Chapter 1 is finally here! Enjoy!

WarFlower: You make a good point; she is pretty OP. And did you know that with Madara, Kishimoto-sensei literally said "I have no idea how they're going to defeat him"? Like, what? Lol, I still find that funny. And thank you very much on the compliments. :) And I most definitely agree about Kaze; I don't think she's Mary Sue, but that could be because she's my character and I'm very much biased. But I guess we'll see.
FailingErin: Thank you! And I have to say that he is a good choice for most OP character. Kishimoto-sensei even said that if he and Madara were to duke it out, Itachi would win without a doubt - that's why he killed him off; with Itachi around, things wouldn't develop to be so bad, y'know? All he'd have to do is "Mangekyou Sharingan!" the problems, and they'd go away. Lol.

Disclaimer: Things I have the rights to include my OCs, a few stories that I'm working on (that may or may not someday be published), and myself. Unfortunately, Naruto is not included in that list - hence why this story is written on a website whose very URL titles it 'Fanfiction'.


The Child of the Wind

Chapter 1
History

"Either people change, or they die before they do; it's one or the other."
-Orochimaru, Naruto

Last time on The Child of the Wind:

"Well, I guess I'm joining the Akatsuki," Kaze says, shrugging slightly.

Konan nods and begins to walk away, both Sasori and Kaze following after her.

-3rd POV, w/Kaze-

"WELCOME to the Akatsuki," the orange-haired, very pierced man says, holding out a ring. The ring is made of some kind of silvery metal, with a smooth top surface that is the color of the sky, at the very edges of the horizon, which is ironic as the kanji inscribed on to the ring translates to either "Void" or "Sky".

Kaze smirks slightly, accepting the ring and sliding it on to the proper finger - left pinkie. "I look forward to working with you," she says, dipping her head.


-Several months later...-

"A new shinobi will be joining us soon," Pein says, from his position atop one of the fingers of the Gedo Statue. "He is being brought in by an associate of mine as we speak."

"Who will be his teammate?" Kaze asks, sitting on top of the finger assigned to her with her knee drawn into her chest. Her other leg dangles in the air, bent at the knee, and she rests one of her hands on that thigh, while her other arm is wrapped around her other knee. Her hair has grown longer, now reaching to her hips even while in its usual high ponytail, and she has filled out slightly, growing both a few inches upwards and around the chest.

Pein remains silent for a moment, considering the question. "I believe . . ." he says slowly, after a bit, "I will have him join a two-man partnership."

"Why?" Sasori asks gruffly, from inside Hiruko. He doesn't really care either way, as the new shinobi joining was likely to only get in his way, but it would be best to know either way, he believes.

"From what I have heard," Pein says, fixing each member of the Akatsuki with a look of utmost seriousness, "he is quite powerful, so if he betrays us, it would be . . . consequential."

"So basically you want the two-man partnership, whoever it is that you choose, to spy on the newbie and make sure that he doesn't betray us," Kaze deduces, swinging her dangling leg back and forth slightly. "Correct?"

Pein nods slightly, confirming her suspicions.

"So who is the partnership going to be?" Jūzō Biwa, a missing-nin from Kiri, asks, at last joining the conversation. "Who's going to have to keep an eye on the newbie?"

"It will be you and Kaze, Jūzō," Pein says, his tone suggesting that there can be no arguments or discussions about his decision.

"Understood, Leader-sama," both say, bowing their heads in submission.

"And, Kaze," Pein says, continuing.

"Yes?" She looks up, her violet eyes glittering in the dim lighting.

"You will appear to only be tagging along with the new recruit and Jūzō on missions, understood? You will help in the background and offer assistance if the need arises, but you will not arouse his suspicions," Pein orders. "I am counting on you to keep Jūzō in line, from killing the new recruit, and to spy on the recruit without revealing yourself; your . . . abilities ensure only you will be able to fulfill this mission."

She nods. "Understood, Leader-sama; I will not disappoint you."

"I should hope not," Pein says, his face impassive yet dangerous. "Dismissed."


His eyes widen as he regards the strawberry blonde kunoichi in front of him; she wears a slim, slightly form-fitting cloak, made of cloth dyed black with red clouds printed on to it, as well as a small ring on her pinkie, and he can easily recognize the significance of such apparel. She's from the Akatsuki, who have wanted him dead ever since he found out some of the organization's secrets; he isn't surprised that they sent someone after him, likely to assassinate him, but he is a little disappointed the shinobi they sent is just a little girl.

He narrows his eyes; then again, she wears the official robes and the ring, so she must be powerful enough to have been recruited. That, and she has the vividly violet irises that have only ever occurred in one very powerful clan - whose exploits are known throughout the Five Great Nations.

