Author's note: Hello. Wow! This story has received good reviews, story alerts, and been added to several people's favorite stories list. Yay! Thank you all so much! That's so encouraging. I'm so glad that people like this story and I truly appreciate every reader who stops by to check this story out. Anyway, once again I would like an opinion on this chapter and whether or not you want to me to continue it. If you like it, I'll definitely continue it! So please read, review and let me know what you think! Alright... Ready or not, here it comes!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto series, but I do own several pieces of Naruto merchandise, such as my adorable plush dolls and key chains.
2. Dangerous and Captivating Prey
Seven Years Later...
At just twenty-two years old, Itachi Uchiha was one of Akatsuki's strongest members, second to only Pein himself. Itachi was a skilled warrior, excelling in every form of combat known. He was a master in taijutsu although he didn't specialize in it. His Sharingan allowed him to use the most powerful genjutsu available to him, and his prowess in ninjutsu was unmatched due primarily to his powerful fire elemental abilities. All of these skills combined to make him nearly invincible. In addition, his track record since joining Akatsuki was superior to nearly everyone else's. In only seven years, he had killed exactly two hundred ninety-four demons, performed fifty-five successful captures, and had zero failed assignments. In short, he was the perfect demon hunter and an asset to the organization.
All the other members of the Akatsuki were fully aware of this, but they all showed no signs of jealousy. Even Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi's partner, had acknowledged on a few occasions that Itachi was the superior hunter. Kisame, a shark demon/human hybrid, was powerful in his own right, but respected the Uchiha, both for his skills and stolid demeanor. The two worked well together, and rarely ever fought amongst themselves. Keeping this in mind, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they were assigned the most dangerous missions...
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One evening, as night fell, a blond man limped towards the Akatsuki's hideout located at the base of a remote waterfall. A trail of blood marked his path, dripping from where his left arm should have been. The limb was gone, having been severed in a recent fight. The red cloud patterns on his cloak were singed, and a large clay bird flew slowly behind him, carrying his unconscious partner, Sasori, on its back. The blond, Deidara, noticed movement in the nearby trees. He tensed up at the sound, but relaxed when he saw a man with purple-colored eyes and silvery hair slicked back.
"Fucked up again, eh Deidara-chan?" the silver-haired man asked, using the honorific as an insult. He grinned, holding a triple-bladed scythe.
Deidara glared, and held his remaining hand over the bloody spot where his left arm used to be. "Shut up, Hidan! As if you could do any better! Now go make yourself useful and get Kakuzu or Konan, un!"
Hidan rolled his eyes, "As a matter of fact, I could do better. I wouldn't be an incompetent idiot like you and let some damn demon rip one of my arms off!"
"Incompetent? Are you forgetting that it was me who caught one-tailed Shukaku, un?"
"Big deal! I caught the two-tails last week!" Hidan countered, sounding smug. Deidara scowled at him, and was about to start arguing some more, but heard more footsteps approach.
"Both of you are such noisy idiots." said an annoyed deep voice. A hooded man glared at them, his face covered completely, only revealing his peculiar red and green eyes.
Hidan frowned,"Damn it, Kakuzu! How many times do I need to tell you? I'm not a fucking idiot!"
"Really? Your behavior proves otherwise." Kakuzu pointed out, inspecting Deidara's injury as he ignored Hidan's protests of his proven idiocy. "Hmm... It appears to be a relatively clean cut. Was your arm sliced or ripped off?"
Deidara winced, remembering the fight, "No. It was bitten off."
"I see... I can fix it, but you should give up on the Kyuubi. You're just wasting money and resources each time you fail. Since I am Akatsuki's treasurer, you know how I feel about wasting money." Kakuzu remarked, signaling Deidara's clay bird to land. The bird descended to the ground, tilted its wing, and Sasori rolled onto the ground. Kakuzu sighed, "Sasori too?"
Deidara nodded, "That fox demon hits hard. It sent Sasori flying into a mountain. I'm surprised he's not dead, un."
Kakuzu didn't reply, but grunted as he lifted up Sasori and hoisted him over his shoulder. "I'm telling Leader-sama what happened here. He'll find out anyway, so it doesn't really matter." With that, he left towards the hideout's entrance.
Hidan glanced at Deidara, who had a worried look in his blue eyes. "Tch...You're such a wimp. Are you afraid that the Kyuubi is going to come back and finish the job one day, or that Leader is going to kick your ass?" Deidara didn't respond, only glowered at Hidan before walking off, following Kakuzu's lead.
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Pein's voice echoed in the dark meeting room. "Enter."
Itachi and Kisame stepped in, their faces lit only by a few flickering candles. Kisame shifted his sword, Samehada, to rest more comfortably on his shoulder. "What's the new mission, Leader?" He grinned, "I hope it's something interesting..."
"Interesting, you say? How does the legendary nine-tailed fox sound to you?" Pein asked.
Kisame's shark fangs glinted as he spoke, "A tailed-beast? Now, that's what I'm talking about! When do we get going?"
