The air was crisp and cool, as Kyra followed closely behind the two Akatsuki members. It was the early evening, and although it was rare for the fire country to ever get snow, Kyra still found herself chilly. The sky was pitch dark, as the over cast clouds blocked out the star light, and the eerie sound of the overhead wind could not be felt because of the brush and forestry surrounding them.

They had hardly spoken a word to her after she was surprisingly caught off guard by the Uchiha, only taking time to inform her of where they were headed and what to expect. She was told that they would meet up with two other members of the Akatsuki, Hidan and Kakazu. She nodded shyly and followed them without question, still ashamed of being so shocked by the Uchiha's attack.

They travelled at a quick walking pace, which Kyra found frustrating. She much preferred to be bounding through the forests at a quick speed, reaching her destination as fast as possible. Not only that, but she had a hard time keeping up to their large strides, and found it too awkward to jog beside them.

Sighing, she stopped momentarily to try a new approach. She swiftly pulled out one of her senbon needles (her weapon of choice,) and slicked it across her thumb drawing a small amount of blood. After a few lazy hand signs, she pressed her hand to the ground in a summoning jutsu. Her two accomplices stopped and glared at her menacingly, unsure of her intentions.

In a poof of smoke, where the summoning circle had been appeared a large menacing wolf. It's fur was a soft silvery colour, and it stood nearly five feet tall at its shoulders. Kyra Yuki gracefully swung atop it and straddled it like a horse. "Ahh, Kyra how are you? It's been far too long." Although the wolf's mouth never opened, its soft velvety voice could be heard by all near it.

"Akina, I've been well." Kyra beamed at the wolf standing below her, it was her favourite of them all. Akina was more than a summoning or tool to Kyra, in a strange way they had become not just comrades but good friends, and her and the she wolf had many battles and memories together.

"I'm glad to hear Kyra." The wolf's voice was smooth and kind, but certainly possessed an air of authority to it. "Would you mind introducing me to your partners?"

The young kunoichi looked up towards her accomplices, and realized that they had been glaring at her, perhaps questioning her motives and thinking she was about to make an escape. However the thing that grabbed her attention the most was Itachi Uchiha's sharingan twirling dangerously around his crimson eyes. "Oh! I'm just giving my feet a break," she muttered apologetically towards them. "Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, this is Akina, one of my wolf summons and a dear friend." She flashed the two a genuine smile, hoping to ease the tension.

"Hmm, so she really can summon wolves." Kisame thought aloud. Itachi nodded and deactivating his sharingan, turned around to continue on their way. "I've never heard of such a summoning." Kisame remarked.

"In order to be granted a summoning contract with the wolves, the shinobi must show the wolves that her intentions for gaining power are both noble, kind and selfless." Kyra blushed and smiled lightly towards Kisame as her wolf partner praised her so highly, clearly answering Kisame's curiosity.

"We'll see how long that lasts." Kisame simply chuckled, turning away to catch up to Itachi. Kyra frowned at his dark words.

Kyra leaned back and thought about the two shinobi as Akina walked soundlessly behind the two who had persuaded her to join the Akatsuki. She knew Kisame had hailed from the same village as her, The Village Hidden in the Mist, or The Bloody Mist, as some knew it. She could tell that just by looking at his forehead protector. She also suspected that he was the one to kill Fuguki Suikazan, and take his place as one of the seven great swordsman, seeing as he wielded the Samehada.

He seemed to rely on using his blade and brute force in battle, giving the advantage to her as her ice style ninjutsu could easily freeze over many of his water style ninjutsu, and his slow and sluggish movements gave her an advantage because of her speed. Still, she knew it was foolish to underestimate such an opponent, and the blood thirsty look she could constantly see in his eyes was testament to that.

The other, Itachi Uchiha was a different story. He didn't seem to reveal a lot about himself, besides the fact that he wielded the sharingan. She knew of the atrocities he had committed however. His younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha had told her many times about it. While she trained with him under Orochimaru's watchful eye, they became close duelling partners, often trading conversation and eventually forming a mutual respect for one another. While her lust of gaining power was to accomplish a more pure goal, Sasuke's revenge scheme had really rubbed her the wrong way. She remembered telling him on more than one occasion that it was a shame to waste your life on such a destructive and consuming goal, only to be scoffed at by the arrogant Uchiha.

