omnipresent vvv
At the same time, in a far off land, a young girl curled up against an onsen's outer wall, trying to seep in as much warmth as she could. The ragged kimono she wore, once magnificent but now dirtied and faded, did little to keep the girl's internal warmth.
The girl hadn't always lived in the streets, begging for scraps and small coin; she once had a family, a doting father and a loving mother and a bold older brother who was always getting into trouble. Then tragedy struck when a freak fire, something fairly common in the village, had started in her old neighborhood and didn't end until it consumed over fifty lives and a third of the street. The girl had only survived because she had been playing with a friend at the time.
The young girl had tried to find somewhere among her friends, but all their parents coldly turned her out again. The village had fallen on hard times, and an extra mouth to feed wasn't what anyone needed; so she didn't blame them. Though, as her bony shoulders shivered violently as a harsh wind wept through the thin fabric of her kimono, she found it hard to forgive them.
It had been three weeks since the fire, three long weeks filled with agony and grief. The fellow street rats, her new 'family' as they appointed themselves, informed her that if she lived past the first month then she was a true street rat and not another poor soul to weak to survive. But until then, they told her, stay away and don't attach yourself to us, lest we feel the loss of your quick passing. Some family.
The girl inhaled deeply and looked up at the small quarter moon riding the crest of the night sky. She wanted to cry, oh how she wanted to cry, but her tears had been spent already during that first horrible week she was alone. She wanted her parents, her brother, her friends... warmth. She was tired of stewing in her own filthy smell, of the cold and the scraps and the awful looks she got from tourists. The girl couldn't stand it, but she refused to let any of it run her over.
No, she would continue to live as hard and as best as she could, even though she would no doubt hate every second of her life. She was well aware of the rough road ahead of her, regardless of how short or long it was. She knew every waking second would from now until her inevitable death would be filled with nothing but misfortunes and unlucky situations.
But she refused, with ever fiber in her small being, to let her hardships rule over her. If the death of her family taught her one thing, it was that all life was fleeting. Individual lives were but small specks in the infinite road, and thus why they were to be considered the most precious. That was why she refused to bow her head and allow things to just wash over her like the other street rats; she refused to believe that her life was less precious than anyone else's just because of her unfortunate circumstance.
Something caught her eye and the little girl turned slowly to spy a long bit of bright red string caught on the wooden fence of the onsen. The girl reached up and tugged if off the splinter on which it had been caught, and held it between her thumb and forefinger. The string was more of a thick cord, like something a priestess would wear about her neck, rather than a thread snagged from an embroidered kimono. It was the type of treasure many street rats looked for; something that was pretty and sturdy, found in the dusty streets. The girl felt an odd attachment to the red cord, as if it were the tie she had to her past before the fire.
Quickly she reached up and braided the cord into the under layer of her matted, filthy silver hair, where no one would see it and want it for themselves. The cord was hers, and hers alone. As red as the fire that burn her past and as red as the string of fate which would lead her to her future, it was hers.
vvv Amegakure; Ame no Kuni vvv
vvv February 3; 11:58 am vvv
vvv Shisui vvv
~One Year Later~
Shisui hated it all. He hated the Akatsuki, he hated Kisame, he hated the pride the rest of them took in their kill numbers and ill reputations; but he hated himself the most. This… monster wasn't him. Shisui could hardly recognize himself; he often found himself pausing throughout the day feeling sickened at his own change in personality.
It was horrible, so much so that Shisui often contemplated ending his life and the mad suffering he put himself through every day, every second of every hour. The only reason why he didn't was due to the loyalty of his village and clan. Shisui often told himself that if he took his own life he would be betraying his village, more so than he already did. He was the only link Konoha had to the Akatsuki, a dangerous organization that had swept him up only weeks after his defection. Shisui was the only source of information to keep his precious village ahead of the game.
No one suspected him. They all treated him like a lost child in their own way; be it patronizing, belittling, or pitying. Shisui didn't blame them for it either; he was only seventeen while Kisame, the second youngest, was almost twenty-five. He understood, but that in no way meant he enjoyed it.
