WRITERS NOTE
I'm not sure of the direction of this fan fic as this is my first time writing!
Anyway I hope you like my OC as I'm a diehard Itachi fangirl *fans self*
I'd love to hear any thoughts and any advice or comments are more than welcome! ^_^
CHAPTER TWO: CROSSHAIRS
Another peaceful morning beckoned over Konoha and life began to surface along with the rising sun. The beams of morning light burst through my bedroom window and everything it touched turned beautifully golden. I laid in silence for a while listening to the birds sing before surfacing myself.
Like most mornings my home was empty and there was no sign that my brother had returned yet; he had not been home in two weeks due to being on a mission but I had full faith everything was going to plan and that he was in good health. I splashed some water on my face and continued to ready myself for the day ahead. Usually I would be creating training plans and coaching my young Genin but today I had been requested to meet with the Hokage personally along with a few fellow Jonin. I hadn't asked any questions so I had plenty to present to her upon our rendezvous but all I knew is that it was classified.
I made my way to the meeting alone and the lady Hokage was already present and awaiting my arrival. I greeted her in my usual friendly manner and we continued to wait for the other Jonin.
"I'm glad to see you're well, Eden."
"Thank you Lady Tsunade, I'm happy to see you are well too." I was unsure whether it was regarding my mothers friendship with the Hokage before her reign, but Lady Tsunade had always watched over me and cared about my well being. It always brought a sense of comfort to me after the loss I felt and she felt like such a mother figure to me.
The other Jonin still hadn't arrived and I assumed it was because I was so early. Tsunade continued to ask after me but before long two other Jonin joined us, two I hadn't met previously. Soon the mood changed and we were discussing about the upcoming mission at hand.
The mission was top secret and of ANBU level which only made my mind wander to the whereabouts of my own brother. I couldn't help but wonder if it would be connected in some way but I held back the questions.
"In essence the mission is an infiltration mission. I assume we are all familiar with the rumours of an organisation by the name of the Akatsuki?"
The other Jonin all nod in agreement listening to Tsunade but I couldn't. Of course I'd heard stories and rumours of the S-rank criminal group causing grief and anguish wherever they see fit but I couldn't quite piece this together to fit why we had been summoned so secretly.
"Our ANBU teams have located a site that is most likely their biggest hideout, but all our teams have poured so much effort and work into their missions that I need them to return to avoid pushing themselves over the edge." Instantly I felt relief that my brother would be on his way home soon. Tsunade noted my sigh of relief and smiled sweetly at me.
"..However," Tsunade continued and indicated the intentions of our meeting was coming clear, "we only have a small window of time to infiltrate the base and learn as much as we can about the organisation and what their intentions are."
More information was given to all of us and a full, detailed brief was addressed. I was to be our small teams healing ninja after my many years studying directly under Tsunade and was one of the only ninja she could entrust with such a task. Little was known solidly of the Akatsuki members at this moment in time but the few members that were apparent Tsunade had photos of and a number of scrolls with all current information about them scrawled on them.
I fluttered my eyes over the countless scrolled across the table and my heart stopped when I saw a certain name and photograph. Instantly I felt a wave of nausea and unfathomable anger that I had to somehow retain.
My mind went blank and I couldn't look at his portrait. The same flurry of sorrow and mourning engulfed me and the room grew distant. Tsunade, concerned, addressed me and held my arm tightly but I heard no voice emit from her moving being. I couldn't focus on anything besides the name scrawled in black and white in front of me as all the melancholic memories burst through their locked cage in my mind with such force and overcame me completely.
Itachi Uchiha. You became a member of the Akatsuki and your evil core didn't halter once at the bloodshed of your own family.
I composed myself after the other Jonin left with their assignment papers and a date was decided for us to leave. I stayed behind briefly with Tsunade who just held me in her arms as I just cried. So many emotions I had bottled up just erupted out of me at the sudden recognition of Itachi's name and I felt so weak, like I did the night of the massacre. Only this time my brother was nowhere near to comfort me and I could only imagine he had gone through the same grief-stricken outburst when he was informed of this covert mission.
