"Fuushin-niisan, I'm going out to collect some herbs for medicine."

The leader of Bright Lightning turned and looked at the ten-year-old boy who had spoken before nodding to him, "All right. Just be careful, and be back before dark."

"Got it!" The boy replied before taking off. Before long, he was kneeling in a field, carefully gathering herbs that could be used to make medicine.

Mayonaka Shinjiro was one of the youngest members of Bright Lightning. Although he knew his origins, the midnight blue-haired boy had no memories of his family. For most of his life, he had been enslaved by a man named Oyashiro En, trained to serve as something of an advisor to the man in his business dealings by using his visual prowess, the Shinjistugan, to read people's chakra and indicate whether they or not they were lying. There were many other children enslaved by En, all of them possessing Kekkei Genkai. Most were forced to battle in a place called the Coliseum, where the selfish socialites gambled by forcing enslaved shinobi to fight for entertainment, with themselves as the prize for winning. However, it was within the past year or so that the older children had managed to escape, and although he was not a skilled combatant, they had taken pity on him and brought him along. They had then formed a group of noble thieves to help the oppressed. This was Bright Lightning. Although he was not particularly good at fighting, Shinjiro was useful to the group in other ways, such as the little bit of medical ninjutsu he had been taught by En for emergencies.

Shinjiro knew that the following day would be important for Bright Lightning. Kirigakure, one of the Five Shinobi Villages, wanted to hire them for something. It was undoubtedly a job that would pay well, but would probably be dangerous, and thus, it was important to stock up on supplies now.

Suddenly, Shinjiro stopped his work for a moment, his smile turning to a frown, before he quickly resumed his actions, brow furrowed in thought. Somebody was watching him with an intent to kill, but why? More importantly, what should he do? He was a mere child, and not particularly strong, but he knew that the weak could sometimes survive by outsmarting their opponents. He debated what to do. Whoever was watching him was strong, of that, he was certain. He was also certain that he could not make it back to Bright Lightning's camp in time, and that even if he tried, he would be placing his comrades in danger. He needed help, but who? Shinjiro closed his eyes and focused his senses, scanning the surrounding area for anyone that he might be able ask for help. There! An undoubtedly strong shinobi with fire, wind, and water chakra, some kind of visual prowess, and a kind heart. There was still a chance that shinobi wouldn't help him, but he didn't have any other options either! He bit his thumb and wove a few signs.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" A falcon instantly appeared and Shinjiro quickly dispatched it before dodging the attack that he sensed heading his way.

巴

Uchiha Itachi was walking along the road in the Land of Steam. He had been working solo for the Akatsuki for the past three years, ever since his partner, Biwa Juzo, was killed in the Land of Water. He didn't really mind working alone, especially considering who his options were for partners at the moment, but when exactly were they going to find new recruits?

Suddenly, the cry of a falcon caught Itachi's ears, and to his surprise, the bird of prey swooped down, stopping to hover right in front of him, screeching at him before circling him, then screeching at him again. 'A summoning falcon?' He wondered to himself, 'It's not carrying a message... does it want me to follow it?' Assuming that was the case, Itachi turned and followed the falcon.

巴

Shinjiro panted as he ran, dodging attacks as they came by sensing where they were launched from, but the level and number of the attacks were simply too much for the ten-year-old. He cried out as a kunai lodged itself in his left shoulder, and a second one struck his right calf a second later, causing him to fall flat on his face. He gripped the trunk of a nearby tree to pull himself up, pulling the kunai out of his injured shoulder and then removing the other out from his leg before turning to rest his back against the tree.

Two masked figures appeared before him, the symbol of Kirigakure engraved upon the kabuki style masks that covered their faces.

"Kirikagure ANBU..." Shinjiro managed with a gasp. Tears streamed from his eyes as understanding crossed his face. "I see... so that's it..."

The two shinobi prepared to finish their target when the sharp cry of a falcon filled the air before the bird swooped down to roost next to Shinjiro. The ANBU looked at each other, then shrugged and launched kunai at the young boy.

klang!*

The sound of metal striking metal filled the air, and Shinjiro opened his eyes just in time to see that the attack had been deflected by kunai that had been thrown from the side. Both he and the ANBU looked in the direction these kunai had come from to find an ebony-haired teenager with sharp red eyes focusing on the two masked shinobi.

"Uchiha... Itachi..." One of the ANBU said, his voiced laced with fear and surprise.

Itachi closed his eyes for a brief moment before reopening them, showing that the appearance of his Sharingan had changed. "Tsukuyomi." Less than a second later, both ANBU crumpled over before exploding. Itachi's eyes turned to meet Shinjiro's, and a second of silence passed between them before Itachi's eyes widened incrementally.

"You really should stop." Shinjiro said flatly as he perceived Itachi realizing that what he was attempting hadn't worked, "You're just going to make your eyes worse than they already are." As Itachi's eyes widened further, Shinjiro shifted slightly in an attempt to get more comfortable. "I have a Kekkei Genkai that makes me immune to genjutsu. It's sort of the reason those ANBU were after me."

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked, still intent on finding the reason this kid had sent a falcon to get his attention.

"My Kekkei Genkai also allows me to sense people's intentions." Shinjiro explained, "My comrades and I have a meeting with some higher-ups from Kirigakure tomorrow, but the fact that they sent those ANBU to assassinate me means that Kiri must be planning to betray us, and my abilities would get in the way of that."

"Are you and your comrades aware that Kirigakure is also known as the 'Blood Mist Village?' Itachi asked.