Pein nodded, "Tonight. I'm assigning you two this mission because Deidara and Sasori have failed twice, and have been injured twice."
"Yeah. That's what Hidan told me earlier." Kisame sighed, "I can't understand why Deidara would be stupid enough to go after the Kyuubi twice. I know he caught the Ichibi last month, but why did he think that Sasori and he could handle the Nine Tails, the strongest of all tailed-beasts?"
"Clearly, he was just being foolish." Itachi answered.
"Of course. It is Deidara we're talking about. He's too much of a hothead to ever think about what he's doing." The shark demon turned his attention back to Pein, "What are the mission specifics?"
"The same with all tailed-beasts; incapacitate and capture, but do not kill. You have one week to return or re-enforcements will be sent. Understood?"
Both partners nodded simultaneously.
"What is your plan of attack?" , asked the leader of Akatsuki.
"Kisame will be the main offense and weaken the target. I will provide back up if required, and ensure a successful capture." Itachi replied.
Pein seemed pleased with this, and gave his approval. "Excellent. I only expect success from you two."
"Understood. We won't fail." Kisame assured him.
"Very well. You two are dismissed."
Itachi and Kisame turned away and were heading out the door when Pein's voice offered them a word of advice.
"Don't forget; by nature, fox demons are tricky creatures. Keep your guard up at all times, and above all, always expect the unexpected."
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The Following Day...
The fox demon walked through the calm forest, listening to the familiar birdsong. He sniffed the wind and detected no intruders. He yawned and settled into a patch of soft grass for a nap. The sun shone on his golden fur as he wrapped his nine long, beautiful tails around his body. He was just about to start dozing when his sensitive ears heard a bird screech in alarm from the other side of the forest. It flew away, panicked. A dozen other birds followed its lead, forming a cloud that darkened the sky momentarily.
The demon growled. This could only mean one thing...
The hunters were back.
He quickly got up and dashed away towards the center of the forest, paws barely touching the ground. The demon bounded over fallen trees and smaller animals in his path. Once he traveled a mile, he stopped to sniff the air. The wind blew from the southwest, carrying a faint scent of water with it, which immediately alarmed the fox. The nearest lake was in the northern part of the forest, and there was no chance of rain.
Where did the water come from?
"Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
Suddenly, the demon was knocked off his paws by a blast of water. He was slammed into a tree and felt the air knocked from his lungs. He tried to regain his breath, and got a lungful of water as a result. The water attack dissipated as soon as it had arrived, and the fox coughed, trying to clear his airway of the liquid.
A blue-skinned man carrying a massive sword approached him. The fox snarled savagely at the intruder, and lunged at him. The man blocked with his sword, its rough texture tearing some fur away from the fox, which jumped backward on contact with the weapon. Increasing his speed, the demon dashed to nearby tree top and roared menacingly. Before the demon hunter could react, the demon opened his jaws and struck him with a blast of burning red chakra. Unbeknownst to the fox, Samehada was a living sword and could absorb chakra. As a result, most of the attack was negated.
"Annoying little beast!" Kisame muttered, his forearms burnt from the overwhelming power of the demon's energy. The fox wasted no time. He attacked again, using his tails to whip at Kisame, knocking him over, and disarming him. Samehada flew into the air and landed into the trees some distance away. Sharp claws raked into Kisame's chest, blood spraying onto the demon's golden fur. Kisame ignored his newly formed wounds and punched the fox in the muzzle, causing it to reel back and doubling its rage. The fox tilted his head back briefly and howled, striking his tails against the ground. The earth trembled on contact, triggering an earthquake strong enough to split the ground open. Kisame was barely able to avoid falling into the chasm by dashing up a tree. He panted from the relative safety of the treetop. Damn. This one is actually pretty good, he thought.
The fox narrowed his eyes, the vermillion shade matching his anger over this hunter still being alive. Quickly, the demon reared up on his hind legs, and slammed his paws back down. A shock wave from the impact knocked down all the trees in the nearby area, including the one Kisame was perched on. He tried to leap away, but his cloak was caught on a branch. He tore at the fabric and broke free, but the delay slowed him down and the falling trees trapped him beneath, immobilizing him.
The demon licked his fangs in satisfaction. Just one more attack and this would be over and there would be one less hunter in the world. It was a win-win situation for him. He took a deep breath and focused his chakra into his jaws for another, more powerful, blast. He felt the energy building, and to his immense surprise he heard a voice that didn't belong to Kisame.
"Looks like you need a hand, Kisame."
There was something about that voice, and it made the fox stop, mid-attack. The wind blew once more and he gazed at the direction from where it came from, and his heart skipped a beat.
