"What?" speaking as if they were above suspicion, "I did say I absolutely wouldn't let you turn this place into a bloodbath."
Itachi narrowed his eyes at the highly suspicious character, who he deduced to be none other than Hui(慧), a prankster from his academy days. Really, that took him way too long, but he never paid too much attention to the lazy ninja-in-training. After all, he was the prodigious Uchiha, supposedly able to hold his 'cool' better than most. People like Hui were simply supporter-types, from what he could tell. But more importantly, a member of Shisui's genin team, as his best friend would joke good-naturedly about the group's silly antics (mostly relating to Hui). The rest, remained as much of a mystery to him - the willingness to shoulder the murder of the entire Uchiha clan, the reasons as to why the sharingan at least appeared ineffective, the lacking motives, and so on. He didn't feel threatened, because only amateurs would rely so heavily on eye techniques without training themselves in other assets, but Hui seemed more of a runner than anything.
Hui was met with intimidating silence, and could tell that Itachi was processing the situation at hand. Taking the lack of responsiveness as a signal to fill in the blanks, a bored explanation followed, "Like hell I was going to let you turn Sasuke into a killing machine. You should know that I prefer books that tell good stories, not lame tragedies," the bindings around their arms tensed, and carried the scent of hundreds of lost souls, to which Itachi internalized his disgust, "and, my only desire is to protect Konoha, the Uchiha name just happens to be a bonus. And of course, as much as our village's past hates to admit it, the Uchiha are critical to the revival of..." In the middle of the trailing sentence, they nodded off as if it spoke for itself, and Itachi of course, knew what Hui had implied.
"Report to the Third, and he'll help you deal with the aftermath." Hiruzen would conjure up a cover story that Hui had acted alone without cause so that nobody would learn of the Uchiha's plans, and also so that Konoha would not be tarnished for its involvement. If Hui took his place, bearing the responsibility for the slaughter of his kin, Itachi would be able to protect Sasuke thoroughly from Root, along with its leader, Danzo. And on top of that, a double-agent to infiltrate the Akatsuki was more than enough to convince him to remain as a poor victim of a mad man's killing spree. The loop-holes that were left only lay in the whether he could fully trust the individual and their abilities. This person was sly, if not more so, than the one who claimed Madara's name; but the opportunity was too good pass. Rather than psychologically traumatizing his younger sibling, repeating old mistakes of deriving power from hatred, a brother-figure would guide him along the right path in restoring their clan.
"Look, I probably ain't the most trustworthy guy based on first-time interactions. But Konoha needs you, and Sasuke, here. And if that's not convincing enough-" a swooping creature found leverage on the strange man's fist, a crow. Except, that was not what drew Itachi in, instead, the faint, red coloration of a four-point pinwheel that the bird donned caught his attention. Of course, who else than, "Half of Shisui's right eye, the one that bastard stole. You'll make better use of it I suspect." The Mangekyō was a secret to behold, and only those who lusted for their own power would be foolish enough to pass up such a chance, and yet there it was, a second pair of eyes to be turned over to Itachi. How the supposed idiot managed such a feat, was up in the air, but more than enough to demonstrate a level of competence to the ANBU captain.
"After you defect from Konoha, where do you plan on heading?" He asked, more out of confirmation than anything else. His mission was taking a different course than previously intended, one built on deception under the all-seeing eyes of Danzo and his men; this three-way, four if you counted Madara (no way could this conversation have bypass a legendary rival of the Shodai), secret would be kept, only disclosed when time called for it.
The mask was still parted a little ways from the Hui's face, though not much could be told from their features as if they wore both genders. "Where do you think?" Another vague response that only the receiving-end would be able to decipher. They fixed the white-covering in place, handling the last of their kunai and shuriken while counting the tags. The rectangular glints of their signature weapons were wiped clean of Uchiha blood, and without further ado, they fixed the hitai-ate in its rightful place with a knowing-look, pleased as if the circumstances hardly pained them. "Man, I'm such a hypocrite. I hate cliches, but it looks like I am becoming one."
With that, Hui dispersed, leaving Itachi to confront his little brother after he'd arrived home from the Academy.
Two years later
Musing at the idealistic speech given by an obnoxious bartender, who busied himself with shining the wine glasses until they were one-hundred percent sure it would blind the finest byakugan-user, Hui nodded off, playing it off as they were unable to hold even a shot of hard liquor. In reality, they were catching up on interesting gossip, as a group of angry drunkards would let slip recent news about the Land of Fire, and the downfall of a powerful clan. An entire ethnicity, destroyed in one night by the hands of one shinobi, leaving a skilled man and his innocent brother in the wake of tragedy. Many sympathized, although secretly relished the thought that it was one less, over-powered kinship to worry about. Other happenings included the crumbling relations between the Land of Water and Lightning, as the amount of tension left many to assume the possibility of war; a bombing terrorist attack on Iwagakure by one of their own, catching many off-guard; the terrible unfolding of the Chuunin exams, hosted by the hidden sand, in which many lives were unnecessarily sacrificed.
