DISCLAIMER: I do not own Itachi Uchiha, Akatsuki, or anything else to do with Naruto. Having said that, this plot, this story and all other characters not associated with Naruto are my own. Thank you and enjoy.
~Day before graduation~
"The time has come; we need to discuss the plan," Itachi said strictly.
The two of us were sitting at the tomb, discussing about tomorrow. It was the only place private enough that we knew about where no one would follow us or eavesdrop. Tomorrow would be the day I graduated high school and go on to join Akatsuki. Itachi was prepping me for the events tomorrow.
"So tomorrow, about five minutes after the graduation ceremony, there will be a bright flash of light and you will be a stranger," Itachi explained calmly.
"Wait, so this light erases everyone's memory?" I replied.
"Yes, but it doesn't affect those with the mutation," Itachi said matter-of-factly.
"Does it have to be five minutes? Can I at least say good bye?" I asked quietly.
Itachi didn't answer, and I took that as a no. So I stood up and began walking back to school; it was the last day I would be spending with them.
"Fine, seven minutes, but I can't give you more," Itachi replied emotionlessly.
"Thank you," I whispered sadly, and strengthened the dam that held back all of my emotions.
Graduation came all too quickly. It was hard to keep the sadness inside; my mother noticed.
"Sweetie is everything okay?" my mom asked me worriedly.
"Sorry mom, I'm just sad that I won't be seeing some of these people again," I sniffled.
"Oh honey! Don't worry! You'll make plenty of friends in college," my mom hugged me. "Now come on; we don't want to be late now do we?"
I nodded mutely and followed her to the car. My dad drove; my mom was rambling on about how her little girl was all grown up and on to do great things. My brother just sat there in the seat and stayed quiet. I could tell he was bored out of his mind. I stared out the window and went through all the great memories we all had shared together. They flashed through my mind at an alarming rate.
Graduation went by slowly; I savored each moment. But my mind wandered. It wandered back to when Itachi first came into my life and when all this craziness began. I guess you could say that was the day I fell in love.
Yes I said fell in love.
I didn't think that would be possible; I remember Maggie telling me that he wasn't a good guy. And she was right. He was a criminal; a vigilante would be the proper term. I learned that Akatsuki was a mercenary organization that helped people; for a price. Itachi wouldn't tell me more than that. He did start training me in art of deception thought. Since we didn't get much time to actually train, he talked a lot; telling me how to hack, or how to seduce people to get what I wanted.
Back to the feelings; now that I'm eighteen, I am much more mature than I was a year and a half ago when I first met Itachi. I figured out months later that he may have actually had the same feelings for me, but the logical part of me brought up the seduction technique. In the end, I went with logic. Itachi was a pro at getting what he wanted, and I had trained myself to resist that. Yet I had still fallen for him. That was the only thing keeping me from breaking down in front of everyone. I knew Itachi would be there to protect me, and he would stay with me no matter what. It was his job, but as long as I could stay with him, I don't mind. I thought those feelings would have disappeared months ago, but they didn't; they were something I would have to live with now until I would forget or find someone else to help me forget. They weren't on my mind most of the time, but since I had nothing else to think about during the speeches, my mind went here.
The ceremony ended abruptly with applauds and cheers. Everyone was off to parties, dinners, and family time. I was on my way to a new life; a complete reset. I stood up and wandered around a bit; I saw my family in the distance, but there were plenty of people in the way. I also Itachi; a smiled played at my lips. He looked no different from when I first saw him. I had a choice in front of me then; do I say good bye to the people who raised me for the last eighteen years or do I go to my future?
Unfortunately, the choice was made for me; there was a blinding flash of light and people looked around confused. The moment passed. I looked desperately back to my family, who held confused looks on their faces. They began walking back toward our—their car, leaving me behind. I stood there breathing deeply, keeping inside the sadness and hurt that welled up inside of me. I turned my back on them.
"You ready?" I heard Itachi's familiar cold voice.
"Hang on," I said stoutly and looked around once more.
All of my friends were gathered in a circle, enjoying their last moments together. It was better this way; if I said good bye, it would have been so much harder to leave, and much harder to hold back my emotions.
"Fine, let's go," I said coldly and walked away.
Itachi fell into step with me and led me to his car. I climbed into the passenger seat and he drove off. I just stared at my hands in my lap, pushing in all the mixed up emotions I was feeling at the moment. I was glad that we were enveloped in silence on the drive; if I spoke now, there's no telling what would come pouring out.
Ten minutes later, Itachi was pulling into the parking lot of a huge office building with the name "RaoBank" in orange letters at the top.
"The bank?" I asked perplexed, temporarily forgetting what had happened.
"You'll see," he visibly smirked and led me to the door.
