So, this is another fanficion from me. Wow, who woulda thought...anyways, this is probably the first of many verisons, so, ENJOY:)
From The Inside
Chapter One:
Famous Last Words
"So, what are we doing again?"
Kakashi sighed as he explained, yet again, their mission to Naruto.
"We're going to a market north from the Village to pick some extra supplies for the Hokage. It'll only take about a day, so stop whining!"
Naruto frowned. "And it took all four of us to do that?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Apparently" he answered.
"It is kind of weird" Sakura spoke up. "I mean, Naruto and I could have handled it on our own." She thought about that for a minute. "Then again, maybe it is a good thing we have Sai, in case Naruto screws it up….."
"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed. "What the hell does that mean?!"
"You know exactly what it means!" Sakura snapped. "It means we need someone else on this team who's capable."
"Aw, come on! I'm capable! I can hold my own just as well as he can!" As if looking for reassurance, Naruto shot a look at Sai, who, smartly, stayed out of it.
Sakura smirked. She knew very well that Naruto could hold his own in any fight, but she wasn't about to let him know that. It was just too easy to get a rise out of him.
Kakashi just shook his head in exasperation. There they go again, he thought.
But he did know why the Hokage had sent so many ninja for a simple mission. As much as she would like to, Tsunade knew she couldn't keep Naruto from the outside world, even if it was a world with Akatsuki. These days, whenever he went on a mission, even a simple one, he would have as much back up as the Village could afford to send---which usually consisted of Kakashi, Sakura and Sai.
Of course, Naruto was never told this. Kakashi knew that if Naruto ever found out, they would never hear the end of it.
Naruto sighed. "I just wish we could have gotten a more exciting mission….."
"Yeah, yeah" Kakashi said, only half listening.
They had been traveling for a while, so when Kakashi spotted a large, grassy clearing, he suggested they rest for a bit.
They all stopped to take in their surroundings. They stood in the clearing, with the thick, dark forest all around them. The patted down grass and the trees making a circle around it gave it a meadow-like feel. It was the first time in a while the group had seen the sun shine so clearly, illuminating the many types of flowers and the four shinobi.
"Isn't this a little……exposed?" Sai commented, looking around warily.
"Oh, come on, Sai! Loosen up!" Sakura laughed as she examined the different varieties of wildflowers. "Ino would know what these are….."She muttered to herself.
Naruto dropped his bag on the ground and threw himself into the grass. He breathed out a sigh of pleasure. "This sure is a nice spot." He smiled. "We should stop here on the way back, too!"
Sai was still tense. His instincts told him to run, to find a more secure area. Hanging out in an open field with a boy half the world was looking for…..sure, great idea. But he did not voice his concerns.
After about ten minutes of this, Kakashi sighed and stood up. "Okay, time to get back on the road" he announced. When neither Sakura nor Naruto made any move to leave, Kakashi said, a little louder this time, "let's go!!!" There was general disappointment between them, but Sai was relieved, although he didn't express it. As everyone scrambled to pack up there stuff and leave, nobody seem to notice the shadow following them close behind.
It was about an hour after the clearing when Sai noticed it. He only caught glimpses of it, a leaf that fell here, and small shadow there. Anyone else might have blamed it on the wind, or the many animals that roamed the forest. But Sai knew better.
Someone was following them.
Someone trained to follow prey without being noticed, even by the most elite shinobi.
Someone dangerous.
The shadow noticed the small changes in the dark haired boy's behavior. He moved a little quicker, and he had an anxious air about him. He kept looking towards random trees, behind him, and then back to the silver haired jonin. It was odd, even for someone on the lookout for pursuers.
The shadow cursed mentally.
He'd been spotted.
But how? Even the famous jonin, Hatake Kakashi, hadn't noticed him! How could a mere child have noticed his presence?
He smirked. He, of all people, shouldn't underestimated young ninjas. After all, he himself had been an ANBU Black Ops squad commander at a young age.
Kakashi also noticed Sai's odd behavior. Have we been followed? He thought.
No sooner had the though crossed his mind when a kunai streaked past his face, missing him by mere inches, imbedding itself in a nearby tree.