A glowing green chakra radiated from Tsunade's tender embrace as she held me and it flowed into me so peacefully and completely. My tears eased up as the refreshing and positive chakra cleansed my mind and I calmed down soon after then.
I couldn't let my sensei down so I didn't hesitate in accepting the mission even after Tsunade commenting that it may still be a bit too early for me to subject myself to delicate missions like this. She showered me with a whirlwind of apologies but also with praise and it filled the void within me with hope and positivity; as what could be expected from someone as courageous as the Hokage.
I was playing with fire. A coincidence when it came to the Uchiha.
I made my way home, the day breaking and nightfall creeping over the sky faster than lightning. I was in absolutely no rush to return to an empty home so I took as many detours and back roads as I could before inevitably ending up on my own doorstep. The vicinity was empty and it had a cruel way of resembling the night I found the lifeless bodies of my mother and father; the night I froze and watched the coward Uchiha run away from the very terror his own hands had evoked.
It was a cold night but it was the least of my troubles. I refused to feel enclosed by my own four walls so I sat alone on the steps outside my home. Somehow for the first time in as long as I can remember I didn't fully feel alone, whether this was because of Lady Tsunade's chakra still flowing through me I couldn't be sure. Somehow all the negative inhibitions I harboured seemed to float away, not out of reach but far enough for me to reach a state of peace.
I hadn't seen Itachi since that night and I hadn't thought of him once. I used to hold him so dearly and in such high regard that there was a part of me that didn't want to believe the truth. Of course I knew the truth, or at least my head did. My heart was in turmoil and it was probably because it never really became whole again and something was missing. I don't know how I used to feel for Itachi, probably because I was so young to really explore it.
Did I feel for him as another brotherly figure because of his closeness with my own brother?
Did I admire him because of his extraordinary talents and because he helped me improve my own?
Did I feel any affections for his solitary charms the same way other young females of the clan did?
Itachi took something away from me the night of the massacre. He took my loving family from me, he took my friends and he took any trust I ever had in the Uchiha name.
But he also took an estranged part of my heart away with him and I needed to know why, if at least for my own sake.
Hours seemed to feel like minutes and so much time flew by while I was conflicting my own feelings that I completely forgot how long I was sat for. The night sky was such a comfort and I mentally aligned the stars into patterns. My attention was drawn to the moon above me and I wondered if he was looking at that moment too.
My solitude was swiftly becoming a danger to my own sanity; my conscious mind lingering far too long on the man who played a puppet master to my heart strings. In that moment I succumbed to my aching eyes still staring at the glistening dots of light in the dark sky.
Two sets of footprints made their way back to the base after a long night. One of the beings was significantly larger than the other and he resembled more of a shark than a human. Both were tired and both of their chakra levels were low, but not low enough to need much attention. They were exhausted, both of their black cloaks blowing on the night breeze. All that was noticeable was the large dark red cloud shaped on their figures, almost resembling a uniform. One of the two stopped abruptly to turn away slightly, his blood red sharingan eyes gazing up at the clear night sky and focusing on the bright moon above him.
"Something the matter, Itachi?" His voice fell on deaf ears although he didn't abandon his team mate.
Itachi stared up as if some strange invisible force was beckoning him to do so. He fluttered his vision across numerous constellations, letting the mysterious solace they offered seep into him and settle into his inner being. He had a feeling of unease and that something was about to happen that would shake his universe, but what it was he had absolutely no idea what to expect. As always he let his feet lead him forward and he compressed any inner cries or emotions from surfacing. He was a shell and his soul was torn. His hands were bloody and he held so much on his shoulders that there wasn't much room for who he was.
All he could do was keep venturing forward and let fate engulf him.