We entered the building and went straight for the door labeled 'Employees Only.'
"Uhm, are you sure?" I started to ask then stopped; he obviously knew what he was doing.
The people in the bank, tellers and bankers, didn't even bat an eyelash as we walked through the door. There was a short hallway that ended at three elevators; we took the one on the left. Instead of going up, we went down; far down.
I kept my gaze fixed to the door and quickly removed my graduation hat. The elevator pinged, signaling the arrival to our destination.
"Welcome to your new home," Itachi said quietly.
I stepped out of the drab elevator into what can only be described as a man-cave. There were couches surrounding one large flat screen television. Wires trailed out of the television and connected to a multitude of gaming systems. My eyes were wide with wonder as we passed by this wondrous room. The next room we passed looked like a computer lab; but instead of Dell or Apple, it was filled with Alienware laptops; top of the line. Frankly, it seemed that the place was temporary. I figured with the type of work these people do, permanence wasn't part of their vocabulary.
I got excited and strayed from the hallway into the computer room, my eyes shining with excitement.
"Not so fast," Itachi grabbed my arm and smirked. "You have to check in with Leader-sama first."
I whipped around to face him, "This is headquarters?"
"Yup, in your backyard," he mused and let go of me. "Follow me."
He led me down the hall to the very last door and knocked once.
"Enter," a muffled voice came through the door.
"It's done," Itachi replied as soon as the door was opened.
"Is she with you?" a voice came from a swivel chair behind a desk.
This Leader-sama was a very enigmatic fellow. Itachi spoke very little of him and whenever he did come up, Itachi became very tight-lipped.
"Zana Hyden," the chair swiveled around to face us. "I've been waiting for you."
"How long is a long time?" I asked hesitantly.
He just smiled crookedly, "Welcome to Akatsuki."
I just stared at him, taking in his appearance; he had bright, strawberry blond hair. It was almost orange if you looked at it with an odd angle. His ears were heavily pierced and his eyes were a deep shade of purple.
"You know my name, isn't it fair that I know yours?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Pein," he replied. "Itachi will show you around and tell you everything you need to know. He is also going to be training you and teach you how to do certain…things."
"You make that sound really dirty," I muttered, turning red.
He raised his eyebrows then faced Itachi, "In no way will you teach her anything like that."
"Well then, what will I be learning?" I questioned.
"Shoot a gun, kill a man with many types of instruments, the art of camouflage and how to use your abilities to make the world a better place," Pein shrugged and leaned toward us, resting his head in his hands. "Enjoy."
With that, Itachi grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the office. My gaze never left Pein's; I couldn't pull away.
"What the hell?" I pulled away and looked at Itachi once we had left Pein's office.
"You don't go into his office unless you are forced to and you don't stay there longer than you need to," Itachi said tensely.
My eyes widened, "You're afraid of him."
Itachi's eyes shifted, "Everyone is."
"And you're telling me this because…?" I gave him an incredulous look.
"You're part of the family now," he said wryly. "Now, let me introduce you to everyone."
He offered me his hand. I looked at it for a moment; was he purposefully leading me on? I took it hesitantly; his hand closed around mine with a soft grip and he pulled me along back down the hall, back to what could only be called the living room.
"Welcome to Akatsuki," he commented when we arrived.
Everyone looked up, but they weren't looking at us; they were looking at our attached hands. Automatically, we detached; I turned bright red while Itachi's cheeks held the softest shade of pink.
"The one with the white hair—" but Itachi was cut off.
"We can all introduce ourselves pretty boy," Hidan smiled and stood up. "Remember me sweetie?"
I nodded mutely and Hidan just walked over with a big smile. He slipped his arm around my shoulders and led me to the center.
"You already know me, but not everyone else," Hidan smirked.
"I know that," I tried to pull away from him but he tightened his grip.
I was forced to be the center of attention but I did learn who everyone was; I had never seen an odder group of people in my life. A few of them seemed fairly normal, but the rest of them…wow.
One by one, they introduced themselves.
"Deidara," a blond haired man piped up.
"Sasori," a red haired man spoke quietly.
"Kisame," a deep voice said; I looked at him and noted pale blue skin with dark blue hair and a shark-toothed smile.
I smiled nervously and quickly moved my attention onward.
"I'm Tobi! You're cute," a man's voice came through an orange mask.
"Thanks," I muttered.
"Urg, another girl, which means less money for us," a dark haired man sighed lying down on the couch. "Kakuzu, shut it, I'm glad there's another girl now," a blue haired lady snapped and then her voice softened. "I'm Konan; it's so nice to finally meet you."
Her amber eyes showed warmth, something that was absent in everyone else. I instantly felt a connection with her.
