Chapter Four
"What is this all about?!" I ask, not trying to sound too commanding- who is this guy? His face looks like a pin cushion, it has so many piercing's! I try to ignore this, and he seems to ignore my question. What trial is this?! What have I done, and how did I get here?
He keeps his eyes on me, as if he were studying me. Those eyes- they're so weird! I try not to stair, so I instead look around the room, nothing much, just my chair, his chair, and a table. The paint on the walls was old and cracking and there were no windows, just a small, but bright, light that hung overhead.
"Do you have the ring?" he asks, not moving his eyes. I look back at him, confused.
"Ring?" I ask. He looks to me as if I were a complete idiot, unworthy of his attention or time.
"Do you even have any idea what you are doing here?" He asks, sighing. What is he talking about? And besides that, why is he talking down to me! I'm probably smarter than he is! I shake my head. "Do you have Itachi's ring," he rephrases the question, waiting again for an answer. Itachi's ring? Who is this man? Is e trying to interrogate me about the Akatsuki- am I in trouble? I don't have time for this! I have to go find Sasuke!
"Why do you ask?" I question, wanting to know before I answered a single question.
"Haruno, I'm the Akatsuki leaser, you do know that, right?" he asks, becoming bored with the conversation. What? I look at him, surprised- is it true? He's really the Akatsuki leader? Itachi had told me about him, he's a powerful rouge ninja from Amegakure- is this really him? He doesn't look like he's that powerful. He brushes back his auburn hair with his hand. I look at his right hand and notice a ring on his thumb, so similar to the style of Itachi's. It's true then.
"Then why am I here, I mean, what's the purpose of this trial?" I ask, my curiosity showing. Have I done something that was not right for the Akatsuki? He smiles for the first time since I've been here and rests his elbows on the table in front of him. What is he laughing at?
"You didn't really think that you would become an Akatsuki member just by wearing the ring and cloak, did you?" He asks, shaking his head. I look down at my lap, ashamed; I had hoped it was that way. So, then what is this trial for? He seemed to know what I was thinking.
"This trial is for whether or not you do become an Akatsuki member. After all, you were an operative for a year and a half, and apparently Itachi saw some potential in you," my heart breaks hearing Itachi's name. Potential? Did nobody know about us? I look up to my, now, leader, bring it on!
"I will have to ask you a few questions about his death first," the leader says, not moving his gaze from me, as if he were reading me like a book. I look up, would I be able to handle this? I can not show any emotion! This is the wrong place for it! I nod, I'm ready. "How did he die," he asks bluntly. I pause for a moment. I had tried so hard, so extremely hard to forget those memories, but they are still fresh. I try not to think about the memories, and tell it like a report.
"He died yesterday, moments before the sunset. He was killed by another Uchiha, Sasuke, his brother," I say, trying to ignore how cold it sounded, like there was no remorse at all for Itachi, nor hatred for his murderer. The leader nods at this, and seems to store it in his memory.
"What was your village before you left it?" he asks. I brush my hair out of my face. I haven't worn my leaf headband in the longest time, it seems. I'm not even sure that I know where it is anymore.
"It was Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves," I said, again trying to muffle the memories that kept on trying to escape. If I show remorse for Itachi, or for leaving my village, he could see that as a weakness and not allow me to become a member- that's not good!
"Right then, did Itachi teach you the sealing technique: illusionary dragon nine consuming seals? It's important for the members to know this technique." I think back to all of the hours of practice I had to undergo to get it right.
"He did," I say. My arms were so sore after learning that, but Itachi had said that I would be better off knowing it.
"Good, it seems like he was prepared for you to take his place," he says, not even caring that what he was saying was practically that he had known he would die soon and just had me as an apprentice. That couldn't be true- could it? Itachi actually cared! He had to! What's the point in even questioning it?!
"What would your purpose for joining be?" he asks, never changing his emotions on his face, like he was playing a game of poker and didn't want me to know his hand. I think about it, there's only one basic reason for why I want to join the Akatsuki. This could be my chance to kill Sasuke, it's so perfect.
"I have a goal, a person I need to eliminate," I say, not wanting to say anymore than that. No will ever know about this. Once I kill Sasuke, I don't know what I'll do, or where I'll go from there, but staying with the Akatsuki is a great option. I need to take it.
"This person, is it Itachi's killer?" leader asks, curiously, a knowing look in his eyes. How does he know? I try to think of a reply, what do I say to that? How do I explain it? I'll have to lie- but what do I say? "Never mind that," he says, waving his hand in front of him like he was pushing the subject away. "You spoke of a goal, would you be willing to abandon your personal goal and adopt the Akatsuki's goal as your own?" this takes me with shock, is he serious?