She placed a small cool hand on the left side of her neck, shuddering at what would have happened if she hadn't chose to leave Orochimaru's grasp when she did. She looked down, preferring to preoccupy her mind with other thoughts than relive her time with Orochimaru. Still, the elder Uchiha intrigued her. Sasuke's story didn't seem to add up to her, and she truly found it hard to believe that someone who had acted as such a friendly and kind brother could do something so horrible. She scrunched up her nose in concentration, something she often did when she was deep in thought. He certainly seemed cold to her, but what shinobi didn't when in battle? He must be strong, she thought. To be able to join the ranks of the infamous Akatsuki, and to accomplish the slaughtering of his own clan, he would have to be. The more she thought about it, the more questions she craved answers to. Itachi Uchiha was certainly a mysterious character, and she was determined to find out more about him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the blue skinned shinobi. "Kyra, what village are you originally from?" He glanced back over his shoulder awaiting an answer. She noticed the raven haired shinobi had also gazed lazily in her direction curiously.

"Oh," she muttered in reply. She flipped her bangs more to the left to reveal the answer hiding beneath them. "The village hidden in the mist, like you Kisame." She smiled sheepishly toward the two shinobi.

"Strange, I've never heard of you until now," was his reply. He looked at her curiously.

"I prefer to keep a low profile," was the only information she was willing to give up about her past, and she smiled hesitantly towards him, hoping to satisfy his thirst for knowledge.

"Hmm," was the only reply she received, although it was the Uchiha who had given it to her. He gazed up towards the dark sky in thought. This young shinobi was truly mysterious to him, and it bugged him to know such little about her. He knew some of her battling techniques, but it appeared to him that she had really only been toying with Kisame's abilities and searching for answers during their engagement. The summoning of the wolf was as much proof as he needed to see to know that she was holding back on her true abilities in front of her then foes. If it weren't for his sharingan, he doubted he would have been able to locate her true self so fast. Although he knew little of her abilities, it was the kunoichi herself that perplexed him.

She was powerful, and skilled in many different areas. He knew that from the briefing their leader had given them. She was also intelligent, he could see that simply by gazing into her dark hazel eyes and the way she had battled earlier. It was her personality that truly confused him. She was a small girl, only standing about 5'4 and for someone so seemingly powerful, she was kind hearted and very respectful of himself and Kisame. The way she moved throughout battle and even while travelling was swift and graceful, very feminine, something he wasn't used to seeing. Her voice was soft and warm, and he had a hard time seeing such qualities in a powerful shinobi. She truly was a curious creature to him, and although he didn't want to admit it to himself, he was really eager to find out more about this kunoichi.

They travelled in silence for a few more hours until coming to a halt in front of the side of a mountain. Kyra hopped off the wolf who had been carrying her, and glanced towards Itachi for an answer as to why they had stopped. Itachi rapidly made a few hand signs, and pressed his hand softly against the stone of the cliff that stood in front of them. A barrier suddenly became visible and flickered out of existence at his touch, leaving a wide rocky entrance to a cave that was dimly lit. He turned toward Kyra and glanced at her. She understood his silent command and nodded towards Akina, before watching her disappear in a small poof. She followed closely behind the two into the damp, cold hideout.

The hidden cavern was eerie, to say the least. It was dimly lit by torches lining the walls, and the soft puttering of water dropping from the ceiling could be heard as it echoed throughout the cavern. Kyra assumed this was the Akatsuki hideout. They walked for nearly ten minutes into the depths of this place, their footsteps echoing throughout the cavern until they reached an enormous room which was brightly lit. There were many torches attached to the walls, which added to the light emitting from the huge bonfire in the centre of the room. Kyra marvelled at its appearance.

"Who the fuck is that?" Kyra looked up in surprise to see a man with swept back silver hair looking her over curiously with a smirk upon his lips. She suddenly felt self conscious as she studied his appearance. Like the other members, he wore the infamous Akatsuki black cloak, dawned with puffy crimson clouds. On his back however, she noticed a huge scythe like weapon, its three menacing blades were blood red.