"Nice to finally meet all of you," I smiled and looked at all of them one by one.
"I'll show you to your room," Itachi said, stepping forward and grabbing my attention.
He took my hand and pulled me back down the hallway. We were followed by whistles and cat calls.
"I know exactly what to get you for your birthday now Itachi!" Hidan called out, amidst laughter.
He gripped my hand tighter and pulled me along faster. We walked up multiple flights of stairs until we reached another long hallway.
"Your room is near the roof," Itachi said quietly. "I persuaded Leader-sama to leave it as it was; just try not to collect too much stuff. Plus…I know you like the rain."
"Thanks," I said quietly and he pulled me along.
He pushed the door open and ushered me inside. I let go of his hand and took a look at the room; it was huge. It was almost a thousand square feet but no windows anywhere to be seen; just a plain white room with an attached bathroom.
"You can do whatever you want with it, but remember, we have to be ready to move at a moment's notice," Itachi said solemnly. "I'm right across from you if you need anything."
He left abruptly, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I walked to the center of the room and plopped onto the floor. I stared at the wall for a while until the epiphany came; my life was just like the wall, a blank slate. It was ready to be painted and remade. I was fortunate for this reset on my life; I was starting over.
I honestly hadn't fully grasped the concept that I would be alone though; my own family wouldn't remember me ever again. I was the only one with those memories. My friends were shadows of the past; as the saying goes, don't live in the past, but I think I could make an exception. I stood up suddenly and pulled off my gown; I took a long, hard look at my diploma and then proceeded to tear it up. I marched back downstairs into the room everyone was in and took a deep breath before I spoke.
"I need matches and some gas," I said clearly. "Anyone know where I can find those?"
"Come on sweetheart, I can show you exactly where those are," Hidan smiled wide and stood up. "Follow me."
He led me to a storage closet, a fairly large one too.
"And why would you need these?" he questioned, handing them to me.
"I wanna burn something," I shrugged my shoulders.
Instead of handing me the matches and gasoline, he held them behind his back, "If you want them, come and get them."
So that's how he wanted to play then?
"Well, if that's how it's going to be," I sighed and then put on my saddest voice.
I turned around to walk away but, "Come on, don't be like that."
I smiled internally.
'Oh, so Ms. Zana is using the guilt card; I'm impressed,' a familiar voice popped up.
"Will you help me then?" I turned around, eyes sparkling.
"Yea, sure," Hidan said hesitantly.
I led him to the roof where I threw my graduation hat, gown and diploma into a pile.
"You can do the honors," I motioned to the pile.
"Wait, you're burning that? Don't you want to keep it? Sentimental value and all?" Hidan asked me, his eyebrows were raised.
"What? No, it'll just cause more pain that's all," I shrugged. "No point in that."
With his attention diverted, I grabbed the matches and gasoline. The clothes were then doused, then lit. The smell of burning cloth reached my nose. I closed my eyes and turned my face upward; I was free at last.
Three weeks later, I was sitting at the foot of a sleeping bag surrounded by paint and supplies. I had started painting the blank walls around me. Since I couldn't furnish the room, I figured I could at least paint it what I wanted. My sole possessions included one alienware laptop, and a suitcase filled with an assortment of disguises.
Right after the burning Itachi had showed up to my room with a briefcase and a manila envelope. He didn't say a word, just handed them to me and left.
Inside were money and credit cards; I really didn't need much, just a car and some clothes and paint, along with a computer. So I made three stops: first, the Dodge dealership where I picked up a top-of-the-line Charger. Second stop was Michaels, where I got all of my art supplies. The last stop I made was the mall, where I picked up a multitude of clothes as well as necessary electronics; computer, cell phone, etc.
I focused my mind back onto my painting. It was turning into a rainbow of flowers, which was odd.
'Flowers? Seriously?' Abaddon spat. 'Paint the circles of hell; the chains that hang off the red lava walls, that drip red with the blood of the filth that roam this earth.'
"Strong words," I muttered to myself.
"I didn't say anything," I heard a voice.
I jumped out of my skin, "Itachi! Don't do that! Fuck that freaked me out!"
"Time to train, let's go," he said icily. "You shouldn't be scared so easily."
"Come on, cheer up," I whined and stood up. "What happened to the beautiful smile that I saw almost two years ago?"
"Don't dwell on the past," he snapped. "Let's go."
That was when the grueling, year-long training began.
A/N: Wow, that took a while to write. Family visited, work got in the way, la-dee-da-da. Excuses, excuses. Anyways, Chapter 11! Thank you for reading lovelies! And please review! PLEASE PLEASE! Gracias! By the way, thanks so much for keeping up everyone! Keep reading my lovelies!