Standing there was a man, wearing the same cloak as the other demon hunter. His eyes were exquisitely beautiful, red as fresh blood. His skin was fair, but not overly so. Some of his midnight-colored hair framed his attractive face, while the rest of its length was bound back in a low ponytail, which danced in the breeze. The fox inhaled through his nose, catching the man's scent. He could smell the blood and death that the hunter had caused many demons, but that wasn't important to him. Instead, the fox focused on the human's own natural scent. It was unique because it carried a faint trace of the wilderness that reminded the demon of the refreshing scent that occurred right after it was finished raining in the forest, mixed with an unknown scent that was absolutely fascinating to the demon.
This human, and everything about him was perfect... and very alluring.
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Itachi blinked, not completely understanding what was happening. The fox was staring at him, but not attacking. He thought it was very strange to say the least. The Uchiha had just seen Kisame get attacked relentlessly, but now the fox had stopped and didn't seem interested in fighting any longer. Instead, the fox sat on his haunches and tilted his head curiously, appearing to consider something. He seemed to have come to a decision, and stood up.
Much to Itachi's surprise, the demon flipped backwards, engulfing himself in in sparkling red chakra. When he landed, his form had changed. The demon had transformed himself into a human.
Sharingan eyes widened, Itachi took in the demon's new appearance. He looked as though he were a teenager and was wearing orange pants, and a matching orange and black jacket. He had skin that was tanned to a healthy shade, and blond hair that was spiked up. His eyes were as blue as the ocean. Whisker-like markings upon his cheeks gave away his true demonic identity, but beyond that, his appearance was very striking, and even a little distracting.
Once their gaze met, they forgot about the fact that they were enemies. The two of them stared at one another, almost hypnotized. In the back of his mind, Itachi idly wondered if this was some strange genjutsu, but he had never heard of something such as this. The demon approached slowly and carefully. Itachi didn't move away. The demon opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he was knocked over by an exploding water shark. Not being prepared for the impact, the unexpected attack sent him flying and he crashed into a tree, head first. He landed in the shrubs, not moving and hidden from view, except for his feet.
Itachi jumped away, startled. He looked at the fallen trees, and noticed Kisame climbing out of the destruction. The shark demon panted, clothing tattered and full of splinters.
"Thanks a lot, Itachi. That genjutsu you just did saved my skin and allowed me to hit that little snot!" Kisame said, walking unsteadily. Itachi felt like asking, "What genjutsu?" but didn't. He quickly realized that Kisame was referring to the fact that the demon had stopped his assault, and attributed that to Itachi's doing, even though he didn't do anything. At least, he didn't think he did anything...
Kisame reached into a tangle of brambles and removed Samehada. He studied the sword carefully before frowning,"Damn it! The hilt is scratched! Stupid demon!" He looked around, angry at first, then he became confused, "Itachi, what happened to the Nine Tails?"
The Uchiha didn't reply. He only pointed to the feet that were sticking out of the plants. "Are you alright, Itachi? You look like you just saw a ghost." Kisame laughed. The thought of Itachi being afraid of anything, especially a ghost, was quite funny to him.
Itachi nodded. "I'm fine. The demon just transformed into a human."
A nervous laugh escaped Kisame, "You're joking, right?"
"You know I don't joke, Kisame." Itachi replied, walking over to the unconscious demon. He lifted him up, and held him carefully, showing him to his comrade. "See? Doesn't he look like a human?"
Kisame blinked, "Wow. He does. How is that possible?"
"I think this is his real form. Often, demons transform into animals to better utilize their powers because they draw their power from nature. Animals are truer to nature than humans are and a different form can increase or decrease their abilities. You saw what his fox form is capable of."
Kisame thought about it."Yeah, I know what you mean. When I merge with Samehada and transform into my full shark form, all of my water techniques are more powerful and my strength increases."
"Right..." replied the dark-haired man, sounding distracted.
Itachi's gaze had traveled to the demon he held, focusing on his face. His fellow hunter frowned slightly, unsure if he was really seeing this sight. Itachi had a strange expression on his face. It could almost be described as loving. Kisame rubbed the back of his head, and noticed a bump forming. He had a head wound. Realizing this, the shark demon sighed in relief. I probably just have head trauma and I'm hallucinating because of it... That means I'm not going crazy.
Itachi snapped out of his reverie, and began walking away, "Let's go, Kisame. Our work here is done."
"Sure." Kisame responded. After a slight hesitation, he asked Itachi, "Do you want me to carry the demon back to the hideout?"
"No. I'll do it. You were injured in the fight and you still have to carry around Samehada."
"Alright. Do you want to at least put him in a cage in case he wakes up?" he suggested. He thought it was very peculiar of Itachi to do something like this. Ordinarily, the Uchiha would lock up the captive demon in a cage, and order Kisame to carry it back. It was mildly worrying because nothing ever seemed to affect Itachi. Was there something more to this demon than met the eye?
"It's fine, Kisame. If he does wake up, I'll just put him under a genjutsu to subdue him." Itachi answered, his voice as impassive as ever.
Hearing his tone and sound reasoning, Kisame relaxed a bit. Itachi sounded normal."I guess it's settled then. Now let's hurry up and get back. I can't wait to see everyone's face when they see that we caught the nine tailed fox."