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Itachi's Return Part 2
Maiko ran as hard as she could to the small village that Jiraiya and Naruto were staying at for the night. She did everything she could think of that would make her go faster: regulating her breathing, channeling her chakra to her feet, etc. But as the seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into an hour, Maiko cursed herself for not being able to do the Hiraishin no Jutsu like the Yondaime. But eventually Maiko did make it to the edge of the village's borders.
Maiko took a deep breath and formed another chakra net. She could feel the effects of her chakra being depleted, even lower than she would like. She knew she was on the verge of chakra exhaustion but she needed to find Naruto and Jiraiya, she had to make sure the Naruto was safe from Itachi and Kisame. As the chakra net flowed and ebbed through the village she recognized Jiraiya's chakra. She kept the chakra net up as she ran to Jiraiya's chakra presence and panicked when she couldn't find Naruto's. Maiko busted through the door to a house and found Jiraiya making out with a young female. She nearly gagged at the image and the way Jiraiya was feeling up the poor girl.
"Jiraiya! Where the hell is Naruto?" Maiko screeched and startled the two. She was so livid that she barely noticed that the woman was too beautiful for Jiraiya. While Jiraiya floundered and spluttered Maiko took a closer look at the woman. She had luscious black hair, pale skin, plump red lips, and dark seducing eyes that with one look would have any man scrambling after her. But those eyes had this glazed over look, it wasn't obvious but if one was looking her over like Maiko was, it was obvious. This look had Maiko's heart pumping.
"Jiraiya shut up and just tell me the name of the hotel you are staying in and follow me!" Maiko ordered.
"But! Do you see this woman!" Jiraiya whined.
"But! Don't you see the glazed over look in her eyes? She is under genjutsu which means that Itachi and Kisame, members of Akatsuki, are here and looking for Naruto if they haven't found him already!" She screeched and felt her heart speed up from its already fast pace. Maiko could practically feel the thumping and thought it would just explode from her chest. She wondered if Jiraiya and the woman could her it too.
"She is not under genjutsu! Just because you aren't attracted to this, doesn't mean other women aren't as well." Jiraiya argued back and Maiko couldn't believe this. She did not have time for this.
"Those women are prostitutes and are only interested in your money and if you don't believe me then look into her eyes for real this time!" Maiko countered and gave a glare so menacing that Jiraiya had no choice but to do what she asked. She saw the look of realization dawn upon his face, it was apparent to the woman as well.
"Don't listen to her baby. She's just jealous and wants to ruin our fun." The woman said huskily and modeled her body against Jiraiya's and cupped his cheek with her hand forcing the man to look at her. And like the typical horn dog that he was, Jiraiya began to forget that she was under genjutsu and let his other head do the thinking. But Maiko was not going to let it happen and the woman was no kunoichi, so Maiko quickly knocked her out by punching the bottom of the woman's skull. She went limp into the ready arms of Jiraiya. He looked outraged at Maiko but it died when he saw the desperate and scared look in her eyes that she could not hide. Jiraiya just gave her a fleeting look of disappointment but did not say what was on his mind as he picked up the unconscious woman and darted from the house to the hotel that he and Naruto were staying in.
As they made their way there, Maiko couldn't help but imagine scenarios of what was to come whether they got there on time or if they were too late. None of the outcomes seemed to be good and what continually bugged her was the fact of Itachi's motives. Why would he tip her off about his plans of abducting Naruto and why would he do it in such an unusual way? He knew all too well Maiko's schedule with Naruto. He knew that the best way to get to Naruto was through Maiko and he could have easily found a way to do that.
Her contemplations were cut short by the familiar chakra presences of Itachi, Naruto, Kisame, and Sasuke. Maiko grabbed hold of Jiraiya's shirt and stopped him from heading towards the front of the hotel. He gave her a questioning look and she motioned for him to follow her. She led them to the side of the hotel and stopped in front of a wall. Jiraiya gave her this crazy look but it changed when they heard the voices from inside the building.
"My 'Saehada' eats up chakra. Now that your jutsu is gone, you shouldn't be any more trouble. First of all… Should I chop off a leg or cut off an arm?" Kisame gloated and Maiko looked at Jiraiya. As Maiko used her Mokuton, or Wood Release, technique to open the wooden wall, Jiraiya called a frog summon to block the sword that was coming down on Naruto. It drew attention to Maiko and Jiraiya's presence and they could see Itachi and Sasuke near each other, Sasuke was on the ground, his face etched in pain.
