Touch Of Black (1) - 17 Years
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing of Naruto. But I do own Maiko and all of her counterparts.
A/N: So, I've been trying to find a good Itachi/OC fic where Itachi is reasonably IC to read. But, I couldn't really find many. (If anyone knows of one please tell me!!!) Therefore I'm writing one myself. You'll have to bare with me, I don't know much about Akatsuki but I should be able to get updated on it soon enough. The story isn't set at any particular moment in time of Naruto, its simply of my own creation. Thanks. R+R!!!
It was Maiko Emiri's 17th birthday. But she was not happy about it. It wasn't that she was the kind of person who hated birthdays, it was the simple fact that the Emiri women were to marry at the age of 17. She was given a choice, she could find someone or else her parents would choose for her.
'What complete nonsense' She thought 'I don't want to marry anyone!'
Her parents had announced her 'fate' that very morning, which led to Maiko leaving her house abruptly. She had a fiery temper and did not like being told what to do one bit. So much so that she had even felt like murdering her mother for telling her that she had 2 weeks to find someone, or else the matter would no longer be in her hands. Maiko had decided that it wasn't going to be in anyone's hands. She refused to marry anyone whether she chose them or not. She would rather die, that was what she decided.
Her raven black hair blew wildly around her face as the wind picked up its speed, she was making her way to the one place where she knew nobody would find her. The river.
She despised the Emiri name, her clan wanted nothing more than to gain money and power within Konoha; hence the reason why all the women, when reaching 17 years of age were packed off to be wed to a son of another clan. Maiko was not, absolutly never ever ever going to marry anyone in such a way, not even if he were the most handsome of all the male shinobi of Konoha.
"Not even if he were Kakashi Hatake!" Maiko declared loudly, she was a Jounin and so she knew Kakashi very well, true, he wasn't in a clan but she merely used him as an example in her declaration. Afterall, the copy ninja was said to be incredibly handsome, although nobody really knew because he hid his face. He would not even show Maiko, and they had known eachother for quite some time.
When she reached the river she smiled. She always came to it whenever she was angry or sad. She sat on the ground and pulled off her shoes, dipping her feet into the cool, crystal clear depths. Thoughtfully, she looked over at land on the other side of the river, it was nothing but a huge forest, and the river twisted round it into a bend, before it disappeared, blocked by the trees.
Maiko had always been curious as to where the river went, she had never left Konoha, but knew that the river did; her father had told her that it stretched out for miles and miles, and that often people sailed to the village on it. It was definitely wide and deep enough for the job, in fact the raven haired Jounin had often contemplated sailing away on it herself. But, realised with much remorse soon after that the river flowed into the village...and not out of it. There was another which ld out of the village, but Maiko's parents being who they were would not let her go anywhere near it, as apparently it was in the 'dangerous' area of Konoha.
"I didn't even know there was a dangerous area of Konoha," Maiko puzzled aloud to herself, splashing the water gently with her feet.
"You have a lot to learn Maiko Emiri,"
She recognised that voice, and, turning around she saw none other than the person she had been thinking about just a few moments before; Kakashi Hatake.
"What are you doing here?" Maiko asked, not meaning to sound cold (Although she did) but she really wasn't in the mood to talk to her masked friend on that day.
"Actually, I came to visit you, considering its your birthday. Your parents told me what happened and here I am," Kakashi beamed, sitting down next to the ebony-eyed jounin.
"Yeah...but how did you know that this is where I was?"
Kakashi tapped his nose as a sign to say that it was a secret and Maiko scowled.
"Whats so wrong with getting married? I thought you loved the male species! Especially me of course," Kakashi smirked under his mask and waited patiently for an answer.
"I refuse to get married. Totally, 100 refuse. And yes, I happen to think very highly of male shinobi's, but marrying one really isn't my thing,"
"Well perhaps you should switch bodies with my student Sakura, I'm sure she'd be grateful to oblige," Kakashi joked, although Maiko really couldn't see what was so funny.