Kyra Yuki shifted her weight in a nervous fashion and turned towards Itachi as he spoke. He glared at the comrade who had spoken so rudely to her and answered his question. "This girl is Kyra Yuki. She is the Akatsuki's newest addition," he paused and stared down the man. "I suggest you treat her with a little more respect." Itachi's words weren't exactly heart warming, but she did appreciate the small gesture.

The man suddenly leapt from his position and appeared only inches from the young kunoichi. "Kyra Yuki eh? I've never heard of her. She certainly is easy on the eyes though," the man mused, studying her features more closely.

Kyra took a step back instinctively. She crossed her arms, and glared at the man in front of her, her cheeks being graced with a redish tint. She appeared to be mad, but truthfully the comment had caught her off guard and she felt embarrassed to some degree.

"Hidan, stop acting like such a fool." The dark voice that echoed through the darkness sent a shiver through Kyra's spine. She turned to see a shinobi with strange red and teal eyes glaring at the two of them. He wore a mask around his face and his presence had a fierce dark aura surrounding it.

"Kakazu fuck off, I'm just trying to talk to the young lady." He leaned towards her again smiling at her creepily. She scoffed and turned away from him.

"I'll kill you if you don't stop Hidan," the menacing voice echoed throughout the room, and the appearance on the fellow shinobi's face was truly frightening to the natural eye.

Itachi surveyed the scene and found himself surprisingly irked by Hidan's crude comments. "That's enough you two." He spoke in a monotone voice which commanded the authority of the group. They turned towards him in unison.

Kyra reminded herself she was a shinobi, and suppressed her feelings of frustration until her facial expression regressed to it's pleasant, peaceful, and perceptive self. She glanced over to Kisame who had witnessed the scene to see his regular grimacing smirk across his face.

"Deidara and Sasori should nearly be complete their mission of capturing the one tailed beast, and we will all be needed soon." Itachi spoke, and noticed the slight flicker in Kyra's eyes as he spoke these words. Interesting. "I will take Kyra and get her properly suited up."

Kyra looked towards the Uchiha and nodded toward him solemnly. She followed him in silence for a few minutes as he lead her through a few winding passages. Deciding to break the silence, she innocently looked up to him. "Quite a colourful vocabulary Hidan has, isn't it?"

The Uchiha glanced down coldly towards the girl following him, locking eyes with her for a few seconds. For a moment, his dark onyx eyes wavered to reveal an emotion Kyra had not seen in him before. "Yes," he agreed looking back towards the direction he was walking.

For the fleeting moment he dropped his shinobi like defences, Kyra swore she saw an element of kindness in his eyes. Her nose scrunched up as she pondered the thought. Once again, her thoughts were interrupted as she came to a halt in front of a door beside the raven haired Uchiha.

"You'll find your gear inside this room. If you need anything, just let me know." He glanced down towards her and began to walk away, before stopping himself. "That ring you stole from Orochimaru," he glanced over his shoulder and their eyes locked again. "You'll also be required to wear that."

Kyra's eyes widened. How did he know about the ring she had stolen from her previous tutor months ago? Besides that thought, she made the connection in her mind. "I see, so Orochimaru was once part of this organization?"

Itachi's eyes softened as he admired her quick wit internally. He nodded before walking away.

Kyra walked into the dim room and gazed at it's contents. There was a bed and a small set of drawers beside it. Neatly folded onto her bed, was an Akatsuki cloak matching the others', as well as some other accessories.

She sat down on the bed and thought about the day's past events. It certainly had been a crappy birthday, and she frowned at the thought that she didn't get the sweets she was so looking forward to. She emptied the contents of her pockets onto the bed and looked at them. There were some candy wrappers, the scroll she was planning on returning to it's rightful owners, and a large hunk of unshapely sapphire. She curiously looked at the scroll, and debated reading it. She decided against it at the thought that there might be some kind of seal that would alert her clients that it had been breached. She sighed and fondled the large chunk of blue sapphire her late friend had given her, staring it at quietly.

She was about to begin changing when she heard a loud knock. She sighed to herself quietly before answering the door. Hidan stood before her. There was something about him, that slightly frightened Kyra. Nonetheless, she looked up at him with her usual calm look.

"Fight me," were the only words that came out of his mouth as he smirked. She looked at him slightly surprised.