"Hajime Fukui, ex-shinobi of Iwagakure, you have released confidential information about the Akatsuki to opposing forces," the teenage girl says emotionlessly, unsheathing a katana that is strapped to her back. "As such, I have been ordered to kill you; prepare yourself."

His body trembles with laughter. "You!?" he erupts, laughing hysterically. "You kill me!?"

To her credit, though, the young kunoichi remains calm, emotionless; she only brandishes the katana at him slightly, her eyes like flinty chips of amethyst. "I will not lose, so please, prepare yourself."

He grits his teeth and, drawing a kunai and brandishing it, lunges himself at her in an attack. "Not a chance!" he snarls, stabbing her right below her rib-cage, where her stomach is.

However, she remains impassive, despite the life-threatening wound, and after a moment, she dissolves into thousands upon thousands of glimmering butterflies, which all take off into the sky; the display is something akin to a scene in a fantasy movie, with a cloud of butterflies with luminescent, iridescent wings that glitter like starlight in the harsh rays of the sun all flying in circles around him - a disorienting, and frankly blinding, display indeed.

A sharp pain in his mid-back, angled up to reach his heart, is the only warning he has; in the confusion the butterflies created, she appeared out of nowhere, and she has stabbed him in such a way that his heart is punctured. Unless he gets medical attention immediately, he will die.

She draws her katana out of his weakened body, ignoring the disgusting slurping sounds as his inner organs release their tight hold on her gleaming blade, and she flicks it, in order to get rid of the crimson liquid the blade is drenched in. "You were saying?" she asks, looking down impassively at his body, oh-so close to death.


"The new recruit is here!" Zetsu calls, out into the cavern. "He looks tasty; may I eat him?"

"You are not eating another one of my partners, Zetsu," Kaze drawls from where she reclines against the upraised hand of the Gedo Statue, sharpening the blade of her katana with a small whetstone. The resulting 'shinck!' echoes throughout the cavern, creating an eerie background noise to the quiet discussions occurring between partnerships.

"Agreed," Jūzō remarks, from his seated position next to the strawberry blonde.

"Let them in," Pein orders, his low tones echoing, bouncing off the stone walls that glisten with moisture. "And you may not, Zetsu."

"Understood!" the white half of Zetsu sings cheerily, while its black half grumbles, "Fine, I won't eat him." It disappears, melting back into the stone, and when it appears again, the large stone blocking the entrance slides away, allowing entrance into the cave.

Conversation amongst the partners resumes to its normal again, and Kaze does her best to ignore the disgusting leering of the missing-nin of Konoha and one of the three Sannin, Orochimaru, as she continues to sharpen her katana. The man has had an unhealthy (for whom, she isn't entirely sure) obsession (he calls it 'interest,' but it's more than that) with her, ever since he heard of her abilities; she isn't exactly sure what he wants with her, but she is absolutely sure that it isn't good. The man isn't actually part of the Akatsuki(1), but he still wears the cloak and parades around like he is - and he even attempts to order the others around; needless to say, she, along with many others in the organization, hates his guts.

Her hand trembles, ever-so-slightly, as she continues with the menial task of sharpening her katana to the point where it can cut through steel beams like a hot knife cuts through butter, and her brows knit together.

I swear, if he doesn't stop staring at you, I'm going to kill him! Fūjin snaps suddenly, and the corner of Kaze's lips twitch upwards into a small smirk.

Agreed, Raijin says, snarling.

I will rip his vocal chords out and feed them to one of his summonings. I will make thousands upon thousands upon thousands of shallow cuts on his entire body, drawing blood but not enough to threaten his life. He will be bleeding on the floor in front of me, and I will rub sea salt into his wounds as he screams wordlessly - 'cause I ripped out his vocal chords. And -

Except for the fact that you aren't physically here, Kaze says, cutting into Fūjin's rant, so it's a moot point anyway.

Dream-killer, he replies, and she gets a mental image of him pouting at her.

She mentally chuckles at that, now calm once more.

"They're coming!" Zetsu says, more of a warning for the duo who will be taking the newbie under their wing than anything else, and Kaze looks over to her partner, marked with red face-paint.

He grimaces at her, an ever-so-slight downward tilt of his mouth that she easily translates into the grimace of someone not big on facial expressions, and she nods in wordless agreement.

Ever since the two had first met when he joined the Akatsuki, a few days after her, the two have always understood each other - almost uncannily so; whether it's because they have both been betrayed by those they chose to trust or because they have very similar personalities, no one knows for sure, but whatever the reason, this unspoken understanding of each other is what led Pein to team the two up together in the first place. And he has not regretted it; the duo works almost angelically together, and with an efficiency that makes many others jealous.

