Chapter 11
After pretending to be asleep for the better part of an hour, Kiikame carefully peeked out of one eye. The fire had gone out 15 minutes earlier, and consequently the air had developed a biting chill.
Upon careful inspection of her surroundings, Kiikame concluded with confidence that Itachi and Kisame were no longer awake.
'The time is now. I may never get another opportunity like this again. Besides, they won't expect me to try something this early on, not to mention in my weakened state.'
Kiikame slowly closed her eyes again, focusing all of her energy into activating her Kekkei Genkai from within. One of the biggest advantages she had developed against any possible hostage situations was that she could literally freeze herself. Doing this blocked out any vital signs that were visible to others, including any and all chakra levels. In this case, she would be able to deactivate the chakra ropes. If they had no chakra to feed off of, they would weaken considerably and eventually disappear.
Even those who possessed the Sharingan or Byakugan could not see her chakra. She had tested the jutsu multiple times with Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga, who would examine her body with their Sharingan and Byakugan when she activated the jutsu.
Though this was highly advantageous, she could only utilize the ability if she was in a situation where she'd been captured. She clearly couldn't fight when she was frozen.
Besides, after the whole ordeal with Kabuto and Orochimaru, Kiikame had paid extra special attention to developing this ability. Now that she had the opportunity to escape, she went straight to work.
Groping around in the deepest parts of her mind, Kiikame finally touched the icy depths of her subconsciousness that held the Kekkei Genkai she had been suppressing to preserve her strength.
Grabbing hold of the sharp chill of energy, Kiikame gently spread it throughout her internal body. The ice methodically closed in, erasing any sign of life as it coursed through her veins like molten rock.
It burned with such intensity that Kiikame had to bite her lip so that she would not cry out with shock at how much it burned. She had forgotten how it felt after not using it for so long.
Soon, her entire body was frozen apart from her head and neck. As the frost began to engulf her face, Kiikame took one last glance at Itachi's peaceful form before allowing it to consume her.
A few minutes later, Kiikame felt the ice begin to subside to the warm glow of her natural body temperature.
The chakra ropes had completely disintegrated. She was free.
Careful not to make any sudden movements or make any unnatural noise that would alert Kisame and Itachi, Kiikame stretched her joints as her frosty limbs thawed.
If she wanted this to work, extreme amounts of patience were required. Even though she had the advantage of surprise on her side, it could all change in an instant. These two shinobi were S-class missing nin. There were few out there that could equally match their skills, and even less who were above their level.
A miniscule detail out of place, the tiniest sound, or a fraction of a second of ill-timing would be all it would take to give her away. Kiikame even avoided looking at either one of them for fear that they may sense her gaze.
Shinobi who wished to survive longer than the first year on duty needed, almost required, a sixth sense, including the ability to know when someone was watching you.
They always had to be ready, always aware and sharp as a tack, even when they were sleeping. In a life full of assassination, deceit, and betrayal, it was critical that a shinobi was able to detect when something was off. Always.
'Getting out of this predicament may be the most difficult thing I do…if I'm successful that is…'
Kiikame sighed inwardly. This was going to be an immensely time-consuming and intricate process, but she had to try.
Pooling a small amount of energy beneath her hands, Kiikame left a patch of black ice and medium-size log on the ground by the tree she was previously tied to.
'That should be enough. Now here comes the hard part.'
Concentrating, Kiikame sent more black ice creeping through the underbrush, gently pushing the multitude of dead leaves, dried twigs, and other such debris out of her way. The process took a full, tension-filled 45 minutes to complete, but Kiikame managed without any major issues.
Satisfied with the small, clear path, Kiikame then released her control of wind chakra and let the ice melt into water. The water soaked into the ground, making it soft and slightly springy. The softened earth would muffle the sound of her footsteps and eliminate the possibility of disturbing a crunchy leaf or twig.
Stacking one vertebrate at a time, Kiikame cautiously rose up to her full height and stepped away from the tree. Looking down at the hunk of black ice and log she had left at the trees' base, she slowly molded the chakra-laced ice into a clone of herself around the log, adding some thin chakra ropes to avoid immediate suspicion should Kisame or Itachi wake up and look at the clone.
Upon finishing her work, Kiikame then slowly crouched back down, getting onto her stomach and laying in the damp dirt. She began to army crawl at a snail pace across her path, taking extra care not to move to quickly. If she spiked her heart rate or made a sound that was too loud to be considered a natural noise of the forest, she would be screwed.
Keeping her head down a breath away from the ground, Kiikame continued the painstakingly slow process. After an hour and a half, Kiikame was far enough away from the makeshift campsite that nothing would appear off-kilter if Itachi or Kisame woke up. They wouldn't be able to hear any of her movements well either, if at all.