He frowned and explained more. "Damn, I just mean sparring you know? I didn't mean to the death or any shit like that."

"Alright!" She replied in a cheery tone catching him off guard. He studied her small grin on her soft pale face. It seemed to be sincere. She quickly closed the door to her room again. It would certainly take her mind off things. She pocketed the items again, and began to prepare for the sparring match.

"Damn, she's pretty good looking but kinda fucking weird too," Hidan muttered as he walked away, contemplating the young kunoichi. He took a few steps and smirked in anticipation of their battle. Shortly after arriving back in the great room, Hidan sat down awaiting his opponent. She appeared before him in her regular attire quickly, awaiting the match as well. He grinned and jumped to his feet.

The other member's of Akatsuki noticed, but surely Hidan didn't. He wasn't the brightest member of rogue ninjas among them.

"You better not be some damn pushover," he mused looking at his opponent with excitement. He removed the red bladed scythe from his back and pointed it towards the kunoichi menacingly. She smirked before swiftly jumping into the air, and launching herself towards her opponent with speed unbelievable to the naked eye.

Itachi activated his sharingan and it twirled lazily to watch the two clash between each other. He knew from their previous encounter that Kyra was only testing her opponent with a mere water clone. However, it appeared in her regular attire, and Hidan must have known she was changing into the Akatsuki uniform. Kind of sloppy on her part, however she may have already figured out that Hidan isn't the brightest. He smirked at her wit. His thoughts were interrupted as a small character appeared to his left.

"Not bad eh?" Kyra looked up to Itachi smiling from beneath her hat, as she now donned the signature Akatsuki robe. He looked down and noticed the slate blue ring around her left pinkie finger, as well as her truly sincere smile.

Before he could reply, Kisame snickered. "You know, you're really quite small. You look kinda ridiculous in that Akatsuki uniform, not very intimidating at all." He chuckled and looked down at her.

She still wasn't used to his cold beady eyes.

She pouted for a moment before looking back up at him. "Haha, you know I bet you're right." She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. At 5'4, she wasn't exactly fierce looking. "I bet I do look kinda pathetic."

Hidan continued to curse as he was unable to land a blow on his opponent, clearly becoming frustrated. With a quick hand sign Kyra dissolved her water clone. "Where the hell did she go?" Hidan growled. She smirked and stepped onto the field to confront her opponent. He gaped realizing his foolish error. "You little bitch, I can't believe you tricked me like that!" He pointed a finger at her in disbelief, before charging recklessly at her.

She dodged his attacks in a swift manor before leaping into the air behind him at a lightning speed. She pulled out several senbon from her weapons pouch attached to her thigh and gracefully threw them into her opponents back. She preferred senbon over more traditional tools because of their accuracy. She had trained in both medical ninjutsu, and the silent killing technique and knew the human body well. With a few well placed senbon into the enemy's spine, she could temporarily paralyse them, allowing her to avoid killing whenever possible. She smirked, confident she had finished her target.

She landed silently and gracefully on the ground and peered at her opponent now lying motionless. "Fuck, that hurt!" She stumbled in surprise at her enemy's action. He shouldn't be able to move, let alone speak. She knew her needles hadn't missed the mark.

Miraculously though, he stood up easily and pulled the needles from his spine effortlessly. "I'll get you back for that one," Hidan glowered.

Still shocked by his ability to even move, Kyra stood in her place stunned. Hidan suddenly rushed forward and she dodged his numerous attacks in a sloppy fashion. Hidan yelled in rage and began swinging his scythe randomly throughout the air, and through a stroke of luck, struck Kyra in the shoulder, drawing blood and sending her small frame flying across the room, skidding to a stop. Suddenly realizing what he had accomplished, Hidan started laughing maniacally.

Kyra struggled to get up, completely caught off guard by the attack. Her whole body stung as she could feel the blood seeping through the scrapes covering her left side. The pain throbbed, but she pushed it to the back of her mind, choosing to ignore it. Her sensei had always told her that pain was a mental thing, and she could chose to ignore it. As a shinobi, it was her duty.

Her hand fell to the her right thigh at the memory of her sensei where she drew her wakazashi from it's sheath. She glanced at the blade, ignoring Hidan's maniacal laughter. The wakazashi she held was essentially a small katana. She began to wield it when she was still too small to handle a katana. Instead of trading off for a larger weapon when she grew older, she continued to use the small blade. Essentially, it was a glorified knife and gave her the ability to move much more swiftly than if it were a full sized sword.

