It was raining, again. It had rained heavily for three days straight. Kareiko Kusagano sat and stared out the window while longing for something to do. Business had been very slow because of the rain, which seemed very contradictory. You would think that more men would come to the ochaya to escape the boredom that the rain brought with it. Kareiko felt so bored that she would have gladly welcomed the lecherous customers in to see her tonight; well, she wouldn't be glad, but she'd still be happier than when she was doing nothing. It had been nearly two years since she'd come to the tea house, and she still hadn't gotten accustomed to it. She knew she needed to try to fit in if she didn't want to be discovered by her clan and killed, but work at the tea house was not something she did well. She couldn't be like the other women there; she couldn't be submissive to arrogant men who thought they could do whatever they liked as long as they paid for it.
Speaking of arrogant men, in walked the owner of the tea house, Kanbe. Kanbe was a short, fat, balding man who wore large spectacles. He looked rather unattractive, but he was certain he knew how to make all the women that worked at the tea house more attractive to customers.
"Kareiko, you need to hurry up and start bringing in some revenue! You're so pretty and yet you can't do a damned thing to entertain any of our guests!" Kanbe huffed in agitation as he spoke.
"Eh, I can't help that all of your guests are rude pigs. If they're looking for more than tea then they can find it elsewhere. I merely serve the tea-"Kareiko was cut off as Kanbe threw a notebook he was carrying at the back of her head. She let it hit her; she wasn't stupid. Showing off the fact that she was a kunoichi would have certainly ended up exposing her.
"You need to learn to start getting more customers or we'll have to throw you out," Kanbe uttered as he stormed off. Kareiko did suppose she needed to entertain more customers if she wanted to remain in hiding. The tea house would not be the worse place to stay, and it certainly beat the alternative of death. She decided to make herself look presentable and attempt to show some charm. She went to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her stark yellow eyes looked as intense as ever, which she decided was most likely a bad thing. Her long black hair was straggly and unkempt. Her pale face seemed so plain in comparison to the other women, who decorated their faces with powder and rouge. She decided to try and brush her hair down and to apply some color to her lips; it was the best she could do.
As Kareiko tried her best to make herself more presentable, two strange men walked down the road near the tea house. They wore dark cloaks, and their faces were obscured by the large collar of the coat. Even their hands were concealed by the cloud-patterned coat. The men walked side by side as they moved slowly down the road, not speaking at first. One man, the taller of the two, finally let out a sigh.
"Hey Itachi-san, why are you so glum? You really need to lighten up a little," he said as he picked something out of his teeth. The other man, the shorter of the two, did not reply at first.
"C'mon Itachi-san. This is no way to be. We've got to have a little fun every once in a while to break up this monotony of Jinchuuriki hunting."
"Fun is not our concern, Kisame."
Kisame quickly came to a halt and exclaimed "Ay, Itachi-san, would you look at that?" He pointed to the tea house, but Itachi did not seem the least bit interested or amused by Kisame's statement.
"It would be entirely foolish to waste our time in such a place, Kisame."
"Eh, but this will certainly lift your spirits, Itachi-san," he smirked, "if you get what I mean."
Itachi had no chance to react before Kisame had already started approaching the entrance to the tea house. Itachi wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflict and determined that it would be best to allow Kisame to have his "fun". He followed behind Kisame and entered the building reluctantly. As the men stepped inside, they were greeted with an overly fragrant floral smell. It was so potent that it even made Itachi wince. This place seemed hellish, even to someone who had seen so much worse.
Kanbe approached Kisame and Itachi enthusiastically, "Welcome, gentlemen!" Kanbe looked them over, and he noticed their unconventional attire and appearance. He seemed alarmed at first, but then managed to put a large smile back on his face.
"We are accustomed to getting some different types of customers, such as you two," he coughed, "and we always treat them to a wonderful, discrete time."
Kisame laughed heartily, "That's perfect, right Itachi-san?" Itachi's expression remained dispassionate, and he said nothing.
"We need to improve his mood, if you can understand what I am asking." Kisame looked eager to use the opportunity to place Itachi in an uncomfortable situation to provide him with a few laughs.
Kanbe grinned and winked at Kisame. He looked the strange men over, and he immediately thought about how they would certainly frighten most of the women.
"Noticing your, um, interesting features, I'd wager this man would be looking for an exotic beauty for his ceremony." Kanbe tried to think of anyone who could keep the men entertained; he certainly didn't want to anger such dangerous looking men.