Still, Shisui endured it all without complaint.
Not even when Orochimaru attacked him for his Sharingan.
It had been almost pathetic of an attempt, one that Shisui would have written off as a joke if Orochimaru did not look so surprised that he was easily stopped by a paralysis genjutsu. Shisui couldn't help but wonder if the Akatsuki saw his age as inexperience and ignorance rather than seeing it as a prodigious accomplishment to have come so far for one so young. Orochimaru certainly seemed to be in that school of thought.
Shisui eyed the once great and famed ninja of his village with slight disdain. Shisui was loyal to Konoha above all else, he had gone as far as to use his sharingan against his own clan and joining an organization filled with S-class criminals to spy on them. Someone like Orochimaru, someone who betrayed the village and harmed it's children for personal gain, was what Shisui considered to be worse than scum. Trash like that deserved to die in the most horrific way; but Shisui was not the one who deserved to take the man's life. He was scum just like Orochimaru, a nuke-nin with skewed loyalties. A dirty double agent.
He had planned to let Orochimaru slither off and live to fight another day, but then the snake foolishly threatened the Uchiha clan's children as vengeance on Shisui, specifically Itachi. It had been so quiet, almost as if Orochimaru had only muttered it to himself, but Shisui heard it. He reacted without thinking, a first for him, and his tantō was carving a path towards Orochimaru's neck before Shisui and fully processed the snake's words. Of course Orochimaru knocked the blade away with ease and breaking the genjutsu in the process, which caused the tantō to dissolve into nothing. His mouth curled into a predatory sneer. Arrogantly, the Sannin locked eyes with Shisui, no doubt to sneer and gloat that he could withstand the Uchiha's genjutsu; but instead of meeting the standard three tomoe sharingan Orochimaru found himself looking into a unique sharingan with the pattern of a black four-pointed pinwheel, similar in shape to a shuriken.
Before he could even blink, Orochimaru and Shisui were suddenly transported to another dimension where everything was bathed in an eerie dark gold light. The sharingan in Shisui's eye hung over the both of them, ominously glowing like a bloody sun. As Orochimaru watched the giant sharingan brightened into a blinding white light and shattered apart into seven large beams, six striking around Orochimaru while the final one hit him directly. All grew larger and larger until it was just one giant beam of light. At first Orochimaru did not feel anything other than a tremendous downward force that pushed him to his knees, but then the light began to burn with such intensity that it vaporized Orochimaru in one excruciating instant. He didn't even get the chance to scream.
And then as suddenly as it began, it was all over. He was back in reality, kneeling on the ground at Shisui's feet trying to remember how to breathe. There was the smallest creak of leather to signal that the Uchiha moved and Orochimaru looked up in pure terror as the Shisui raised his tantō for the first time since their 'fight' began, looking as indifferent as when Orochimaru first attacked him.
"I will always protect the Uchiha and the village, regardless of my apparent loyalty to the Akatsuki." The boy snarled, his indifferent facade twisting into a furious and cold expression that could cause nightmares.
His tantō descended with one fell swoop, so quick there was only the barest streak of silver in the air to signify its path. The snake remained still for a moment, his acidic yellow eyes wide in disbelief that he had been defeated by a seventeen year old boy, before his body toppled over and his head bounced down three steps before coming to a halt, his astonished expression forever frozen on his face. Shisui did not hesitate to blast the body and its head with his hottest Katon jutsu. There was no way in hell that Shisui would give one of Orochimaru's henchmen the chance of retrieving of his corpse. With the snake's work in cloning and manipulation of DNA, Shisui wouldn't put it past the bastard to come up with a way to return from the dead.
Shisui couldn't help but feel a vindictive pleasure as he watched the silhouette of the snake's body slowly diminish at the white-hot core of the fire. Shisui did not enjoy taking life, but when it was someone as putrid and vile as Orochimaru, who had harmed the village in more ways then the Kyuubi could ever do, Shisui was satisfied. He knew that Orochimaru was obsessed with power, and to know that the snake died so quickly sent shivers of pleasure up Shisui's spine.