"I'm better at getting girls than they are trying to get me. Even though it doesn't look like it. It's my… specialty." Jiraiya exclaimed as his opener to the shocked looks from Itachi, Kisame, and Naruto. Maiko wanted to snort, but she restrained herself. Instead she focused on condensing her chakra net to fill the hallway and kept her gaze on the injured Sasuke. She assessed his wounds but kept her peripheral gaze on Itachi and Kisame.
"I, JIRAIYA, THIS EPITOME OF MANLINESS WILL FALL FOR NO WOMAN'S FEMINE WILES! WHEN YOU'RE SOMEONE LIKE ME, YOU'LL ONLY HAVE TO FLASH THAT SEXINESS TO HAVE WOMEN FALL AT YOUR FEET! Everyone remained silent in contempt. It was Naruto who broke the silence.
"Oh yeah? That girl just winked at ya and you were scampering after her. And now you're trying to look all cool and classy- you pervy sennin!"
"HEY! CAN'T YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT IN FRONT OF OTHERS?"
"SCREW THAT! IT'S THOSE GUYS OVER THERE WE SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT, PERVY SENIN!"
"Hehe… So it's one of the legendary three ninjas, the Great Jiraiya, eh? You like beautiful women but we weren't thinking that such a simple method could successfully stall you away…" Kisame mocked and Maiko bristled at the truth of the matter.
"You guys know the Pervy Sennin's 'real' identity?" Naruto asked with curiosity and Maiko wanted to pat him on the head and giggle at his naivety but the situation would not call for it.
"Er, not really, I wouldn't call that a 'real' identity…" Jiraiya explained, or attempted to.
"In any case, it seems you have already undone the genjutsu binding the woman." Kisame cut Jiraiya off and brought their attention back to the situation at hand.
"You guys wanted to draw me away so you used the sharingan to cast genjutsu on the woman, huh? Not a very manly way of doing things." Jiraiya said while putting the unconscious woman on the ground, leaning up against the wall.
"So you really are after Naruto…" Jiraiya stated grimly and Maiko resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the fact that he didn't quite believe her until just now. She heard a gasp come from Naruto and the urge to protect him increased hundred fold. Itachi and Kisame remained unphased.
"No wonder Kakashi and Maiko knew about this. You were the source of information." Itachi replied calmly and continued. "To abduct Naruto. Those were the orders given to us by the higher echelons of our organization, Akatsuki."
No one spoke after this but stared each other down. Naruto was frozen from shock; Maiko could tell this by the way he held himself. She wished she could hug him and explain all of this to her otuoto while taking him back home to Konoha but it was never that simple. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the toad Jiraiya conjured up disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"You won't get Naruto." Maiko growled.
"And why not?" Itachi countered.
"Because right now, right here, you two will die by our hands." Jiraiya jumped in as the two lowered themselves into their perspective fighting stances.
"Don't do it. This guy is mine!" A voice commanded with venom and strength. Jiraiya, Naruto, Maiko, and Kisame watched in surprise as Sasuke lifted himself shakily off the ground. Itachi just coolly turned around to face his little brother.
"I have absolutely no interest in you right now." This response only seemed to infuriate the young Uchiha genin, but he wasn't able to do anything because Itachi side-kicked him into the wall with lightning speed characteristic of the missing-nin.
"SASUKE!" Naruto shouted in concern and shock. When he got no response he screamed, "YOU ASSHOLES!" to Itachi and Kisame. He was going to launch himself at the two S-class missing-nins when Sasuke was able to gather his wits once more.
"NARUTO! I told you… DON'T!" He yelled and stopped Naruto in his tracks. Maiko noticed little shadowy pock marks on his arm, showing that Sasuke was beginning to tap into the curse mark's powers. This explained how he was still able to be conscious, let alone move.
"This fight is mine." Sasuke continued unphased or oblivious to the fact that he was accessing the curse mark. Itachi calmly strode over to the seated Sasuke.
"COME ON!" The younger Uchiha challenged. With the no other retort or reply Itachi punched Sasuke in the sternum. It was so hard that the impact could be heard from where Maiko and the others were standing, the groan that erupted from Sasuke just added to the effect.