She could run for it now.
Once again returning to her full height and covered head to toe in dirt, Kiikame leapt into the trees and began flying through the woods at an amazingly fast rate.
She wouldn't have much time, it was a matter of a few hours or less before Kisame and Itachi woke up. The minute Itachi activated his Sharingan, he would know right away that the Kiikame tied to the tree was a clone.
**Itachi & Kisame POV**
"Kisame, wake up."
The blue shark-man grunted and opened one beady black eye. He looked at Itachi.
"What is it, Itachi?"
"Something is amiss."
Pausing for a minute, Kisame examined the surrounding area and nodded in agreement a second later.
"Do you think enemy shinobi are near by or that Konoha discovered our presence?"
"No."
Itachi swiftly got to his feet and scanned the area with probing raven eyes. He looked at Kiikame's slumbering form on the tree. She didn't even stir, which Itachi found odd.
Promptly activating his Sharingan, Itachi immediately saw through Kiikame's ruse.
"Body replacement technique." Itachi stated as he threw a kunai at Kiikame with unnatural speed. Upon contact, the clone turned into a frost-covered log.
"Looks like this one is more sly than we anticipated. She must have some powers to have gotten out of the chakra ropes and still managed to escape. Her chakra levels will be dangerously low for a few days if I'm not mistaken."
Itachi nodded his head in agreement.
"Though that is true, it would be unwise to follow her into Konoha. They have most likely been alerted of our presence by now. We will have to come back another time."
Kisame grinned in an irritated fashion and then let out a low chuckle.
"This girl is turning out to be a bigger pain than we expected, ne Itachi-san?"
**End of POV**
Gasping for breath, Kiikame threw herself through the gates of Konoha at top speed, ignoring Izumo and Kotetsu's bewildered expressions.
"Oi, Kiikame! What are y—"
"This is an emergency. Close and secure the gates!" Kiikame managed to say over her shoulder as she plowed through to the main street.
'Now to find the Godaime. She should be in a meeting right now with the Anbu.'
Increasing her already frenzied pace, Kiikame was a blur of blonde and black as she raced to the Hokage's office.
Bursting through Tsunade's doors, Kiikame panted terribly as she recounted the details of her fight and capture with the two Akatsuki members.
Everyone looked at her with incredulous expressions except for Tsunade, who furrowed her brow and punched her desk with incredible force, snapping it in two.
"DAMMIT! I knew they would make a move at some point, but not this early. DAMMIT, DAMMIT—Shizune go issue a warning to the village, make sure it is spread ASAP!"
Tsunade then turned to the rest of the elite shinobi before her and began barking orders.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, GET TO WORK! SECURE THE PERIMETER AND MAKE SURE THEY DON'T GET IN! WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY THERE MIGHT BE!"
As Kiikame turned to leave with the rest, Tsunade shouted her name, making Kiikame cringe.
"KIIKAME! Where were they last?!"
"They were located approximately 20 miles north of the Konoha border, Tsunade-sama."
"How many?"
"Only two members to my knowledge."
"Can you identify them?"
"Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi."
When the names fell from Kiikame's lips, Tsunade's eyes widened with apprehension. A string of curses followed as Tsunade removed her green haori and proceeded to storm out the door.
Before she disappeared completely, Tsunade poked her head back in.
"I want you to stay inside, Kiikame! Do NOT under any circumstances leave the village or your apartment!"
"Hai, Godaime."
Satisfied with Kiikame's answer, Tsunade disappeared back behind the door, leaving Kiikame alone.
'I need to find Miri.' Kiikame thought as she ran out the same door seconds later, sprinting through the halls.
As Kiikame turned the corner, she collided with another young kunoichi.
Scrambling back onto her feet, Kiikame exclaimed, "I am so sorry! Are you ok?"
"Yes, I am fine. Thanks."
A pink-haired girl looked up at Kiikame with green eyes and recognition instantly flashed in them.
"Kiikame-san!"
"Sakura-san?! My goodness you've grown, I barely recognized you!"
Kiikame helped Sakura back onto her feet as the two exchanged pleasantries. Then Kiikame remembered what she had been doing.
"Sakura, do you know where Miri is?"
"Yes, she just left the building ten minutes ago. Why?"
"Thanks! I have to talk to her, the Akatsuki attacked and captured me last night. They may be coming back to the village."
"What?! Oh my god! Are you doing okay, Kiikame?"
"I'm fine. Alert anyone you can. I have to go."
"Okay. Bye Kiikame-san!"