But it did not last. As soon as the wind whisked away the last ashes of Orochimaru, so too did the sick joy disappear and left him cold and empty. Shisui quietly walked away from the second attempt on his eyes and cursed their abilities for they brought nothing but curses on him. How he wished that he could stay in Konoha, still sparring with Itachi and teasing Sasuke about his brother complex. How he wished he could wink at the cute girls without a care and eat his grandparents famous senbei crackers all day then be yelled at by Mikoto-oba for not eating right.
How Shisui wished he could smile again and truly mean it, not just some ghostly replication of it.
vvv Yūgakure; Yu no Kuni vvv
vvv October 31; 5:09 pm vvv
vvv Nozomi vvv
The young girl, a new teenager, had been running the streets with her 'family' for little over a year when her life changed completely for the second time. By then she had gotten her street name, mockingly called 'Koinu' for her ideas of a better future; and the old one had been left behind, but not forgotten. The girl refused to forget any tie to her past when she was happy and innocent of the cruel world. She refused to openly claim that she belonged to that self proclaimed clan of orphans and urchins. To 'Koinu', they were only a stepping stone, one that would keep her from the raging grief and bring her a step closer to her future. Unlike her 'family' she did not see living on the streets as a way of life but as something to abide her until she could rise from it.
A year was a long time in street rat years. 'Koinu' was only thirteen, yet she was one of the elders to the tribe of thieves and pick pockets. Most didn't last but five months. The village they resided in had many rats, both of the human and animal variety, and both were treated with the same disgust as the other. They were both killed with a vengeance, but only if they were caught. As such, the urchins of the streets evolved like their four legged brethren and learned to hide themselves in the shadows and to steal from the multitude of tourists that descended upon the village like flies on a carcass. Only the most determined and hardened veterans lasted on the streets.
Don't get attached, people come and go. Don't go looking for a family, it'll only lead to disappointment. Don't want what you can't have, it will lead to trouble. That was the street rat creed. The golden rules to live by. 'Koinu' lived by those three rules strictly, she was determined to live past her street days and if that meant following the street rules to survive, she would.
The other urchins and thieves laughed at her resolution to get out of the slums. They said she was an optimistic pup, a girl who had yet to see the true horrors of the world. What was a little fire and a dead family compared to war and famine and rape? People suffered and died everyday and it was better to just forget it all and live how you can. But 'Koinu' refused to bow her head and submit to their ideals. She would rather leave them all behind and fight for her right in the world instead of committing small crimes until she finally died.
So she did.
It hadn't been a conscious decision, 'Koinu' hadn't even considered the possibility until it was there in front of her, waiting for an answer in the form of two men wearing black cloaks adorned with blood red clouds; red as fate and red as her little red cord still hidden in her hair. She admitted that she had hesitated for only a moment, more out of wariness than reluctance, but she grasped the chance with both hands regardless and didn't let go.
vvv Shisui vvv
Shisui had no clue as to why he offered to take the pest along. It had honestly slipped from his mouth before he realized, and before he could retract the offer she accepted. Mentally Shisui cursed himself the fool, he had only begun to earn the respect of his fellow Akatsuki members, bringing home a child with no talent to aid the organization would set back his work. Until he was accepted as a full trusted member of the Akatsuki, Shisui could not accomplish what he had set out to do when he first joined the organization. A child tagging along would only hinder his progress.
Shisui had caught her trying to steal from their Target, and had been good enough that the small time nuke-nin hadn't noticed until Shisui had the girl by her wrist and the man's full wallet within his grasp and out of hers. The girl had tried to struggle, but she, a petty civilian pickpocket, didn't stand a chance against Shisui. Kisame took care of the squawking man while Shisui studied the girl.
She was different from the other street rats, stubborn; she didn't scurry out of his path as quick as she could but glared whole-heartedly at him. Something that Shisui saw he could use. It would be helpful to have an ally when his plans began to show themselves. One that was completely loyal to him and him alone.