He shivered, partially from the evil glare his friend had given him, and partially because he thought it was getting rather cold.
"Why don't we head back? You must be freezing with your feet in the water," Kakashi asked.
"I'm not,"
Maiko sighed and pulled her shoes back on, however she made no sign of moving, she just stared at the water.
"What is your obsession with rivers!?" Kakashi said, laughing, he knew well enough that this was where Maiko spent most of her time, but what was so interesting about sitting and staring at something?
"What I like best about rivers is you can't step into the same river twice. The waters always changing and always flowing. Its different all the time, and it leads you to where you have never been before," Maiko replied.
She had a huge urge to just run away then, to just follow the river and leave Konoha, leave and go somewhere else. Anywhere but this particular village. She stared down at the forehead protector which she wore tied around her waist, tapping it gently with her thumb. Kakashi watched her, frowning; of all the years he'd known Maiko, she had never really been a happy person. Even when she was just a child. She did not really have much to be miserable about, she had a family and friends; sure, her family she didn't get along with but that was all he could really see that would trouble her.
'Perhaps she's just one of those sadistic types' He thought to himself, glancing thoughtfully at her short, spiky-on-the-ends hair. It only just touched her shoulders, and yet the wind seemed to blow it all over the place. She wore a black and white as the rest of the women in her family did. Another of the Emiri clans fabeled traditions. Although seemingly less harsh than the others.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Kakashi urged, he didn't want to leave her all alone out there.
"I can't be bothered to right now. I'll come later,"
He frowned again, standing up, grabbing her arm and pulling her up onto his back, he decided to carry her home. Whether she liked it or not.
"I can't believe I'm letting you give me a piggy back," Maiko mumbled, Kakashi merely laughed.
"You love me really,"
"Perverted old man..."
"Hey, I'm not old!"
"So you admit it?"
"Admit what?"
"That your a pervert!"
"I didn't admit to anything,"
"But you didn't deny it either, so therefore it must be true!"
'Dammit,' Kakashi cursed under his breath, he had cheered her up at least, but at the price of his own humiliation. Oh well, at least there wasn't any around to actually here what she had said.
He knocked on the door of Maiko's house, the emblem of the Emiri clan was carved into the wood, and Kakashi merely glanced at it for a moment or so until the door opened, and he let Maiko down.
"I believe this is yours," He said, nodding to her mother, before smiling at his friend and then disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Maiko said nothing to any of her family, who were all gathered around the kitchen table. She just went straight up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut behind her like a moody teenager. Although, if she thought about it; technically she was a moody teenager. Hating almost everyone and keeping all her thoughts written down in a notebook which she kept on her person at all times.
Opening the book, she peered at the first page, where she had written a poem:
'Can shadows move across the sky?
While the sun is bright and rising high?
I dare not contemplate
the dark of the light
the love in my hate
the fear that I fight
If I come to acknowledge
all that is bad
must I forget all the innocence I had?
Both light and dark
can corrupt my soul
but its what I believe in
that can never be stole'
She didn't really think that it made sense, but it was written in a moment of impulse, shortly after she had killed someone for the first time. The deceased was simply a spy from the mist village, whom she had been ordered to dispose of. Maiko did not tell anyone, but she felt the strangest sense of pleasure in killing; it was almost as if she could take her anger and sadness out on her victim. And when it was over she would feel no guilt. She had not always been the way she was, as it said in the 9th line, she was certainly once very innocent. And didn't understand how that purity was no gone from her.
"But it is gone, and so I shall have to put up with it," She told herself, flopping down onto her bed and gazing around at her room; which was painted a deep red, and was bright due to the amounts of sunlight which seemed to poor in from her window. There were numerous scrolls on the floor, she hadn't actually been looking at them: Maiko hadn't looked at those scrolls since she was a Genin. In the present days the scrolls were generally something she threw had wrecked if she got angry. It was just something she did. And had done for ages.
"MAIKO!"
Groan. I hate brothers.
