Cat's Notes

Yeah! Type 1 error is gone and it's still Sunday, my promise is still good.

Hokay.

Chapter 2.

Imma gonna drop you hint. Pay attention to word play; it makes a difference in this story. Unless it's a mistake...then point it out to me in a review. I don't like mistakes; they're like the Devil or made by the devil. They are just evil overall. I should become a beta reader or something; I'd be good at it. As a note, Adrik is not an official member of Akatsuki. His position in the organization is explained in a few chapters. Just think of him as one of those assholes who think they're societies best but in reality they're one of those creepy ass taxi drivers you get in the dead of night in New York City. Yup. I think that sums him up pretty damn well.

Anywho,

ReadEnjoyReview :) (and thanks to those who already have)


Wolf Thief

Chapter 2: The Wolf Thief

"You lost the scroll," the Leader hissed.

Both Itachi and Kisame looked him straight in the eyes and didn't say a word. It was their silent way of saying that it was true. They had lost it. Or, in better terms, it had been stolen from them. Kisame immediately pinpointed it on the girl that they had run into along the way. Itachi said nothing that supported or denied the accusation and the Leader seemed extremely doubtful that a little girl could steal from two S-class criminals.

"So, Kisame-san, what did the girl look like?" Pain asked. Though he still thought that it was unlikely that a girl had stolen the scroll from the two ninjas, it was less likely that the two of them had simply misplaced it.

"Short, black hair, blue eyes," Kisame said vaguely, trying to conjure up images of the girl. "She had a dog with her too."

Pain directed his attention to Itachi instead. "She was young, no more than fifteen. Long black hair that was kept in place with a blue bandana and blue eyes. Her clothing made her appear as if she traveled quite a bit and she carried a katana and a small backpack. There was a black wolf with her."

Pain nodded his thanks at Itachi before looking back at Kisame. "Go find Adrik." Kisame frowned, clearly thinking that the man had nothing to do with the conversation, but left anyways. "Do you think she could have stolen it?"

Itachi shifted slightly, thinking over his words before nodding. "Yes, she had a chance and she acted very unusual around us. If her motive was to steal the scroll, then her behavior would make some sense."

"And you didn't notice when it happened?" Pain pressed.

Itachi looked away. "No, Leader-sama. I simply thought that she was bored and trying to pick a fight."

"A little girl trying to pick a fight with Akatsuki members doesn't sound unusual to you?"

Thankfully, Itachi was spared answering when Kisame returned from his errand. Trailing behind him was another man, shorter than Kisame, yet taller than Itachi. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle when the dim lighting shone in them just right. There was a sly smile on his lips as he spoke.

"Leader-sama, you called for me?"

"Yes, describe Aiyana."

His laugh was dark, filling the entire room and pressing up against the corners as if it wanted to escape. "I always knew that girl would cause us trouble. She is my daughter after all." The shocked expression that Kisame gave him was enough to satisfy. "Perhaps a picture would be better."

Adrik left the room for a few minutes to retrieve the photo. While he was gone, there was an awkward silence before Kisame blurted out, "That bastard has a daughter? Who the hell would-"

The door reopened and Kisame, being the somewhat tactful member he was, shut his mouth. Immediately, Adrik presented the photo to Pain who in turn showed the picture to Kisame and Itachi. "Is this her?"

"Yeah," both replied simultaneously. Itachi replied in a monotone, as always, and Kisame seemed slightly down-trodden. To think that Adrik's daughter had stolen from them! He didn't even know the man had a daughter!

Pain nodded and looked expectantly at Adrik who grinned, eyes alight with curiosity. "What did she steal from you two?"

"It is none of your concern, Adrik," Pain answered sharply. "Tell them about the girl. It might be time that we bring her in."

"Aiyana Shijo is the daughter of Adrik Tsuzaki and Kaiya Shijo." Adrik grimaced. "As you can see, she has decided to keep her mother's surname. She was born fifteen years ago on August ninth. For ten years she lived in a small, no name village near Amekagure. It was no more than two hours walking to reach Amekagure. And for four years she walked twice a day to and from Amekagure to attend the ninja academy. I believe she was set to graduate two years early. Unfortunately, at age ten, she was expelled for inappropriate conduct and theft.

"Her mother had been hospitalized the months leading up to the expulsion for some unrecognizable disease. A month later, she died and Aiyana left the village. Two years later, she shows up again as a thief. In the underground, I believe she is known as The Wolf Thief since she is always accompanied by a coal black wolf and leaves behind something related to a wolf after each theft. Her main targets are jewels or ancient artifacts such as scrolls, vases, paintings. For the most part, she sells the items to personal buyers, but if she cannot find one then she sells to a shop."

"Why do you know so much about her?" Kisame asked, clearly suspicious at this point.

Adrik smiled at him. "Because she has the wolf demon, Okhmahaka, within her."

Another demon. Itachi frowned and switched his attention back to Pain. "Is there a reason for giving us this information?"

"Yes, your new mission is to capture her and the scroll and bring them both back here," Pain replied. "Surely you could accomplish that?"

"Of course we can," Kisame huffed.

.:::'''':::.

"So Haka," Aiyana said aloud, penetrating the silent forest around her. She was sure that the trees flinched at the sound of her voice, so she switched to talking with the spirit mentally. "What do you want me to do with the scroll?"

"Return it," the wolf replied smugly.