Kisame-san was amused, at least. Though he might have been more amused in anticipation of what the Leader would say rather than the fact that Shisui had even offered. In the year they had been partners, Shisui had gone from hating the Kiri nuke-nin to begrudgingly respecting him. Regardless of the organization's amoral outlook– Shisui had been congratulated for killing Orochimaru by the snake's own partner– Shisui learned that Kisame was possibly the best of them all. The shark hybrid was as loyal as Shisui, possibly even more so, however his heart was in the wrong place. Kisame was loyal to the Akatsuki alone.
Even so, for someone so loyal to a vile organization as the Akatsuki, Kisame had a very surprising soft spot for children. One that might have rivaled Shisui's before he locked away what was left of his naive personality. It had been a common sight in Konoha to see the famous Shunshin no Shisui having orphans and pint sized beggars following him around and learning whatever they could to get off the streets; though the memory of it was probably cursed now by those who used to smile at the sight. However, it was a strange sight to see the feared Kirigakure no Kaijin giving a thirteen year old girl a closed mouth grin, not one filled with malice like most of his smiles, and asking what her name was.
She shrugged and said her name didn't matter anymore.
Kisame's lips pulled back a little, enough that the sharp odd angles of his teeth began to show, but not enough that the girl could see they were pointed and dangerous. If anything, it made Kisame's teeth look terribly crooked, "Now now, little one, everyone's name is important." Kisame spoke in that condescending tone he once had used on Shisui before he began respecting the Uchiha's skills.
The girl's mint green eyes, so sharp and colorful against her bedraggled appearance, narrowed. "Koinu." She finally bit out, as if it were a curse.
Even Shisui had to snort a little at that. Her parents had been sappy enough to called her 'puppy'? It was no wonder that the girl thought her name wasn't important. Granted, it wasn't as degrading as being named 'death water' or 'demon shark', but it was just as ridiculous.
Kisame's blue face contorted in suppressed mirth, "Hmmm… how about I just call you the nusume-osanai?" The thief child. Again it was only by the stoic facade that Shisui had adopted since joining the Akatsuki that he didn't revert to his old self and burst out laughing. Poor child. He honestly felt sorry for her for having caught Kisame's attention.
If ever a street urchin could look indignant, it was that girl.
"Nozomi."
"Hm?" Kisame raised an eyebrow at the girl who had spoken, obviously amused.
She glared at him, so defiant against someone who could squash her like a bug. It took a special kind of bravery to glare at a six foot walking shark with a mouthful of daggers. Shisui had to admire her for that. "My real name is Nozomi." She repeated through her gritting teeth.
Kisame grinned, finally baring his impressive teeth. Shisui noticed that even the girl, while brave, flinched back at the sight of that infamous predatory grin. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it? But I'm still calling you the nusume-osanai." Ignoring the hiss from the girl, Kisame turned to the man still holding her wrist in a tight grip, "And what do you plan to do with her?"
Shisui noticed the girl stiffening as it occurred to her that she was a teenaged girl in the company of two adult men. No doubt she was already regretting her answer of following them without asking the details. Still, Shisui was raised to be an honorable man and no matter how low he had sunk he would never touch a woman intimately unless she consented; least of all a girl barely in her puberty.
Honestly, Shisui didn't know what to do with her. He really didn't even want her around. It had been a mistake offering her to come along. She was thirteen, her pinnacle of power at that late age would never get higher than a B-class kunoichi, she would never be eligible to be a member of the Akatsuki; and Shisui would rather kill her than have that happen. With her green eyes and exotic silver hair– a common gene in Yūgakure but rare in every other corner of the world– she would be useless as a spy; she stood out too much. He needed an ally, true, but she needed to be useful and not some scrappy little weakling that he had to save every time he turned around.
"She will be useful." Shisui finally declared quietly, staring down impassively at the teenager. The underlying threat remained unsaid, but not unnoticed. If she did not meet his standards in usefulness, he would waste no more time on her. Konoha and his clan came first, not some ragged little girl he had accidentally picked up.