Everybody stopped, and stared at the knife. "What the hell?" Naruto said.
Then, they heard a calm, quiet voice behind them.
"It's been a while, Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun."
They all turned simultaneously, and watched the tall, dark figure appear from shadows of the trees. His red eyes seem to dance in the little sunlight there was in the dense forest. A black cloak hid his figure, but his likeness to Sasuke was definite.
Sakura's fists clenched. "Uchiha Itachi," she hissed.
Itachi ignored her, and turned his attention towards Sai. "I'm quite surprised you noticed me here," he said. "You're not a mere Chunin, are you?"
Sai said nothing, but tensed up a little.
"No matter. I'm not here for you." Itachi then moved his gaze to Naruto, who immediately looked down towards his feet.
"I see you have been educated on how to fight the Sharingan." Itachi mused. "Well, then…"
Kakashi lifted his headband off of his own Sharingan in time to see Itachi---with such speed that he could barely keep up with---appear behind Sai without warning, kunai poised to kill. Sai's reaction was automatic; he turned at the last second and lifted his own kunai to block Itachi's.
"Sai!" Kakashi yelled. "Don't look in his eyes!"
Too late. Sai locked eyes with Itachi. There was a stressed silence, and then, a few seconds later, he fell to the ground in a heap.
"Shit!" Kakashi, kunai drawn, lunged at Itachi. He swung his kunai, and stabbed him in the stomach. Itachi faltered for a moment, and then disappeared. "A shadow clone?" Kakashi muttered. He then heard Sakura let out a small gasp behind him.
He whipped around to see Itachi behind Sakura, with one arm around her neck, and his other hand held a kunai to her throat.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto reached for his own weapon, until Itachi brought the knife a little closer to Sakura's flesh. Naruto cursed and moved his hand away from his holster.
"Now, now, Naruto-kun," Itachi said calmly, as if he was talking to a misbehaving child. "I'm we can work out some sort of deal, hm?"
Naruto just glared at him, all strategies about fighting the Sharingan forgotten. "It's me you want, right?" he growled.
"Indeed." Itachi said. He closed his eyes, and Naruto and Kakashi automatically looked down. Itachi smirked. "I would rather not kill the girl," he said slowly. "It would save so much time if you just came with me, Naruto-kun."
Naruto said nothing, startled. Then his gaze softened, and he looked at Sakura. "Just don't hurt her," he pleaded.
Sakura looked horrified, and Itachi smiled a little. "Good, good.
"Now, Naruto-kun, I want you to look at me"
Naruto didn't move. Although he had never experienced Tsukuyomi first-hand, he'd heard plenty of stories. And especially after seeing what happened to Sai, Naruto was in no mood to surrender to the Sharingan.
Itachi brought the kunai even closer to Sakura's neck, and a thin line of blood started to form. "I thought you didn't want me to hurt her. I said look at me, Naruto-kun!"
For Sakura-chan. Reluctantly, Naruto looked up, into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Sakura could only stare as Naruto looked up from the ground at Itachi.
Naruto's eyes widened, horrified, like he was watching an extremely bloody battle. More than once did he reached out his hand, as if to warn someone. Sakura couldn't help but wonder what Itachi made him see.
It took about a minute---much longer than it had with Sai---before Naruto's eyes fluttered closed and he fell. Itachi roughly pushed Sakura aside and caught Naruto before he touched the ground.
Itachi grabbed Naruto by his stomach and swung him over his shoulder. At this point, his breath in short, ragged gasps. He then made a few hand signs and looked at Kakashi.
"Until next time, Kakashi-san."
A cloud of smoke erupted around him, and when it cleared, both Naruto and Itachi disappeared.
Anyways, hope you liked it!
Reviews appreciated! Constructive criticism encouraged!
So, updates will be pretty slow, unless I know there are people out there who want me to update faster. The more reviews, the faster updates happen!
So, basically, it's all up to you, the reader! (Assuming I get any readers )
I don't expect much, as long as know there is at least one person out there who is following this story, I will update a little faster! ( other than you, kaki-kitsune! But thanks for reading:)
SNK