She glanced up at her opponent and realized, to her shock, that his appearance had rapidly changed while she had lost herself in thought. Hidan's skin had now turned black, and white stripes appeared across his face and hands, almost resembling a skeleton, she thought. She mentally slapped herself, before preparing for another strike. She watched as her opponent, now dripping in blood, used the red liquid to draw a symbol around himself. She narrowed her eyes and waited.

Still laughing maniacally to himself, he began to raise a pole. At the moment, it looked like he intended to throw it at her as he held it above his head. Kyra moved swiftly and began running towards Hidan, intending to strike again, but before she could reach him, an intense pain seared throughout her thigh, and she collapsed, skidding across the floor for the second time in minutes.

"How does it feel?" Hidan yelled at her with a crazed smile upon his face. "Lord Jashin will be pleased!"

The pain made Kyra's mind whir, and she was unable to comprehend the words that Hidan was now screaming at her. She rolled over on her back and tried to sit up and compose herself. She touched her thigh that burned with pain and looked at the wet red liquid that was now covering her right hand. She dizzily tried to understand what had happened. He certainly didn't hit her.

The euphoria poured through Hidan's body as he felt the pain that young Kyra was feeling. It was like a drug, more addicting than anything he had ever experienced. And he craved more. Laughing in pure pleasure, he raised the metal pole over his head again, intending to pierce her heart.

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise as he understood what Hidan intended to do. He quickly leapt to his feet and bounded towards the shinobi with the pole, quickly disarming him and knocking him from the symbol on the ground he stood within.

Kyra's mind whirred as the pain overwhelmed her. She didn't know what happened, and as she tried to figure it out she became dizzy. Her whole world felt like it was spinning black spots started to cloud her vision. She was losing consciousness. She shook her head, refusing to fall out of consciousness and quickly compiled the facts. Losing blood, two wounds, need to heal.

She forced all of her will power into focusing on the first wound in her thigh and raised her hands above it. She held her breathe in concentration as she channelled the medical chakra through her hand and onto her wound. She winced, and it stung, but after a few seconds the black spots disappeared from her vision, and she was beginning to think clearly again.

After a few more minutes of treatment, the majority of the wounds had been sealed and she was able to think clearly. She focused on the world around her. Kisame and Kakazu stared blankly at the scene around them, and a pang of fury raced through Kyra's mind. They had witnessed what had happened and not even considered helping her. Not that she really expected them to, and even though she was proven so many times that it was true, she still couldn't believe that there were people in this world that would watch someone suffer and not even entertain the thought of helping them.

She then glanced over to where Hidan had stood, to see Itachi glowering at the Jashinist. Hidan was on the ground not two feet away from him cursing him. His appearance had turned back to normal. Kyra sighed, thankful for what Itachi had done, and continued to treat the various minor cuts and scratches she had received from skidding across the floor. As the pain began to ease, her mind began to think clearer and she thought about what had happened to her.

Hidan had slashed her shoulder with a lucky hit and sent her skidding across the room. When she picked herself up she had drawn her wakazashi- Where was her wakazashi? She looked around the room quickly trying to hide her panic before she spotted it a few feet away on the ground. She quickly got to her feet and scampered towards it before picking it up sloppily, ignoring the pain that seared throughout her fresh wounds. She sat down to think again, but was abruptly cut off.

"It's time." Her eyes flashed open as she tried to identify the voice. It was far off, and heavily distorted. Her eyes glanced around the room searching for the voice. "Deidara and Sasori have completed their mission."

Within a moment, Itachi had appeared at her side. She looked up into his onyx eyes searching for an answer, still slightly disoriented from the blood loss. "Just close your eyes and relax." She trusted the husky voice and looked into his eyes, which conveyed a sincere look for a fleeting moment. She nodded and did what he said, and gasped as it felt like her soul had been torn from her body.

Author's Note:

Once again, thank you all for reading! I do really appreciate it. Please please please review, your feedback is loved and cherished. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and I really hoped you enjoyed it as well.

Until next time, Jacqueline.