XxXxX
'This body is light.' Itachi thought as he jumped from tree to tree before finally landing onto the grass below. 'It reminds me of my body back home… but I suppose that Shinigami did say something about helping me adjust to this new world. This must be the closest thing to a shinobi in this world.'
Looking down at his hand, he formed a water kunai. 'It feels just like the ones I used to use. Only…' He then threw it through the forest. Making it smash into a tree nearby. On the other side of the tree two kids were seen peering out from behind said tree.
"I-It saw us?!" The boy shouted in surprise. The girl that stood next to him scoffed at the straight forward question.
"Well of course it did Adam! Why else would it throw a water attack at us?"
"Shut up Clare! It looks really strong. I wonder what type of pokemon it is?" Adam asked as the two kids fully walked out from behind the tree. The girl had green hair and orange eyes with a pink dress. Adam had brown hair and eyes with blue jeans and a green short sleeve shirt.
"Why not use the pokedex then? That's why it was given to us." Clare responded.
"Good idea! Here let me… there we go!" Adam exclaimed as he removed a red device from his backpack. The 'pokedex' as it was called began describing the type of pokemon Itachi was. Everything from type, to common locations where his breed was found was given to the trainer. "A Greninja? He doesn't look like your average Greninja to me. Must be pretty rare then!"
"I wouldn't mess with it Adam." Clare said, looking me up and down.
"And why not?"
"The pokedex said that he is a final evolution."
"So?" This earned a whack across the head from the girl. "Hey! Why did you do that?"
"It means that it's strong you big dummy!"
"Well I've got to try! Lets go Pidgey!" Adam exclaimed as he threw a pokeball out in front of him. A bird like the one that had helped Itachi before burst out of the ball between the Greninja and the kids. Itachi furrowed a brow at how a pokemon was able to fit inside one of those balls, but shrugged the thought off. If getting captured meant losing his freedom then he would have none of that. In a way, Itachi knew on instinct what it meant to be captured. It was as if the primal base needs of how to live in the wild as a pokemon, surrounded by other creatures like him, was slowly beginning to leak into his mind. "Alright Pidgey! You ready?!"
The Pidgey looked at the black Greninja and clearly a sense of dread was etched across her features. It was clear that it didn't want to fight, but the trainer's blind optimism was making it. "I guess…" The Pidgey replied nervously.
"Good! Lets start this off with Gust!" Adam exclaimed. The Pidgey flew up into the air and began flapping its wings as hard as she could, but the wind only made Itachi squint his eyes a bit and make his scarf flow in the breeze. The stoic Greninja stood still with his arms crossed, clearly not impressed at what he saw.
"Is that all?" Itachi asked the Pidgey, making the birds eyes widen at the comment. Taking her shocked visage as a yes, the Uchiha dashed towards the hovering bird at a fast pace while throwing water shuriken.
"Dodge!" Adam shouted, but the Pidgey didn't need to be told that. She was dodging as best she could, but little did she know that while dodging, the Pidgey was slowly lowering herself towards the ground. Once said Pidgey was low enough to the ground, Itachi sprang up until he was level with the bird. The two looked at one another for a few seconds, the female bird quickly realizing her position, but it was far too late. Itachi brought the heel of his foot down onto her head, making her slam into the ground with a loud thud. The black Greninja landed a few seconds after in a delicate fashion and looked over at his opponent. She looked to be nearly passed out from the looks of things.
"Pidgey!" Adam shouted in dismay.
"Told you not to mess with it." Clare stated.
"I at least had to-!" Adam began to say, but stopped midsentence when they saw the wild pokemon approach the Pidgey. "What are you doing?!"
Itachi clasped his hand around the neck of the bird and lifted it up in front of him. She was barely conscious, but could see what was happening. "I'm sorry your master brought this upon you." Itachi said softly as a water kunai formed in his free hand. "But I'm afraid you lost."
"P-Please don't kill me! I was just doing what he told me to do!" The bird exclaimed, fear clearly flowing through her frail body. "I admit defeat! Just don't hurt me!" The Pidgey had never been more afraid for her life than she did at this very moment. Before Itachi could respond the bird began glowing red and disappearing from his grasp. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, the Uchiha's grasp turned to air within seconds.
"Steelix, use Rock Throw!" A voice shouted. Itachi felt something flying towards him and jumped backwards on instinct. As if on que a massive rock smashed into the ground where he once stood seconds before. Looking over at the new voice, the Uchiha saw a tanned man with brown hair and a massive steel worm like pokemon move in between him and the children as said tanned man made his way over to the two kids. "Are you two alright?"