"Eh, I'd say Itachi-san doesn't really have any sort of type." Kisame was brimming with excitement and attempted to hold back his laughter. Itachi was visibly irritated, but he seemed to still be tolerating Kisame's antics for the moment. Kanbe started to corral the two men into a different room in the tea house.
Kisame seemed enthusiastic about the fun beginning and shouted, "Let's have some drinks!" Many women could be seen, all of them dressed in intricate kimonos. They wore thick makeup masks; their hair was adorned with many beads and baubles. Itachi found is disgusting; to him it was a wretched place to be. He scowled and followed Kisame, who was being shown to many women and given numerous drinks by Kanbe. Itachi turned around to leave, but suddenly felt something odd. This strange sensation, was it, chakra? It was a powerful energy, but it was not one that belonged to Kisame or Itachi himself. He looked around and suddenly saw a woman, the source of the chakra. The woman had piercing, yellow eyes; her hair was a deep black and pulled into a ponytail high atop her head, but two scraggly strands and bangs framed her face; her lips were accented by poorly applied red stain. She looked out of place; or rather she was out of place. This woman perplexed Itachi, and he wanted to find out more about her. Kanbe seemed to notice Itachi looking at her, and he mistook Itachi's curiosity for something more romantic in nature.
Kanbe gently nudged Kisame, who was being given drink after drink by two women. "Your friend seems to have found someone he would like to get to know better!"
"Ay, so you do have other interests besides the organization!" Kisame cackled and turned his attention back to the women. Kanbe had quickly gotten up and appeared at Itachi's side.
"How delightful that you've taken interest in that one. Why don't you go ahead and go with her to somewhere more private?" Kanbe maintained his extreme grin as he yelled, "Kareiko, come escort this gentleman to another room." Kareiko shyly approached as she attempted to maintain an awkward forced elegance. She bowed as she greeted Itachi. He did not smile or greet her, but in reality she would have rather gotten such a cold reception than the typical groping she was used to. She knew she should keep her eyes down out of respect, but she couldn't help herself; she wanted to look at this man's eyes. She took a fleeting look at her soon to be companion for the evening and noticed that his eyes were cold and stagnant. They were not lustful, nor were they menacing. Emptiness was the only word that came to Kareiko's mind as she looked at this man. She wasn't certain if she should be frightened, because she definitely didn't feel that way. She felt excited.
Kanbe finally took notice of Kareiko's behavior and gave her a severe look. Kareiko quickly regained her composure and bowed once more to avoid upsetting Kanbe or the guest. She then started walking down the hall, all the while making sure that the man was following behind her as they left Kanbe with Kisame and the other women. She continued imagining what sort of trouble she had just gotten herself into, and she started to wonder if she should have just tried to escape. She shook her head and tried to dismiss these thoughts as she slid open the door and entered the room.
She started to turn on the lights, but the man quickly grabbed her hand to stop her from doing so; she realized she had let out a gasp. The man released her hand from his, but he said nothing. She began to get a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Things were beginning to go in a strange and uncomfortable direction, but she still found herself wanting to stay with this man. Something about him was captivating (in a deathly alarming sort of way). She gestured to tell him to have a seat on the floor next to the table as she started to fetch some tea.
He sat down and said, "That won't be necessary." She stopped where she was, but she did not want to turn to face him. With her back to him, she began to fear that this man had not come to the tea house to see her sing songs or pour drinks.
Damn, Kareiko, get a hold of yourself. She turned back around and smiled at him. She moved bit by bit over to the table and sat across from him. She started to think of what to say next. Should I tell him to beat it? Should I actually go through with something this crazy?
He interrupted her, "Why are you here?" He had removed his hat and cloak while she had been deep in thought. While it was still very dark in the room, she could still faintly make out his features. His eyes may have been cold, but she noticed that he was actually quite handsome. She was so rapt by his looks that she had forgotten about his strange question. No one had ever asked her such a thing during her entire stay at the tea house.
She faked a smile, "I'm here to entertain you." She was so startled when he slammed his hands to the table that she nearly fell backwards.
"That's not what I asked you."
"I don't get what you mean by that."
He glared at her with his eyes, and she now noticed that they were a deep red. She was now sure he was going to try to kill her. He obviously was no civilian, and she knew she was going to have to fight to protect herself from this man. She quickly leapt up and took a defensive stance. She wanted to be ready for whatever was going to come next, but she hadn't really prepared herself for his response. He's smirking? What the hell is up with this guy?