"No mercy at all…" Kisame commented as Itachi stepped back, echoing the horrified thoughts of Maiko. Jiraiya remained silent as Naruto growled. Itachi then grabbed Sasuke by the throat and lifted him up against the wall. Maiko could feel Itachi's chakra build and mold and she knew that he was going to put a genjutsu on Sasuke. She moved out of her stance slightly so she had the ability of moving to Sasuke's aid and remain in her fighting stance but she saw Kisame twitch and match her movements. She realized then that no matter how much she wanted to save Sasuke she would be stopped by Kisame. So Maiko stayed put and tried to think of a way to get around Kisame and to stop Itachi, but she couldn't think of a solution fast enough.
"Itachi, I advise you against using your eyes so many times in a single day…" Kisame warned nonchalantly in between Sasuke's screams. The screams were of pure terror and agony and Maiko could not believe the man who was doing this used to be the Itachi Uchiha she used to date and cared for. The same Itachi who doted upon the little brother he was now torturing with genjutsu.
"ASSHOLES!" Naruto screamed once more and started to run towards the two brothers. Kisame went to stop him but Jiraiya did a hand seal that released so much chakra that made everyone freeze.
"Ninpou Gama Guchi Shibari!" Jiraiya annunciated and the hallway walls, floor, and ceiling changed composition. It transformed into a pink squishy substance that reminded Maiko of intestines. The wall seemed to suck the unconscious Sasuke in which effectively made Itachi release his younger brother in shock and disgust. Maiko could see the stuff start to surround Kisame's foot.
"Too bad Itachi, Kisame, you are already inside my stomach." Jiraiya stated menacingly.
"Why are you weak?" She heard Itachi mutter and noticed that Sasuke had once more regained consciousness.
"Still not enough… hatefulness." He continued and Maiko shivered at his tone.
"Black magic to summon the esophagus of the giant toad from Myouki Mountain, Rock Inn. You wanted criminals; hope you enjoy being food to Iwagama!" Jiraiya continued on in a menacing tone not noticing the exchange between the two Uchihas.
"Wha..? What the heck is going on here?" Naruto asked, panic evident in his voice.
"Naruto, Maiko, stay still! Don't worry it's just my jutsu!" Jiraiya explained for Naruto at the end. Which immediately calmed Naruto but Maiko was still on edge because of the rise in chakra in Itachi.
"Kisame, come!" Itachi ordered and Kisame swiped his legendary sword at the muscle surrounding his foot, effectively destroying it before he ran towards Itachi.
"No one sneaks away without my awareness from here!" Jiraiya gnarled and applied more chakra to the walls surrounding them. The two Akatsuki members continued to run to their only escape, the window, picking up their paces as the muscle began to close around the window. They rounded a corner and were out of sight but Maiko could still feel their chakra presences with her net. Out of nowhere there was an enormous release of chakra that was physically felt by everyone, doubly so for Maiko because she also sensed it through her chakra net. Jiraiya began to run to see what happened but Maiko knew already.
"Why's this happening?" Naruto asked as he followed Jiraiya. She moved as well but Maiko went straight to the unconscious Sasuke. She knew that Itachi and Kisame were long gone.
She put her hand to Sasuke's face and felt how clammy it was and when she checked his pulse Maiko could feel it's steady but weakened beat; it was similar to Kakashi's condition right now. This confirmed to her that what both Kakashi and Sasuke were suffering from is a genjutsu that strips away one's senses. There were only two ways to come out of the genjutsu. One was for the ninja who created the genjutsu to release it or a skilled medic-nin have to do it. And by how powerful the genjutsu was and how deep the two were under, an extraordinary medic-nin at that would be needed to bring Kakashi and Sasuke back to the land of the living. Maiko barely heard Jiraiya and Naruto around the corner but from what she could hear, she could guess what was going on.
"AH! They're gone!" Naruto yelped in surprise.
"What's with this fire? I'd say it's black…" Naruto commented.
"Don't stupidly move closer to it!" Jiraiya barked and Naruto let out an "EHH?"
"Alright… SEALING JUTSU! SEAL FIRE HIGHEST RANK!" Jiraiya shouted after Maiko heard a rustling of paper that she knew must have been a scroll. Naruto let out another squeak of surprise.