A young boy, with short spiky red hair shouted loudly as he threw open Maiko's bedroom door and ran over to his elder sisters bedside, tugging loosely at the sleeve of her kimono.
"What?"
The boy twitched for a second, and then took a step backwards.
"You have been called into the presence of the Fifth," He mumbled under his breath, still a little shocked at the glare his sister had given him only a few moments before.
Maiko frowned, sitting up, making sure she had all of her ninja equipment ready. No doubt it was some kind of mission, most likely assassination, which was something the Jounin held as a talent. She turned to face her brother, who had been in the Ninja academy for a short time and was now being trained up as a 'great shinobi' of the Emiri clan. Or so her father said. Everyone born into the Emiri clan was supposed to be very powerful, and have some kind of destiny to fullfill. Maiko often wondered if this was really true, she didn't see what was so great about her clan. She even dared to think that she could easily defeat her parents in battle. Well...maybe.
She ruffled her little brothers hair with her hand, she felt sorry for him. Sure, the Emiri clan had great expectations for the women, but it was even worse for the men. Her brother would be put under so much pressure. And it didn't help that he was weak. So very weak. His Shinobi skills were nothing to brag about, but he had only just begun training so that wouldn't matter, however that still didn't contradict the fact that he was very sick. Something wrong with his blood. Which could shorten his life span, or so the clan had been told. They had been advised that Ai (As Maiko's brother was named) should not become a ninja. As that would lessen his life span even more. But, their father wouldn't have it, there was no Emiri that had not become a ninja. Not one. And so Ai would have to, at the cost of his life.
'Not that he knows about it' Maiko said to herself, the clan hadn't even had the dignity to tell her little brother that he didn't stand a chance of living past the age of 40. And that was if he was lucky.
Maiko said her farewells and then headed quickly to the fifth's office, she was quite surprised to see many other Jounin and Chuunin there.
"Now that your all here," Tsunade began, frowning slightly at Maiko's lateness, she arrived after Kakashi! That was a very big deal in Konoha. "I must alert you all that the village is in great danger. I have learned that Akatsuki are planning an attack, their said to arrive sometime this week. It could be this very night as far as we know. I want you prepared, warn everyone. The best fighters must go to the front line, there will be lookouts at the gates and around the village. Your signal is the warning bell. When you hear it, that means they've arrived,"
She certainly didn't waste time, and looked extremely worried. She dismissed everyone quickly, Maiko walked out with Kakashi.
"Why are they coming?" She asked.
"Well, Akatsuki do pretty much whatever they want. And to be honest I don't know if this village stands much of a chance against them. They are...hugely powerful..perhaps stronger than all 3 of the legendary Sannin put together," Kakashi replied.
Maiko gasped. This was more than just a normal attack. She excused herself quickly enough and ran to tell the people in her clan who did not know. This was awful news. Now she really did have a reason to be angry and miserable. Most of her clan could defend themselves. Except Ai. He was so innocent, thinking that everyone loved him and would do him no harm. However, Maiko had heard the rumours of Akatsuki. She knew they showed no mercy, not to anyone. Not even to someone Ai's age. Ai was the only person she worried about, and immediately she decided that she would not let him out of her sight from then on, she would defend him with her life.
"But, their so strong. I won't even be able to defend myself...will I?" She questioned her earlier thoughts, but at least ways if she died, then she would not have to see her brother dead. It was a selfish thought. Maiko knew that well enough, although she couldn't stop herself feeling that way.
She found her brother in the living room and quickly embraced him.
"Ai, you are not to leave my side from now on. We will be together always," She said, knowing well enough that no one would tell Ai of the upcoming events.
"Why nii-san?" Her brother asked, frowning.
"Because I love you," Maiko replied, it hurt her greatly that she had to lie. It was for his own good though, it was all for him.
'For Ai'
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A/N: Okay, whadayya think? Good? Bad? I promise that Itachi will be in the next chapter. Now please review! I'll give you good karma I swear! And it motivates me to update a lot faster!!!
Rocking21