Shinjiro's eyes widened and he looked away, "I'm not sure if the others do or not..." He looked back at Itachi, "To be honest, I didn't really know if you would help me or not. I didn't actually know who I was sending my falcon to, just that you were strong enough to take on those ANBU. That said, I still knew that there was no guarantee that you would help me. For all I knew, you would ignore my falcon or turn a blind eye once you saw the ANBU. But my chances of survival were better if I at least tried."

"You're pretty smart for your age." Itachi remarked.

"Not smart enough." Shinjiro replied in frustration, starting to pant again with sweat dripping down his face. "I should've known that something wasn't right when Kirigakure sent their message to us by a Shinobi Mailman. That they didn't send a messenger should've been a sign that they didn't want me reading their chakra." He blinked his eyes in a daze, but attempted to reach for something in his supply pack, "In any case, I've got to warn my comrades before... before..." The boy slumped over, passing out on the ground where he sat, and Itachi sweat-dropped, was wondering what he should do when he sensed another person coming down the road. Judging by the aura, it was a young girl about the same age as this boy. He would have to leave him to her.

Truthfully, he didn't like just up and leaving the injured child and hoping for the best, but what was he supposed to do? An S-Rank criminal carrying an injured child and bringing him to a doctor was definitely something that would arouse people's suspicion.

巴

Shinjiro groaned as he opened his eyes, only to find a young girl about his own age looking down at him. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned her head. "Otousama! He's waking up!"

Shinjiro blinked in confusion as a middle-aged man walked in following the girl's call and smiled gently at him. "Hey there. How are you feeling, son? I was pretty worried when Oyu found you all bloodied up on the road."

Shinjiro processed this, trying to remember what had happened, then gasped. "My comrades!" He exclaimed as he sat up before cringing in pain.

The man frowned and knelt down next to him. "Whoa now. You're not going anywhere. You were lucky to survive as it is."

Shinjiro shook his head as the man tried to make him lay back down, "You don't understand...! My comrades! Bright Lightning is in danger!"

"Bright Lightning?" The man's frown deepened, "I heard that they were wiped out by the Hidden Mist two days ago... You've been asleep for five days, son."

Shinjiro's eyes widened and then he looked down as they became filled with tears, "No..."

The man's expression became serious as he looked at the distraught boy, "Did you know about this attack ahead of time somehow?"

Shinjiro nodded. "We were supposed to meet with some officials from Kirigakure regarding a mission... but the day before, the day your daughter found me, I was attacked by Kiri ANBU. I managed to enlist the aid of a shinobi who was stronger than them, but..."

"I suppose that explains a lot..." The man said with a sigh.

"What am I going to do?" Shinjiro asked as tears streamed down his face, "Bright Lightning was the only family I knew... they were all I had..."

"You can stay here with us." Oyu's father assured him, "Our home is a hot springs resort and medical clinic. As long as you do your share of the chores, we'll be glad to have you."

Shinjiro considered this. "You said that it's a medical clinic? Are you a medical ninja?"

"I was, before my wife and I retired to open this place." He told the boy, "Now, I suppose I'm just a doctor who happens to know medical ninjutsu."

"Then please, make me your student." Shinjiro said, looking up at him with earnest eyes, "I already know the basics. I'm not skilled at combat, but... I want to be able to help people."

The man nodded before gently pushing Shinjiro to lie back down, "After you recover. You need to rest until then. My name is Mako, by the way."

"Mako... sensei..." Shinjiro muttered in confirmation as he fell back asleep.

"Otousama, is what Shinjiro-san said true?" Oyu asked when she and her father entered the kitchen. "Did Kirigakure... take advantage of Bright Lightning?"

"...From what he said, that appears to be the case." Mako said hesitantly, "I had heard that Bright Lightning had attempted to attack nobles from the Land of Water and had been wiped out by the ninja of Kirigakure as a result, but... from what Shinjiro-kun said, it would seem that the Hidden Mist orchestrated the whole thing, in order to curry favor with the nobles in question. I also heard that the members of Bright Lightning tried to ask for help from the villages here in the Land of Steam and were turned away..."

"But why?" Oyu asked in confusion.

Mako sighed, "Hidden Hot Spring Village... and the Land of Steam... are neutral to a fault. In order to avoid conflict with other nations, our people refuse to take a stand for what is right. That's why that nutcase Hidan is running loose with the criminals known as Akatsuki now..."

"Oh..." The girl said, looking down in thought before gripping the fabric of her kimono in frustration. "Otousama... Okaasama... can I ask you something? Would you be angry... if I decided not to become a ninja?"

Mako's wife Miyu looked over at her daughter, "I suppose that would depend on the reason, Oyu." She said, although she seemed to already know the answer.

Oyu's brow was furrowed in thought as she spoke, "After finding Shinjiro-san... and hearing what happened to him... I don't want to be a part of this world... where people are exploited... and those who could do something... simply look the other way."

Mako smiled softly at his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I understand Oyu, and it's okay if you want to drop out of the program, but... Just make sure you're prepared for the consequences that will come with it."

"Consequences?" Oyu asked in confusion.

"If you leave the training program, regardless of your reasons, there will undoubtedly be people who will say that you are a coward, or that you didn't have what it takes. You have to be prepared for that." Mako explained to her, "Having said that, I think it is more courageous to walk the path you believe to be right, than to simply follow others' expectations."

"I understand."

So this is a story that serves as a prologue to some of my future stories. It centers around Mayonaka Shinjiro, who appears in part of The Second Survivor, and how it was that he knew Itachi.

EDIT 04/29/19: So I realized after going over some stuff in the anime that Itachi didn't team up with Kisame until he'd been in the Akatsuki for three years, so I had to fix that for the sake of another story.