I do not own any of the Naruto characters, only Aka.

Chapter 12

"And begin," Pein demanded from one side of the training hall. In the center stood Aka and Itachi facing each other. They were to spar and prove their worth. Aka lowered herself into a fighting stance, prepared to charge or flee. Itachi stood motionless staring down at her. Kakuzu watched beside Pein, Orochimaru on Pein's other side. Kisame watched from the other side of the room.

"I've heard of you and your sharingan, Uchiha." Aka smiled coldly. The temperature began to drop in the room and her breath billowed out in front of her.

"Then it appears, I am at a disadvantage. For I know nothing about you." Wow, his voice was beautiful. It was a deep rich tone that caressed each word with an air of refinery. Aka placed a hand on the floor.

Kakuzu stared at his junior partner. She just sat there crouching on the floor motionless, her hand on the floor.

"What is she doing?" he mumbled to himself. He heard Orochimaru chuckle.

"Ku ku ku. She's probably caught in one of his genjutsus. Just one look into the sharingan and it's over." Kakuzu smirked. We'll see about that.

A light wind whipped about the room biting any bare skin. Slowly, Aka stood up, eyes fixed on the young Uchiha. A trail of dirty water rose from the ground. It froze in her hands as she melded it into a ball. Then she chucked the ice ball at Uchiha. It missed by a few feet landing lightly behind him. Itachi continued to stare at her, eyebrows furrowing slightly. Kakuzu facepalmed.

'The hell was that?' he thought.

"Since I know of you, Uchiha. Let me give you a little information on myself. I am Aka of the Yuki clan."

"You have the Ice Release." Aka smirked.

"Yes, and when I wiped out my clan. I made sure I did so, completely."

Itachi's red eyes narrowed.

"I'll give you one more piece of information about myself. I'm blind."

Aka then summoned two frozen orbs at her sides. Four legs and a head formed from each. The first orb resembled a dog or wolf while the other appeared as a large cat. Both creatures snarled and charged. Itachi dodged the attacks easily.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." he formed a quick succession of handsigns and sent forth an enormous fireball at the attacking creatures.

"Flash Freeze." Aka raised a hand as the cat fell to the ground and shattered. The dog landed back by its master. Half its face missing. Slowly, the ice grew back repairing the damage. Again it charged. Itachi jumped to avoid the attack and sent another fireball at the ice dog. From the remains of the shattered cat ice spikes shot towards Itachi's descending body. He fell and was impaled on the frozen points. He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Shadow clone." Kakuzu and Aka concluded at the same time. Aka gasped, Itachi appeared right behind her. She encased her right arm in ice and swiped at him. As he dodged, she nicked his cheek. She smiled again and lifted the blood to her lips. Everyone in the room watched in astonishment as she licked the speck of blood from her makeshift weapon.

"We are now connected," she said darkly.

"I can see you even clearer now. Every heartbeat, every drop of blood in your body. I can see." A shiver passed through her body. She hadn't had a fight like this in years.

"It's over," Itachi spoke and held up a single hand forming a handsign. Aka's back exploded. She screamed as the explosion ripped through her.

"Sorry, Kakuzu-kun, but looks like you'll have to find another new partner." Orochimaru chuckled.

"A pity though. I would have loved to examine that kekkei genkai of hers."

Kakuzu stood stunned, eyes wide in shock. He felt one of his hearts skip a beat.

Silence filled the room. Itachi stood motionless, staring at the spot where Aka had once stood. Kisame looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey look. It's snowing."

Everyone stared up at the ceiling. Sure enough a dark grey cloud had formed and snow fell lightly to the ground. As the first flakes touched the ground, a light laugh started up.

"Hah. Hahaha. That was fun, Uchiha." Aka rose from the smoke, "But I won't go down that easily. Can you feel our connection yet? Could you feel that I was still here?"

"Amazing," Orochimaru breathed. Kakuzu glanced at the man. He bore a twisted grin and his eye twitched slightly. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at him but gave an internal sigh of relief as he watched Aka step out from the smoke. A trickle of blood trailed from her lips. Kakuzu watched as the ice ball Aka had thrown earlier rolled towards her. It moved up her body and fused into the wound from Itachi's explosive tag. Her bloody lips tightened in a pressed smile.

"I've only ever used this technique once. I made the last person cut out his own organs. Let's see how you handle it." She raised her hands in front of her, palms facing Itachi.

"Dark Technique: Blood Puppetry."

Itachi stiffened then fell into the same stance as Aka. Aka grinned and Itachi copied. The pair of them grinning madly at each other was a disturbing sight.

"It is impossible to break from this jutsu without the caster's consent. You are at my every command." They spoke simultaneously. There was a cruel glint in her sightless eyes, but she could see her opponent so clearly. His blood pulsed in both their veins. She could feel his heart beat in time with hers. Slowly, she reached into her kunai pouch. Itachi copied. When they withdrew their hands Itachi held a kunai in his hand. Aka gripped a kunai of solid ice. In a single united motion, they both sliced downward. Itachi grimaced as he dug his own weapon into his thigh digging deep into the muscle. Aka's melted immediately as it connected with her skin.

"Ordinarily, I prefer a quick conclusion to my fights." Aka raised her reformed weapon to her throat. Itachi followed.

"But you are strong Itachi-san. I can feel you resisting me. I will allow you one more attack before we finish." Aka loosened her grip on Itachi's body. Blood streamed from Itachi's right eye and down his cheek.

"Amaterasu!"

Black flames erupted along Aka's right arm. She screamed in pain as the black fire burned her skin. She flung her right arm out to her side in a wild arc. The black flames flew away from her, burning into an ice mold of her arm.

"Heh, nice one Itachi-san. That's two times your attacks have hurt me quite a bit. Now let's fin-"

"Almighty Push."

Aka and Itachi both slammed into the opposite wall on each side of Kisame. Kisame looked across at the Leader, stunned.

"You both have proven yourselves more than capable in combat. You will both remain with your current partners. Your battle is concluded, any continuation and I will eliminate you."

Aka groaned. She could feel her hold over Itachi snap when she was struck with Pein's technique.

"Orochimaru, Kakuzu, attend to your partners and then come to my chambers. I will give you your missions for once they both recover."

Then, Pein left. Kisame knelt by Itachi and offered him a big blue hand. Itachi looked at it and stood on his own. He was obviously exhausted, but instead kept up his refined façade.

"Well done, Itachi-kun." Orochimaru cooed.

"Hn," Itachi replied. Kisame smirked.

Aka clutched her head. She looked up as she felt Itachi's presence before her.

"It was well fought," he said, "but if we meet again, I will not go easy on you."

Aka glared at him.

"Same here," she growled. Kakuzu bent down and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on," Kakuzu held onto Aka's shoulder and led her from the room. Her icy dog growled at the remaining Akatsuki members and followed its master.