Even Madara, who has a talent for nitpicking everything in the organization that Pein has done, is pleased with the partnership; if only the other teams could work together as well.

A few moments pass, and two boys, one a man and the other on his way to becoming one, walk through the entryway; the stone rolls back into place behind them, and the young man jumps slightly, whirling around to watch the stone roll into place.

Jumpy, Kaze observes mentally, watching the new member closely.

He looks to about her age, maybe a few months older, and he is quite handsome, with long hair, pulled back into a low ponytail, the color of a crow's feathers and ebony eyes that have an interesting amount of depth to them; his eyes are the type that girls could drown in, lined with spectacular eyelashes that she's almost jealous of. He wears a uniform that she recognizes to be the Konoha ANBU uniform, minus the mask - easily recognizable from all of the times she's run into them; his forehead protector identifies him as a shinobi of Konoha, as she thought, but the odd thing is that there is no slash through it, marking him as a missing-nin who has severed all ties with the village. For someone who has been asked to join the Akatsuki, he seems awfully attached to his ex-village.

Suspicious, she thinks as Orochimaru stands to examine the newbie.

"Why, it's Itachi," the creep purrs, and her eyes widen slightly. "It's been a long time."

Itachi? Itachi Uchiha, the one who slaughtered his entire clan? That's him?

I was expecting someone a little different, Fūjin comments idly.

Indeed, Raijin says, and she receives a mental image of him nodding in agreement.

I mean, he slaughtered his entire clan, so you would think -

She cuts him off. He wouldn't look so attached to his old village.

Though he's obviously annoyed with her, Fūjin nods in agreement. Yes.

Itachi stares at Orochimaru, his eyes widening slightly. "Orochimaru . . ." he mumbles.

"That's right!" Tobi exclaims suddenly, looking around wildly. "You're from the same region! Is this going to be a touching reunion!?"

"I should hope not," Kaze can't help but mutter under her breath, and Jūzō nods in wordless agreement.

"I heard the rumors," Orochimaru drawls, continuing. He smirks nastily at the young boy, and Kaze glares at the creepy Snake-Sannin. "I knew it . . . so you were a shinobi like us . . ."

"'Like us'?" Itachi inquires, still watching the man carefully.

"Those who consider bonds like the village, the clan, and comrades . . . to be a burden," Orochimaru finishes, and Kaze growls slightly at his words. He hears the growl and turns his head to smirk nastily at her.

"Kaze here -" he begins, but he is cut off, both by Pein's arrival and Jūzō holding a kunai knife to his throat.

"Keep talking about her like that," he growls quietly, "and you won't have a tongue anymore; I will cut it out and feed it to one of your snake summons. Understood?"

Itachi's eyes widen enormously when Orochimaru, an arrogant shinobi who believes wholeheartedly in his own abilities and himself being the very best of all of the shinobi across the Five Great Nations, nods in both submission and agreement; clearly, the shinobi holding the kunai to his throat is someone to be wary of.

"Enough," Pein calls, his voice echoing in the large stone cavern. "Jūzō, release Orochimaru and return to Kaze."

"Understood," Jūzō says, nodding, and he flash-steps out of Itachi's line of sight.

Pein turns and fixes his sights on Itachi. "Itachi Uchiha . . . come with me."

Kaze sheaths her katana, the blade glimmering dangerously in the unearthly light that illuminates the cavern.


-3rd POV, w/Itachi-

"The goal of the Akatsuki . . ." Pein says once the three have entered the private room, offset from the cavern and fixed with soundproof seals. A blue-haired kunoichi stands behind him, her face barely illuminated by the flickering light of the torch set in the center of the room. ". . . is a world of true peace among shinobi. Instead of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, the Akatsuki shall rule the world."

"That's a big goal," Itachi remarks, his face emotionless though his heart pounds in his chest. This is it.

"That's why we're assembling skilled shinobi without asking where they're from or what they've done," Pein replies, shooting a barely noticeable glance towards the man, with the orange swirling mask fixed on to his face, who calls himself Madara Uchiha. "Itachi of the Hidden Leaf, we welcome you into the Akatsuki; from this moment on, reject the Hidden Leaf."

After a slight moment of hesitation, Itachi pulls the shinobi forehead protector from his forehead and draws a kunai knife; he heats the blade up in the fire for a bit while he sets the forehead protector down upon a slightly upraised shelf of stone. With a steady hand, he slams the kunai into the metal of the forehead protector and drags it across the emblem, identifying him as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. His expression, once he lays his eyes on what he has just done, is an expression of what looks almost like grief, but he quickly smooths his facial features into calm indifference, closing his eyes. After a moment, he opens his eyes and raises his head, just as Pein walks forward.