Her minty eyes glinted as she accepted the challenge. Something in that expression reminded Shisui of a boy about Nozomi's age with eyes black and solemn, so different from the girl he held by the wrist now.
vvv Konohagakure; Hi no Kuni vvv
vvv November 29; 5:00 pm vvv
vvv Itachi vvv
A fourteen year old boy watched his father keenly from the shadows, unseen by all. It had been a full year since Shisui's defection and a full year since he cast the Great Genjutsu on the clan. Today was the last day the ANBU would watch the Uchiha clan, to note if there were any signs of the genjutsu failing. It remained strong though and for that Itachi was grateful. He had no wish to murder his clan, to waste Shisui's sacrifice, but if there was any hint that Kotoamatsukami was failing Itachi would not hesitate to annihilate the clan as the elders wanted.
Luckily for him and the unaware Uchiha, it didn't seem to be a problem. The Hokage, as part of the elaborate scheme laid out by Shisui, had began to make subtle amends long before Shisui cast the genjutsu. When the time was right, Shisui had cast Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku and a few of his strong supporters so that they had decided to see what the Hokage was up to rather than go on with their coup d'état. The trap had been set and sprung with ease, and the entire Uchiha clan didn't even know.
As Shisui promised, he would immediately defect from Konoha to keep watch over the village from the outside, in the shadows. Itachi hadn't been the only one who disliked the plan, the Hokage was sad to see Shisui go too, but it was necessary. Shisui would committed a serious crime against Konoha, though a majority would never know. Even if the elders hadn't been so adamant that he left, Itachi knew his cousin would leave anyway. Shisui wouldn't be able to look another Uchiha, not even Itachi, in the eye again without feeling the guilt of having tricked his own clan. Becoming a nuke-nin was Shisui's twisted way of redeeming himself.
That had been the plan, until Danzo attacked Shisui for his eyes and managed to get away with one of them. Luckily the eye Shisui lost was not the one that cast the Kotoamatsukami but rather the Kotoamatsukami: Kobo, an offensive genjutsu, and thus still enabled Shisui to cast the proper genjutsu on Fugaku and clan elders. Shisui had not even informed Itachi of what Danzo had done until after the genjutsu was complete.
Infuriated by his cousin's lack of trust in him and at a so called honorable elder attacking his own subordinates, Itachi in turn went behind Shisui's back and informed the Hokage of the betrayal. That set off a series of rapid fire events that lead to the return of Shisui's right eye, Danzo's private execution at the hands of his own friend Hiruzen, and a perfect excuse as to why Shisui deserted Konoha. And so the blame for killing a powerful elder was pinned on Shisui, turning him from an A-classed shinobi to an S-classed criminal and consequently giving Itachi's cousin more opportunities to work as Konoha's spy.
It was only a month ago that Hiruzen finally got word from Shisui via his raven summons. The only reason why Itachi was even allowed to know was because he had been a major player in the prevention of the Uchiha coup. Itachi still remembered the short thrice-encoded missive very clearly, having actually used his sharingan to memorize it before the Hokage burned the message.
Red clouds hiding. Falsely grasping for peace. Six pawns on a shogi board, one broken. The king is not so trusting, only his silver general.
~A disloyal friend
Itachi desperately wanted to see his cousin again, though he knew it was only a hopeless wish and a childish one at that. But without Shisui's care-free attitude to keep him grounded, Itachi was falling back into his antisocial habits. Really, it had gotten so bad that even his precious little brother had began to notice his change. Everyone seemed to write his sudden change in moods off as a reaction to Shisui's 'betrayal' and Itachi didn't refute them. He had no energy to, it was better to let them come to their own conclusions rather than knowing the truth.
Upon finishing his shift, Itachi immediately returned to the Hokage Tower to report to the council. It would taste a lie to say he was sorry that Danzo had been killed, Itachi was quite satisfied with the outcome; but the elders seemed to think differently. Itachi could sympathize, a little. For all his faults and wrong doings, Danzo had been their friend and teammate for many years. And it was clear that they mourned him, the Hokage especially. Itachi had always looked up to the elderly man, he looked up to every Hokage, even the Nidaime; but Itachi could not help but feel a little resentful towards Sarutobi Hiruzen. If he had only been able to control his friend better, none of this would have happened. It had been Danzo that complicated things, it was Danzo who had pushed at the Uchiha until they began pushing back. And now it was Danzo that was mourned as a hero while the true hero became a common name to curse upon. Itachi was a pacifist through and through, but even the mention of Danzo's name almost always sent him into a mindless rage.