"You don't belong here", he stopped smirking and retained his typical apathetic expression, "so why are you remaining here?" She couldn't even rationalize her own actions, but for some reason she decided to take her seat and listen to this strange man. She suddenly felt safe.
"It's a complicated story, sorry." She looked away from him as she started to think about her past. It was something she hadn't reflected on for quite some time. While it was the sole reason she'd ended up in this terrible place, her past rarely crossed her mind. She let out a hefty sigh and shrugged. She thought she might as well give this man an honest answer to his question.
"Actually, since you seem so interested, I'll tell you a little about me. I'll give you the short version…I'm here because my clan exiled me. They exiled me because they believe I'm cursed, and they only did this to me because I look different than them. Now I am stuck here." She had thought telling him in such a direct and smug way might have been easier for her, but in reality she still felt herself choking up inside.
"You're acting moronic," said the man as brashly as he could; he was certainly not smirking as he spoke those words. Kareiko was completely caught off guard by his statement. She was shocked by her feelings, because it was almost as if she had expected some sympathy from this man. She felt her eyes becoming watery; she couldn't cry in front of this insensitive bastard. Kareiko remained strong and managed to suppress her emotions.
"You're the one who wanted to know the story, so I told it to you. Forgive me if it wasn't what you wanted to hear."
"You say you are forced to be here, yet you could kill anyone of these people who tried to keep you here." Kareiko felt her eyes widen. Is this guy for real?
He looked at her as if he expected a response from her, but she was far too stunned to give him one.
He seemed to take her silence as another opportunity to speak, "You are failing to make your own choices, which just makes you weak."
She felt her blood boiling as he finished uttering the word 'weak', "Who are you to tell me such things? I don't even know your name!" She pounded her fist on her thigh.
"Itachi Uchiha," he said abruptly. He looked to her and seemed to be waiting.
"I'm Kareiko," she paused for a moment, "Kusagano."
"Kareiko Kusagano, stop being weak." He moved his hands to the edge of the table and folded them together. She wasn't sure why, but she began to sense some emotion from Itachi. She looked at his eyes once again. While they weren't the same gentle type of eyes that had belonged to the first man she trusted, she was certain that there was tenderness behind them. He was telling her to make her own decisions.
"I will. I am going to start to make decisions by myself." She felt that there was no turning back now.
"My first decision is to leave this place," her voice grew softer, "and follow you, Itachi-sama." She wasn't sure if what she said would anger him, but she couldn't hold it back. This was the first man who had actually expressed concern for her (even if it may have been based off of other motives). While he may have been very different, he still somehow reminded her of someone she had cared for so many years ago. She just wanted to stay near him as long as she could.
"Fine," he said as he arose from the floor and headed towards the exit. He said nothing else, but Kareiko took this as a sign that he'd accepted her proposal. She immediately stood up to follow after him. They walked to the front room to find Kisame, who was still indulging himself.
"Kisame, we're going," Itachi muttered as he continued walking toward the exit. Kisame promptly stood and bounded to Itachi's side. Kanbe's face immediately grew red with rage.
"What are you doing? You can't just leave! You haven't paid for anything!" Kanbe started to approach Itachi and the others.
"Kareiko," said Itachi, "get back." Kareiko had no sooner moved behind Itachi when the tea house erupted in flames, black flames. Kareiko's face filled with a look of horror. The flames quickly consumed the tea house; it was evident that they had also consumed everyone inside.
"We're going now, Kisame." Itachi quickly took off to the north, leaving the tea house (or rather what was no longer the tea house) behind; Kisame and Kareiko followed closely behind him. Kareiko still couldn't shake what had happened. This man that she was growing fonder of had just killed people, innocent people. However, that wasn't completely true, Kanbe was a wretched man who exploited women and committed various other crimes. Did that really mean that he deserved to die, though? Kareiko shook her head, I've made my choice. I am going to follow Itachi-sama. She wasn't sure it was the correct choice, but at that moment she didn't care. Itachi had saved her from her nightmare.
"Ay, Itachi-san," exclaimed Kisame as they moved through the trees, "I see you have taken a liking to that woman." Kisame smiled widely, revealing all of his jagged teeth. Itachi said nothing, but merely continued to move forward. Kareiko noticed she was smiling; she had realized she wanted so badly for what Kisame had said to be true. She hoped that Itachi-sama may accept her as his friend.