"Y-Yeah… Thanks Brock." Adam said in surprise. "That pokemon almost…"
"I know. What are you doing challenging a wild pokemon that is so much stronger than you! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Brock exclaimed.
"I-I-I'm sorry! It's just that I thought we could-." Adam began to say, tears on the verge of coming out.
"I told you that you couldn't handle it. Lets go to the nearest pokemon center. Your Pidgey needs some rest." Clare said, placing a hand onto his shoulder.
"Yeah. Sorry mister." Adam said with a bow before the two kids left. Brock sighed and shook his head.
"Kids these days. Always thinking they can take on the world." The tan man said before looking over towards Itachi, who had remained still during the conversation. "Now there's you. Don't you think you were going a little too far?" Itachi didn't move as he listened to what the man had to say. "I mean, you scared them a good bit, that's for certain, but that Pidgey looked awfully scared for its life."
"You weren't going to actually kill her, were you?" Steelix asked, questioning Itachi's motives. The Uchiha was confused himself about the notion of killing another pokemon in battle. These people were treating a battle as if it was a sport of some kind. Was it a sort of sport here in this world? Was Itachi treating his little battle with the small bird like he would back in his world?
"Probably not." Itachi responded.
"'Probably' not?" Steelix asked, more concerned with his answer.
"Only if it made me."
"From the looks of things you were about to execute the poor bird."
"At that point I wasn't."
"Then what were you doing?"
"…"
Brock had stayed relatively quiet as the two pokemon communicated. When the Greninja didn't respond to his Steelix's question, the tan man sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, if anything, you did teach that kid a valuable lesson. He probably won't go around challenging every wild pokemon in sight now."
"More for the Pidgey's sake then anything." Itachi said.
"Agreed. The pokemon are- HUH?!" Brock stared at Itachi as if he had grown a second head. "Telepathy? What kind of Greninja are you?" The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders at the question, but the man continued to talk. "Is it because of your look? Most Greninja are blue and white, but you're black and red. It's not unheard of to see a pokemon that's a different color, so it can't be that."
"Sir?" It was getting frustrating listening to Brock talk about him when he was standing right there. What was the best way to shut the man up? An image of the Zoroark appeared in his head. 'Maybe…'
As Brock continued to talk, Itachi focused on the area around his body until his body transformed into the red and black fox from before. 'Just like Genjutsu from back home… just a little different though.'
"I see. So that's what's going on. Probably should have guessed based on your color." Brock said with a nodding of his head. "Although Zoroark's are extremely rare, and even scarcer around here."
"Sounds like you've met one before." Itachi commented, removing the illusion and transforming back into the Greninja.
"Once before, but the circumstances pit us against each other unfortunately." Brock said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But that's a story for another time. Can I ask you a question?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the question, but nodded his head. "Are you lost?"
Lost? Not really. It was like he had a built in navigation system that told him where to go to get home, but what was home? Was it the place where his kind are raised, or was it the Shinigami telling him where to go? Even without a map Itachi could gauge where he was and move accordingly. "No."
"Then where are you going?"
"I'm not sure. I just know I must head north for now."
"Head north? Well, if you're not sure then we can travel together!" Brock said with a smile, making the Steelix smile at the trainer.
"He's always like this since he traveled with that boy. Quick to trust and help others in need." The Steelix said.
"Is that so…" Itachi muttered under his breath as Brock returned Steelix to his ball.
"Thanks for your help buddy." The ball then became smaller and was placed inside his vest. "Follow me and we can make it to Viridian City by nightfall." Brock walked past the black Greninja with a smile on his face.
'He seems nice enough, but can I trust him? I still know very little of this world and the people that live here. The pokemon are captured for sport, but they appear to be fine with the way things are going.' Itachi thought.
"Coming?" Brock asked, making the Uchiha look up at him and nodding his head. The Greninja followed the smiling man through the forest, picking a berry every now and then to eat. "Here we are! Route one. This should take us straight to Viridian City."
"Who are you?" Itachi finally asked. Brock stared at Itachi for a moment before laughing.
"Sorry, my mistake! My name is Brock and I'm the gym leader for the Pewter City gym." Brock replied.
"Pewter City?"
"Pewter City is just north of Viridian City."
"Then what are you doing down here?"
"Umm… I can't really understand you."
'Right, Telepathy.' "What are you doing so far south then?"
