Days after the incident at the tea house, Kareiko still couldn't shake the image from her mind. She had gathered that Itachi was somewhat of a less than upstanding character, but she was so dumbfounded by how quickly he obliterated the tea house. Some part of her was fearful that he may do the same to her. Although, the other part of her believed that he was only punishing a man who certainly deserved it. She also had to admit that she was greatly mesmerized by the jutsu that Itachi had used; she had never seen anything like that used by her clan. She suddenly began to feel really inadequate and uneasy, especially since Itachi had rarely spoken to her after they left the tea house.
She had hoped to get a moment alone with him to ask why he'd agreed to let her follow him, but Kisame rarely left his side. They hadn't explained their situation to her in detail, but she could gather by their uniforms and the way that Kisame spoke that they were members of some organization. Her village had been so isolated from the outside world that she had no knowledge of the Akatsuki or the infamous criminal members. Kareiko continued to speculate about Itachi and Kisame when suddenly Kisame seemed to strike up a conversation that would provide her with a definite answer.
"Itachi-san," as he spoke he began to fiddle with his giant weapon, "why have you let this woman follow us for this long? I figured you would have killed her by now." Kareiko's face froze and her heart began to race. Kill me? Is that what Itachi-sama plans to do?
"You're not to touch her, Kisame." Kareiko heaved a sigh of relief; she knew that Itachi-sama would never imagine killing her. He had the opportunity to get rid of her countless times, but chose not to.
"What a shame. Samehada would have loved to have some of her chakra." Kisame looked at Kareiko with a wicked grin as he said this. She wasn't sure what to think of him just yet, but she noticed that he typically listened to Itachi's commands.
"She could prove to be very useful in the future, and that's why I will keep her around." Itachi hadn't even acknowledged Kareiko during this conversation. It was almost as though she hadn't even been there. Still, she trusted Itachi-sama; he had saved her from her prison.
"Kareiko, you're going to get a chance to show Kisame your usefulness," Itachi said as he turned away from both of them. Kareiko could now feel it; she sensed two unknown chakras. Two ninja, who she couldn't identify as affiliated with any village in particular, appeared. Both were males, and they looked very rough; perhaps they were also criminals. One had large scars all over his face. He began to address Kisame and Itachi.
"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, how lucky for us." He grinned wildly and he moved his hands toward a pouch on his back.
"We're going to kill you and cash in the bounties on your heads," said the other man as he brandished a kunai at the group, "you've got one of the biggest bounties in the Bingo Book."
Bingo book? Bounties? Itachi-sama really is a criminal. Kareiko tried not to think too much about what the men had said as she watched them cautiously.
Kisame began to ready his weapon; he was eager for a fight. Kareiko moved in front of him, however.
"Leave this to me, Itachi-sama. Don't waste your time on these two." Kareiko readied herself and took a card from her own pouch. The men began to hoot with laughter.
"I suppose we'll keep her for ourselves once we've killed you two," said ther man with the scarred face. He looked at her with the same lecherous eyes that so many men before him had done at the tea house. It infuriated her, and she couldn't stand him.
She flicked the card towards them and shouted, "Ninja art: Darkness Seal." The men continued to laugh until they realized it had grown dark, in fact it was now pitch black.
"What the hell?" said one of the men as he looked around nervously.
The other man, with all of the scars, took a different approach. He decided to begin throwing his shuriken in all directions. He threw so many that he was sure he'd hit Kareiko with at least two or more.
"Now, I'm sure you're hurting. Why don't you come on out and give yourself up honey?" He was panting as he spoke. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't hit Kareiko at all; he'd merely succeeded in angering her further. While still concealed in the darkness, she decided to finish off the scarred man.
"Don't call me 'honey'," she said as the man attempted to utter another word, "Fire Seal." The man immediately burst into flames. The other man began to panic and slash around violently; he screamed as he went.
"Sorry," she said as she frowned, "I have to do this…Fire Seal." The man also caught a flame, and Kareiko couldn't bear to watch. While her flames were not as intense or impressive as Itachi's, she was certain that the men would die from her attack. The darkness faded, and she looked to Itachi.
"It's over, Itachi-sama. I've taken care of them." She certainly didn't like how she felt, but they were criminals. She tried to tell herself that the men would've hurt her in ways worse than death, but it was hard for her to make sense of killing someone. She frowned, but then she saw Itachi smiling.
"She could be useful after all, Itachi-san," Kisame said as he also smiled.
Kareiko wondered what else she would need to do, but she was certain that she wanted to help Itachi-sama. She wanted to be useful to him no matter what.