A cloaked-man seated himself beside Hui, eliciting a twitch from the missing-nin of Konoha. Fish-face carried a smell that burned the eyes of the pretend-drunk, saltwater. It was like an invisible fish market had materialized inside the cheap bar, but the customers were too desensitized by the spirits to bother. But the stranger's order of, "Two shots of Daybreak, go light, though, I have a mission after this," caused Hui to stir, and a glance was all that was needed for the lazy has-been of the Leaf to bail.
The owner mumbled, ready to fire off another one of his infamous lectures, "I thought jounin were suppose to be responsible drinkers. Guess I was wrong." He turned his back to the scaly-skinned man, and Kisame wasted no time slamming his precious Samehada in front of Hui and their attempt to escape. A vicious, shark-tooth grin sent a shudder down the opposition's spine.
Shit, didn't think that terrorist group would be hunting me down so soon. A sharp, cautious turn, and Hui was dangerously close to the sentient swords line of destruction. Waving their hands in a sheepish manner, they pulled a foxy-facade, "Hey, hey, took you guys long enough!" The casual violence was overlooked by those nearby, as they dismissed the outbreak to be a burnt-out ninja releasing some stress through beer and pointless fighting. Of course, the two that were engaged knew that there was more to their little quarrel, and exchanged silent gestures to take it somewhere else.
And so they made headway to the uncharted island's hot springs, a misty turf that put Hui at a disadvantage they were well aware of. The land was famous among its inhabitants for the geysers that infested the stretch of rock, blowing off steam with an immeasurable shot of gas at unpredictable times. In short, a getaway would be impossible without airborne jutsu, and one misstep would leave to a lifetime of scarring, but that shark knew this place like the back of his hand, and took everything into consideration. Man, it sucked, following a snake into its den, and playtime was over for the idle nin, which added to Hui's groaning attitude. Feigning innocence, the lanky-figure placed their arms behind their head and fell into step with Kisame, whistling an annoying, off-key tune to break the quiet.
They halted in the middle of the clearing, and waited until several bursts of scathing water erupted out of the grounds, surrounding the pair in their own, personal conversation like a veil. "So, you were sent to recruit me for the Akatsuki, the terrorist organization that poses a heavy threat to all the great nations and is hunted down tooth and nail?" The statement sounded almost absurd taken out of context, and Hui continued with a blank stare that hinted at another level of danger in its own right, "But more importantly..." they turned in Kisame's direction, meeting his beady pupils head-on, "I'm going to be paired up with you, a fish-face for a partner that reeks of seaweed? Yuck!"
Kisame found the fellow to be rather irksome, and trading blows seemed more inviting than listening to the motor-mouth go off. But wasting his chakra reserves on beating the sly fox was to be avoided if possible. "Yes, we'll head back to the base, west of where we stand, and our leader shall explain any questions you have."
"And, I take that a 'no' is negative?" Hui spoke in mock of the authorities, sounding one of the most classic, cheesiest of lines.
"Of course, unless you challenge me to a fight, of which you would be taken by force. But honestly, I'd prefer if you give me a break, instead of the other way around."
Everything was going as plan, a little bit early based on Itachi's calculations, but nevertheless, on point in coordinates and conversation details. "Alright, alright, Hui, by the way." Slapping the monster-of-the-hidden-mist's back as a sign of peacemaking, the careless gesture resulted in the thickly wrapped sword to smile broadly - a cruel, savage, smile.
"Hoshigaki Kisame," he murmured to an unfazed Hui, "you never intended to fight, did you?"
"Bingo, now, who's this fella?" Staring intently at the renowned backsword, before thoughtlessly reaching out to pet it.
"Samehada, and I suggest you stop that before you die from chakra depletion." He lightened up a bit, at least he knew his partner was able, based on the shark-skin's reaction to Hui's touch. The slight chakra absorbed by Kisame's 'pet' passed onto its owner, and he could tell just by mold, that the goofball had an extensive supply comparable to the puppet master, Sasori of the Red Sand, but certainly not enough to be called a 'tailless tailed beast'. He wondered why, though, out of all the S-rank nin their leader had prepared, that they would be the first to join. Aside from a strange chakra network she or he possessed, not much could be deduced. Was this really the assassin that slayed the entire Uchiha clan in one night? But perhaps, the turn-out of their partnership would be worth it.
"Aye, aye, captain!"
That is, if he could help himself from killing Hui before they even made it past the borders.