"I wanted to meet up with a friend of mine when he passes through the area." Brock said with a smile. "She and I are going to surprise Professor Oak."
Itachi sighed quietly and walked alongside the man in silence for the remainder of the trek. Trainers would pass by Brock and immediately recognize him, and would probably assume that Itachi was Brock's pokemon. It didn't take long for the two to make it to the city. The city was small, but had tall buildings poking up to the sky every now and then between the trees. If anything it was much larger then Pallet Town. The sun was beginning to set and the orange glow blanketed everything in its glorious warmth. We stopped in front of the pokemon center, which had a massive red ball on top of it.
"This is where I'm going to be staying the night. My friend should be coming in soon." Brock said, turning to Itachi. People were giving the Greninja strange looks, but otherwise passed it off as just another pokemon from another region. "Would you like to meet her? She's a… somewhat nice person."
"I think I should be going. Thank you for your assistance, but I must keep moving." Itachi replied.
"Oh, well okay then, but if there's any trouble come find me. I'll help in any way I can." Brock said as he extended a hand. The Uchiha looked at it and accepted the hand, but while he was gripping the hand Itachi transformed. Once the transformation was complete there stood a man with black hair and onyx eyes. He wore a black zip up jacket and black cargo pants. His jet black hair reached down to his chin and two lines ran down below both of his eyes. To Brock the human standing before him was about the same age as…
"Will do." Itachi responded before turning and walking away. Brock stared at the person's back as he disappeared around the corner of a building and grinned.
"Zoroark's never cease to amaze me."
Itachi placed the hood attached to his jacket over his head once he was out of sight and continued walking down the street. Little did Itachi know, but a man stood on the opposite side of the street wearing a dark fedora and trench coat. As the Greninja, disguised as a human, walked by the man he smiled in a more than creepy manner before disappearing into the crowd of people.
XxXxX
It has been a week since Itachi woke up in this strange world and during his travels the Greninja explored what he was capable of with this new body. Using all sorts of water based moves was strange, since he was so used to fire based attacks, but the illusions he could create were slightly different than the ones back home. While he could make people see things that aren't there, like him in his human form, the illusions are much more fragile. To compensate Itachi found that by layering the illusions, or making them more complicated to solve, would have a better effect. Although this wasn't recommended because it would quickly put a lot of strain on the Greninja. So, by using illusions that were simple and easily overlooked, it put much less strain on his body.
"How are you doing today sir?! Would you care for a battle?" A man asked as I walked passed him. I ignored him and continued walking. "Okay then, would another time would be best?!"
'These people all want to battle. What's with everyone wanting to fight?' Itachi thought as he glanced at a sign as he passed it. 'Route 27. Where in the world am I going? Something is telling me to go this way, but what?' The greninja stepped off the bridge he had been walking on and looked around. It was a tiny landmass tucked up against a mountain to his right. A small grouping of trees sat to his left with water directly in front of him. 'Where do I go from here?'
"Hello there!" A feminine voice shouted in glee. "We finally found you!"
Itachi looked around before finally looking up. A small pinkish pokemon with a long tail flew down in front of him and smiled brightly. The stoic Uchiha stared back at the Mew with little to no response. Instinct told him that this pokemon was extremely important to how the world works, but why should he care?
"Um, are you sure this is him?" The Mew asked. Itachi was confused who she was asking when suddenly a larger version of the Mew appeared next to her.
"This is most defiantly him. Would you take down that illusion of yours?" The larger mew asked using telepathy.
"First, who are you two?" Itachi asked. The two looked at one another before looking back at Itachi.
"I'm Mew and this is Mewtwo!" Mew exclaimed with glee, making Mewtwo sigh at her excited behavior.
"I see. So why should I listen to you?" Itachi asked. Mewtwo was extremely strong, probably even stronger than he, but why should he listen to these two? "You appear before me and demand something of me without even giving a reason."
"Why you little-!" Mewtwo was clearly annoyed at what Itachi had said, but the smaller Mew seemed to have brought along a calm head.
"I'm sorry mister. We shouldn't have done that." The small being said with a bow. "We are here to figure out who you are and what you plan on doing."
"And why would you care who I am and what I'm doing?"
"Because you're an anomaly." Mewtwo responded as he crossed his arms. "We are trying to learn your intentions because we want to protect the pokemon around you."
"And people!" Mew chimed in, making Mewtwo sigh once again. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the two, but nodded his head. Slowly the illusion that he had placed over himself melted away to reveal a black and crimson red Greninja. "Whoa! You look so… different."