Itachi fell into the ANBU's customary kneel the moment he entered the council room and bowed his head in greeting, "Operative Weasel reporting." He said formally, his voice muffled by the porcelain mask he wore. Though the two remaining elders knew Itachi's ANBU identity, it was protocol that an ANBU agent keep his mask on until the Hokage said otherwise. ANBU identities were some of the worst kept secrets in the ninja ranks, but it was still an unspoken rule that when an agent had their mask on they were no longer a friend or comrade but an extension of the Hokage's hand and thus had no other identity.
Hiruzen-sama flicked his fingers and Itachi took off his mask with a small click. Lowering his gaze respectfully, the fourteen year old relayed his report in a concise manner. He wasn't one to exaggerate, not even in the slightest. That had been Shisui's job.
"Are you certain that there was no sign of the genjutsu failing?" Mitokado Homura questioned. Itachi knew that the elder was looking for any slight hint that he could use to obliterate the Uchiha clan. Though he did not know why, Itachi was certain that Homura-sama blamed the Uchiha clan for Danzo's death. Perhaps he was looking for a scapegoat. Only Hiruzen-sama seemed to remember why exactly Danzo had died, his remaining advisers seemed to have bought their own lie and believed that Shisui had actually killed Danzo.
"I am." Itachi said coolly, his voice not betraying his slight frustration with the two elders. They had pestered him to the point that even Itachi was starting to get annoyed with them. But he never showed it, that wasn't who Itachi was. Itachi was collected and calm and never betrayed his thoughts so readily. It was Shisui who voiced his opinions, Shisui who resolved any tension with a wave of his hand, Shisui who was quick to grin and be the first to give up his life for Konoha.
Itachi only hoped he could live up to his cousin's standards.
^o^
:long AN ahead, skip it if you want, but it does contain some relevant info:
*deep gasp* I. AM. DONE! O[]O Seriously this chapter is probably the hardest I ever written. Anyway, Good? Bad? Horribly disgusting and I should just give up all hope of writing ever again? XD Sorry for all the skipping around, this chapter is just to lay out the story's baseline/backstory/whatever the hell you wanna call it. Basically, this whole chapter is just to introduce the three main characters.
Challenge: can y'all guess what the message Shisui sent to the Hokage means?
And yes, I did just kill two very important antagonists. I told ya I was screwing canon over, didn't believe me, eh?!
The jutsu Shisui used to kill (or well, maim really) Orochimaru was Kotoamatsukami: Kobo. It's a moveset from the games, and really awesome. If you haven't seen it, go look it up on YouTube. You won't regret it!
I did my research and (according to my logic) the only Akatsuki members at this point in the story are Pein/Nagato, Konan, Zetsu, Tobi, Kakuzu, Sasori, Kisame and Itachi/Shisui (in order of joining too…), as well as the poor souls who had the misfortune of being Kakuzu's partner, wherever they fit in. If my math and age guessing is correct Deidara doesn't join until he's 15 or 16 (which based on his age difference with Konoha 11 puts him to joining at the beginning of Part 1) and Hidan doesn't join until the time skip before Shipuuden. Also, Tobi doesn't 'join' until Sasori dies at the beginning of Shippuden, so technically he isn't a member either…
Ages as of the end of this chapter: Nozomi (13), Itachi (14), Shisui (17), and Kisame (24)
Considering how difficult writing is becoming for me, I went ahead and made a Tumblr blog for the sole purpose of fanfiction [www. tumblr blog/queenofthetrolls] (Take out the spaces behind the periods).
Flame Friendly! Go on and leave a flame if you don't like the story, I do not mind! (just please, all I ask is you don't leave a guest flame...)
