Symphony
Chapter 14: House of the Red moon
Amaterasu awoke in a large bed, her head aching and her body stiff and sore. She slowly got up and twisted her body into limberness. Her Chakra was a steady thrum in her mind. She turned and brought her tail forward. About a foot from the tip of her tail sat a slowly revolving black ring. The symbols etched into it shown different colors according to the Chakra of the one it stood for. She purred at it and got out of bed. She was now considered an adult by her peoples standards and she had her name back. She heard foot steps coming down the hall and now standing on two legs opened the door. Kisame stopped seeing the door to the room opening and when Amaterasu stepped out and she seemed to be looking around. "If your looking for the others they are in the kitchen." She grinned at the shark-man before speaking.
"Where is the kitchen?" Kisame and Amaterasu walked down the hallway a small conversation on swords keeping the mood up. She could hear the mass of voices ahead and her stride increased slightly. Kisame chuckled to himself. The door opened and Amaterasu came face to face with Sakura and Konan. "Your awake!" the Lunar-nin laughed. "Yes, recovery was easier this time now that I am complete." None of the three women noticed the soft flush on a few cheeks. "I am starving though. How about some food." Once Amaterasu was set up with a hearty plate of food made by Sakura and was settled at the table between Sasori and Itachi she spoke again. "So this is Clan Rain's village. It smells good, like fields after a thunderstorm." The conversation flowed as the guys shared things to do around the village.
"So, will you tell me more about your path to peace Nagato?" The orange haired man sighed and explained about the Jutsu he had been told of, how it required all the tailed beasts Chakra to work properly. "Nagato I have never heard a whisper of such a Jutsu. Lunar's have been around since the time of the Elder of the six-paths. He created the tailed beasts to guide and protect us from something only he knew of. Your collecting them is disturbing the balance of the world." The others watched in awe as she drew out little pictures of the damage their mission has caused. "But who told you of this Jutsu?" When he answered her she was stunned. "Madara Uchiha." As Nagato explained how the Akatsuki was formed the horrified look on the female's face only grew.
"Madara Uchiha was one of my mother's bonded as was Izuna. She was called Whitebird by the Uchiha clan. When she discovered what the Senju sons had done to her mates she carved a valley with the backlash of her power. Izuna passed the Uchiha summons to my Mother as a token of his love for her. She was going to take it to Madara but when Izuna was killed she lost control of her self and leveled an entire square mile of forest. She went to try to save her only remaining mate when she learned Hashirama had struck him down.." She paused to take a breath. "She killed him and tried to find the bodies of her mates to bury them properly but never could. She was murdered for the act of love Izuna bestowed on her. Now I have a chance to make it right." Itachi spoke then. "There are stories written in the family archives of Whitebird and her power its said she could look into a Sharingan and not be caught by its power." Amaterasu smiled at him. "That's true she could look into the eyes of a firebird and not be spelled by their beauty. She was forced into baring a litter for someone other then her bond mates and it weakened her. My sire was the eight tailed-beast of his time. After her mates death and during her first litter she traveled into the sun-lands to get a reprieve and remember those she lost. No one knows what happened to her Uzumaki mate it is thought that he was killed before the Uchiha brothers." Sakura spoke up as she set more tea on the table. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" The fox nodded. "One surviving litter-mate, a male born before me. He is the current eight tails."
The Akatsuki and Sakura were stunned. Konan spoke up with a question. "How old was your mother when she died?" Amaterasu's eyes misted. "One hundred and thirty one years. We have longer lifespans then you. But once bonded our bond-mates lives are extended to ours. They become the ties to keep us grounded, to keep us human." All were shocked but they could tell she wasn't lying. "How old are you?" Sakura asked as she rested her hands on the table. "17 by your accounting, 64 years by ours. I am the third youngest tailed-beast yet I am the most revered due to being cursed." Kisame's eyes widened and he whistled. "Damn." She explained that her mother had been one of the few who had only three mates. "I think its time Itachi signed the scroll."
She pulled the large scroll from a sealed smaller one and unrolled a bit of it. Itachi could read his ancestor's names and when he read both Kamui and Amaterasu's names he breathed deep. The silver watched her Uchiha sign the contract and smiled at him. "Now you get to train with them." She said before sitting back in her seat. The others were silent as they processed the story they had been told and the new facts revealed. Nagato's eyes were aglow with suppressed rage and betrayal. Madara had lied to him, he was on the wrong path for so long he was unsure he could make it right again. A softness curled around his wrist and he looked to see Amaterasu's tail. "Its never to late until you stop fighting Nagato." She looked at Itachi. "Sakura has told me about your eyes and on seeing your memories there is only one way to save both Uchiha brothers." They listened closely. "To exchange their eyes. But we must move swiftly to find your brother and inform him of the truth." Itachi nodded solemnly. "But we can't leave the village unprotected either. This makes a fine base of operations and it has the training grounds we need to learn one another."
"If Madara plans to send us into a great ninja war as I believe, we need to be ready to lend our aid to those who will rise up to oppose him." Nagato said. The group nodded and looked between the tailed-beast and the 'God'. We need to capture Sasuke as well as train to trust one another. Kisame do you think any other members of the Akatsuki are salvageable?" The shark shook his head. "Hidan maybe. Kakuzu no. The freaky plant guy sticks to the back of Madara. So its just mostly us." The fox nodded. They decided Itachi, Sakura, Kisame and Sasori would go after Sasuke. The rest would stay and prepare the village for possible attack. "I will see about gathering Naruto here, as he is needed to train also. I will contact Gaara to see what can be done on his front." Amaterasu piped in as she watched the others pack for the trip. The fox took Sakura aside for a moment and they spoke too quietly and in the lunar tongue to be heard. Finally when Sakura nodded the two parted ways.