"From now . . . you are Itachi of the Akatsuki," he says, offering him a ring with a crimson design atop it and a kanji that translates to "Scarlet".


She strides into the base, carrying the bloody head of her target. "Mission complete, Leader-sama," she states coolly, tossing the head on to the stone floor.

He eyes the head emotionlessly. "So it would seem," he mutters under his breath before he begins to look through his scrolls and such to find another mission to give to the kunoichi.

However, thousands of sheets of origami paper fly in and form into Konan, causing Pein to forget about his search for a new mission.

"What is it, Konan?" he asks the blue-haired kunoichi, and she looks at him.

"We have a new member," she states simply before she turns, once more, into origami paper that slowly dissolves into nothingness.

He blinks and turns to Kaze. "We shall greet the new member and induct him into our ranks before you receive your next mission. Understood?"

She bows her head, and the two leave the room moments later.


"Show the world pain . . ." Pein drawls as the members of the Akatsuki, all wearing the cloaks that mark them as such, stand atop a cliff overlooking the land.

All of the members are there, and once he has given the order, they all split up and begin to walk away, leaving only Pein, Konan, Zetsu, Itachi, Jūzō, and Kaze behind.

"Jūzō," Pein states, and said man looks up when he hears his name called.

"Huh?" he mumbles, his sword strapped to his back.

"Form a two-man team with Itachi," Pein orders, just as he had explained to both Jūzō and Kaze earlier, and Jūzō nods slightly, giving Kaze a look.

She returns it, her katana strapped to her own back.

"Okay," Jūzō says after the exchange has been completed, and Itachi turns to look at him, his Sharingan glinting dangerously in the sunlight as he bows his head in recognition.

"Follow me . . . newbie," Jūzō orders before striding off, only giving Kaze one more brief, fleeting glance.

"Yes," Itachi replies, shooting a confused, bewildered glance at the strawberry blonde kunoichi who remains standing there, just behind the leader of the organization.

The two disappear after a moment in the swirling mist, with only Kaze watching them go.


-3rd POV, w/Kaze-

"He will be a great asset to us, should his allegiance remain with the Akatsuki," Pein says to the violet-eyed kunoichi standing behind him. "However, should his allegiance sway to the Hidden Leaf, it should prove to be . . . disastrous."

Kaze snorts slightly. "We've already had this conversation, Leader-sama; I understand both my mission and its importance, as well as the consequences that will happen should I fail," she says, and he nods. "But I will not fail, Leader-sama."

His lips twitch upwards, into a small smirk. "Report to me if his action become suspicious to you, Kaze," he orders, and she nods to signal her understanding before she dissipates into thousands of butterflies.


1 - Orochimaru isn't actually part of the Akatsuki in this fanfiction for a multitude of reasons. One being that since Kaze is part of the Akatsuki, the ring that would have been his already belongs to someone, and all of the other rings (for the most part) belong to someone, or will in the future. Another reason being that when he fought Sasori and Pein (Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution), Kaze went along with them, and she threatened to leave the Akatsuki and give confidential information about the organization to the Five Great Nations should Pein allow Orochimaru to officially join the Akatsuki; now, he couldn't have that, and while he could have killed her, that would have defeated the purpose of having her in the organization, so he allowed her to have her way.

And the real conflict begins!

Itachi-kun is just too suspicious for Pein, Konan, and Kaze to ignore - which I mean, honestly, how did they not suspect something was up with him in the original anime? He walked into base wearing his forehead protector proudly, and then when he's asked to sever his ties with his village, he hesitates and makes a face. How is that not suspicious? This is a criminal organization with S-class shinobi who are all ridiculously powerful; when you're that powerful, you notice things that most others wouldn't, right? Then how did they not notice Itachi being suspicious as all get out?

I mean, I love Itachi-kun, but I think it's more realistic for the Akatsuki to be suspicious of him until he's gained their trust, y'know?

Anyway, Kaze and Itachi haven't really met, but what do you think of the (kind-of, maybe a little bit) budding relationship between them?

Answer: While I think that there are a lot of OP characters in Naruto, I think that the most OP, at least in my opinion, is probably Sasuke. I mean, that plot armor, though! And he's constantly getting power-ups, and he really doesn't need them. 16 and fighting the Raikage, Mizukage, Kazekage, and others, and he still survived! That's ridiculously OP! I mean, really!

Question: Saddest Naruto character back-story?

Well, see you guys next time! :)