Aiyana's reaction was immediate. "Return it!" she screeched. "I'll be damned if I do that! I'm a thief! Dammit, not some female version of St. Anthony*!" To think, a thief like her returning a stolen item! It was just too absurd! It went against all codes of thieves. One simply just does not return things; it was like she would be breaking some unspoken taboo.

"Consider it your good deed of the month," Haka replied calmly.

Aiyana huffed and looked at the small rolled up piece of paper. "Why is it so important anyways?"

"Kyuubi cannot be released," the spirit replied. An image of a large and rather destructive fox demon flashed in her mind. One of his flaming tails uprooted hundreds of trees with a single swipe. He himself towered above the tree line. Kyuubi truly was a demon.

Aiyana scoffed, clearly put off by the realization that Haka was right. "Fine, you win. Where does it go?"

"Konohagakure," Haka answered in a satisfied voice.

"Well, Mingan, looks like we're off to Konoha," Aiyana said lightly, smiling down at the wolf beside her.

Konoha turned out to be a two day walk from where she was. During those two days, she only walked on the road but paranoia kept her from camping on the road. It surprised her when the two ninja she stole the scroll from didn't return, but she thought it best not to wonder about it. If they didn't want it back, then that was perfectly fine with her.

Her eyes scanned the streets of Konoha; it had to be one of the largest and busiest villages she's been to. But, even though it was so large, most people seemed to know each other. Everyone seemed to have a greeting for another person they walked by. It nearly made her feel uncomfortable, but she pushed it back to the corner of her mind.

Mingan's nose twitched and he pawed at Aiyana's heels and whined. "What is it, Mingan?" she asked, looking down at her companion. The wolf raised his head and pointed his nose towards a ramen shop. Mingan's favorite treat was ramen, and they often got it together after a theft. She laughed lightly and nodded. "That's a great idea."

There was a group passing by them that caught her interest. It was a rowdy group of four; three of them looked a few years younger than her while the other one appeared to be their instructor. The group of teens were arguing over something which their instructor completely ignored. Instead, his nose and attention was engrossed in a book.

It was a simple legerdemain; a pickpocket trick she had been doing since she was seven. She didn't even touch him. Her face revealed nothing to passersby as she snatched his wallet out of his back pocket. He must have sensed something because he looked over his shoulder, but saw nothing unusual. Aiyana smiled to herself as she walked up to the counter and opened the wallet.

"Oh wow…" she breathed; it was much more than she expected. It was enough to keep her living comfortably in Konoha for at least two weeks. Her eyes looked down at the I.D. that pictured a ninja with silver hair and a single dark eye. His other was covered by his headband indicating he was a ninja from Konoha. Kakashi Hatake, 26 years old, jounin. "We hit the jackpot with this guy, Mingan."

"Three bowls of traditional ramen," she ordered taking a seat at the counter. Mingan settled down behind the chair, protecting her bag. When the bowls arrived, she placed two on the floor for Mingan and devoured the last one. Satisfied, she placed the money on the bar to pay, turned to leave, and froze.

Kakashi Hatake was entering the ramen shop, followed by his three little ninja trainees. Of course, this was just her luck. But she knew how to get out of situations like this. It wasn't that bad of a situation yet.

"Sensei, I can't believe you lost your wallet," the pink haired girl whined as she followed her sensei.

"I thought you were brighter than that," a raven haired boy commented with a small sigh.

"Yea, I agree with Sasuke," a blonde kid said with a small nod.

"That's a first," Kakashi replied appearing slightly annoyed.

Aiyana slide off the chair she was sitting on and motioned for Mingan to get up. The blonde kid within the group ran up to her, his eyes wide with excitement. "Is that a real wolf?" he asked fervently.

"No, I performed a jutsu on my pet Chihuahua so he'd look like a wolf," Aiyana answered sarcastically rolling her eyes with annoyance. Since when did people get so stupid?

The kid eyed her suspiciously and after several minutes asked, "Are you sure it's not a wolf?"

"Naruto! Quit asking stupid questions!" The pink haired girl appeared behind the blonde one, Naruto apparently, and hit him on top of his head. Aiyana flinched at the hit and stared at the sadistic girl; she would hate to get on her bad side.

"That hurt, Sakura!" Naruto whined rubbing the spot he was hit. Aiyana stared at the two of them, slightly confused but more than ready to leave. The other two appeared even more annoyed than she thought possible. Was this an everyday occurrence?

After watching the two argue for another few minutes, Aiyana decided it was best to take her leave. "Um, yeah, you don't mind if I leave, do you?" she said moving to walk around the group. All attention was turned to her. "I've got to go find a place to stay for the night." She walked around the group and stopped in front of Kakashi. "I believe this belongs to you," she said sweetly, handing him the wallet. "Thanks for dinner. Come on, Mingan."

Kakashi watched the girl leave with a single curious eye. She was a visitor, but didn't appear to be a ninja. He rarely saw wandering young minors that were not ninja. Sighing, he looked down at the wallet in his hands and opened it up. His single visible eye went wide. All of the money he had was gone, save for five dollars and a folded napkin.

He pulled out the folded napkin and unwrapped it.

Thanks for paying for our hotel room too! Hope you don't mind. You're a really kind person.

Love,

A & M

P.S. you should really take better care of your things. Someone might just snatch it out of your pocket.


*St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost articles in Catholicism. If you pray to him, he helps you locate whatever you've lost. Very helpful when you're a clutz like me who loses everything.