Kiikame waved over her shoulder as she continued to scurry down the halls, finally running back into the sunshine of the early morning.
Before she could reach the apartment, Kiikame saw Miri walking about 5 paces ahead of her.
"MIRI!"
Miri turned around with an astonished expression.
"Kiikame?!"
Both stopped all movement for a split-second before running into each others' arms.
"I'm so glad you're safe."
"Me? Of course I'm safe! What about you, Kiikame?! You're the one who is always getting into mortal danger!" Miri said, half exasperated and worried, half teasing.
"Ugh, no matter, we need to get back home. I'll tend to your injuries and work on replenishing your chakra levels. My god you're a complete mess!… I mean look at your head!"
Kiikame paused for a second and touched her head, shocked. She hadn't even noticed the dried blood caked on the left side of her head, or the mottled bruises that were every shade from putrid yellow to a deep ebony-purple, decorating her body in a malicious fashion.
She had been so focused on her escape and was so high on adrenaline that she completely forgot about the state her body was in.
'It will take at least a few days before I can fully recover. Hopefully they won't come after me again for awhile.'
The possibility of being recaptured right now was extremely slim, especially considering the fact that all of Konoha was on wide alert for any Akatsuki members.
As Miri and Kiikame entered the apartment and Miri began healing Kiikame's score of bruises and gashes, Kiikame broke the silence.
"They will probably come back within a week."
Miri just looked at Kiikame and then turned her attention back to her work.
"What makes you say that? Konoha will be ready for them. It would be really hard for them to fly under the radar this time around."
"Well yes and no. They wouldn't want to come straight back, but they also don't want to wait too long either. The next few days I am probably safe, but after that…who knows. When they attack again, wouldn't it be best to do it at the end of the week? That way they would have the element of surprise. No one would expect them to attack that early on after the first failed attempt."
"Woah, woah, woah, slow down there, Kiikame. I think you are overanalyzing this situation. You have all of Konoha protecting you now, I don't think they could get to you even if they brought the entire organization here."
"If they did, countless innocent deaths would occur. Besides, I am not going to have people sacrifice their lives just because the leader of the Akatsuki wants me in their organization."
"What exactly are you implying, Kiikame?"
"I'm saying that I am going to have to leave the village."
"KII-"
Kiikame quickly silenced Miri with her hand before she began shouting.
"You must listen to me, Miri. As long as I am here, I put everyone in the village in danger. I have become a liability, and I cannot live with myself sitting in the village for the rest of my life being protected by others. People will DIE because of me if I stay here. Sure, it may take the entire Akatsuki to wrangle me from the villages' grasp if I stayed, but how many people have to die first? No. I will not allow such things to transpire, my life is not worth countless others. Please understand that this is the only option!"
Tears began to spill from Kiikames' eyes as she realized what fate she was consigned to. She would never be able to be a ninja of Konoha anymore. As long as she was being hunted by the Akatsuki, she would bring death and destruction with her wherever she went.
'Just when I found somewhere I could call "home" again…'
Kiikame broke down and began to cry. Miri looked down at her crestfallen friend.
"I understand, Kiikame. I understand completely, but that doesn't mean I like it any more. Do what you have to do, but know that there are people in the village who love and care about you more than you know. I know you don't think your life is worth much, but you are so incredibly precious. Not just to me, but to everyone else in the village. Whatever you do and wherever you go, please be safe. Please do not die. I-I don't want to live w-without you h-here…."
Miri couldn't go on anymore as her words became choked with violent sobs.
"After tomorrow, my fate rests in the Akatsuki's hands. I will fight with everything I have to be reunited with you again, but I cannot—I cannot promise you—I-I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
"Of course I forgive you, baka!" Miri exclaimed, tears running down her face as she gave Kiikame a weak, defeated smile. "This is not your fault, and you are so incredibly brave and selfless to sacrifice yourself for the good of the village. I am proud to call you my friend and adopted sister. I hope I will see you again."
"I'll try my hardest, nii. Though I can't promise that I'll see you again, I can promise that I will give everything I have to make it happen."
"Good."
Miri smiled wide as she wiped her tears away.
"Alright enough of the depressing talk. You are still staying until tomorrow night, so lets enjoy each others' company as much as we can."
Kiikame nodded her head in agreement, though she smiled, her eyes were full of sorrow.
'I may never return.' Kiikame thought.
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the 11th chapter of "Of Ice & Fire". I made this chapter extra long to make up for the delayed post. Remember to follow/favorite/review if you enjoy this story, any support is greatly appreciated.
Until next time,
-VampireKnightgrlKiwi