"Satisfied?" Itachi asked.
"Not until you tell us what you are planning to do."
"And if I don't?" The Uchiha responded, making the Mewtwo quirk at the response.
"Then I'll make you." Mewtwo said as psychic power began to build in his hand. Itachi didn't move a muscle, but was setting up an illusion around the area that would help him in a fight against a psychic.
"Please stop!" Mew exclaimed as she jumped in between the two pokemon. "We didn't come here to fight!"
"Then how do you plan to extract the information we need?" Mewtwo asked. Why not just beat and extract the information with their innate psychic powers?
"I'll figure it out. Now please leave us." Mew said with a stern expression. Mewtwo didn't move at first, but complied after a silent conversation with himself. Teleporting away from the clearing, the only two left was Itachi and Mew. The illusion that Itachi had been setting up disappeared in a small breeze that passed over them. "I'm sorry for his short temper, but he has always been like that."
"What do you want from me?" Itachi was quick to the point. These two were getting on his nerves. Was being left alone too much to ask?
"We want to know if you're going to harm anyone and learn where you came from. That's all." Mew said in an almost desperate tone. She was clearly sad about how the conversation was going. It was almost as if she wanted to be friends with him at the start.
"And I want you to leave me alone." Itachi said as he walked passed the shocked pokemon. "I don't trust you nor do I want to. Just leave me be." Once the Greninja stopped at the water's edge, he looked over his shoulder and saw Mew hadn't moved from her floating position.
"W-Why don't you trust me?" Mew asked, on the verge of tears. She had always been the best talker out of all the legendary pokemon and had always been able to make friends with everybody, but this pokemon was different. It was as if he was treating them as potential enemies. Something Mew didn't want.
"Because, I don't want to." Itachi replied coldly before jumping into the water and swimming away. Mew stared at the swimming Greninja as he swam away, tears bleeding from her eyes. She hated not making friends with other people and pokemon alike, and when someone would reject her she would bug them until they liked her, but this Greninja was so cold that it felt like there was a wall of ice between them. Something that she could never melt on her own.
It was the complete opposite from what would normally happened. Mew always had a way to get others to open up and trust her. Like a second ability that she used oh so often. Was it her personality? Her aura that constantly surrounded her? Mew didn't know, but one thing was obvious… whatever helped her in past would not work on Itachi.
"Didn't go well?" Mewtwo asked, teleporting in next to her. When Mew didn't respond, the larger pokemon sighed. He rarely went with Mew on these little excursions, but Arceus personally asked him this time to help. Also, since the events at his now destroyed island, Mewtwo was more inclined to help his smaller counterpart. 'It's rare that Mew can't convince another pokemon to open up. What is he hiding?' A sniffle from his small companion brought his attention away from his thoughts. Tears were streaming down her face and her eyes remained on where the pokemon had just left. "Did it really hit you that hard?"
"I-It's just… what if he never o-opens up? He's s-so cold and c-closed to the rest of the world." Mew said between sniffles.
'He's just like I was before. Maybe we are more alike than I'd like to believe.' Mewtwo thought. Something about him felt reminiscent… akin to who he is. "Come on, let's return. He's going to want to hear about this."
"But if we tell him the truth then-!"
"He won't hurt him and you know that."
"Still…"
"It's what we are supposed to do."
With a heavy sigh, Mew nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "If you say so, but before we return could we stop for ice cream?!" Mewtwo shook his head at the way Mew could instantly bounce back to her normal bubbly self.
"You mean steal some?"
"Borrow! I've told you that!"
"Borrowing something then not returning it is considered stealing Mew."
"Shhhh! I can't hear you!" Mew said before flying into the air, followed by a reluctant Mewtwo.
XxXxX
AN: Welp, it's certainly been a while. Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, but I've been having trouble lately. I won't bore you with the details, but I want you all to know that I really appreciate all the kind things you've said. The largest battle that I've had to struggle with is time. Writing, on any of my stories, has been a struggle for me because of the hours that I've taken at my jobs, but it was to fuel a passion of mine that lay outside of writing.
I'm going to travel overseas again for a few months because, as some of you may know, that I have an impulse to go and experience new cultures. China, South Korea, Italy, Mexico, Canada, and now I can add more countries onto that list.
For this story I have the next… 6 chapters written already? I could post them up before I leave, but then I won't be able to begin writing again for a few months. Not entirely sure what to do there, but anyways…
I love you all, and I hope my stories has brought many hours of screen staring for you!