"Alright! Well now, everyone okay after that? Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked with crossed his arms as he came around to see Maiko and Sasuke.
"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed and rushed over to the boy who was still a part of the esophagus wall. Jiraiya stomped one foot and it all began to retract into the wood, slowly sliding Sasuke to the ground. Maiko helped the genin down and continued to do her check up on the genin to identify other injuries he had sustained during the confrontation. Out of nowhere a kunai flew in between the space of Jiraiya and Maiko. Jiraiya turned around just in time see a flying man with his foot outstretched.
"DYNAMIC ENERGY!" The jounin in the green jumpsuit yelled as he sailed toward the group.
"Gai?" Maiko and Jiraiya both questioned. But Jiraiya idiotically did not move as Gai's flying side-kick landed and hurtled the perverted sennin away from Naruto, Sasuke, and Maiko.
"Huh?" Gai asked confused upon realization of who he just kicked. Jiraiya growled and said something along the lines that it was intentional. But then again he was holding his nose and thus covered his mouth, muffling his words.
"Oh no… Sorry for the direct attack. I was in a rush with using my forehead protector as a mirror and didn't mean it. The forehead protector didn't give a clear enough picture, and so I hit your face by accident." Gai chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he explained what happened after Jiraiya picked himself up from the ground and put a tissue up his nose to stop the bleeding.
"You didn't do it on purpose?" Jiraiya asked astonished but recovered and continued. "Well, that's alright then. Anyway, Sasuke needs to get to the hospital. He seems to have gotten a fractured rib and for some reason, the sharingan caused a mind attack to make him lose his senses."
"MAIKO-CHAN! PERVERT SANIN! Sasuke… Is he going to be okay?" Naruto yelled in horror but softened at the end in concern.
"He took a tolerable amount of mental damage…" Jiraiya stated but did not elaborate which made it sound even worse to Maiko and probably Naruto.
"What the hell! What did that guy do to Sasuke?" Naruto growled and Maiko noticed that her otuoto clenched his fists and was shaking, barely controlling his anger.
"Pervert Sanin, what do you say? A change in plans! Some time ago, it wouldn't mean anything, but not this time. Time to track down those "black mantle" men! I will take care of business with that guy! And since that's the case, I'm going after him!" Naruto announced.
"Humph. You go after him right now and you'll be killed. That guy's on a whole different level. He came because of you. His distance is the only thing stopping him from-" Jiraiya said but Naruto interrupted him.
"Well! What kind of guy always escapes? Everyday being fearful, living in a nightmare!" He tried to explain that he was not going to live in fear, that he was stronger than that. This made Maiko a bit sad because she knew that Naruto was like this because of the environment he grew up in, the constant fear he held that someone or a group of some ones would raid their house and kill them. She was sad for this because this showed her that Naruto was still affected by it, even after all of these years.
"Shut up for a minute." Jiraiya threatened and his tone stunned and scared Naruto into silence.
"You are weak," The Sanin stated simply and truthfully and Naruto had no response to that. This made her give Jiraiya a dirty and disapproving look, apparently she wasn't the only one to do so.
"Excuse me Maiko, Gai, this child's feelings are understandable but we still must quickly rescue Sasuke." Jiraiya stated to the other jounins, trying to explain why he was so hard on the genin when the jounins gave Jiraiya hard looks at his reaction.
"Kakashi suffers approximately the same jutsu. He stays in bed until his senses return to normal." Maiko stated and decided to move on. She agreed that they needed to focus on helping Sasuke and Kakashi rather than seeking revenge.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in surprise while Jiraiya did not reply.
"Medical care specialists should be around in case this should happen, don't you think?" Gai commented thinking along the same lines as Maiko.
"So… to go searching for that person." Jiraiya responded cryptically and the three looked at him in surprise and curiosity.
"That person… Could it be?" Maiko asked in horror but no one seemed to notice.
"She is one of the three Nins like me. This will work as payment for the illness." Jiraiya decided to explain as he noticed the confused look on Naruto's face. He then motioned for everyone to get ready to leave.
Maiko picked up Sasuke and placed him on Gai's back while Naruto and Jiraiya rushed to get their stuff together. Once that was done the group left the hotel and walked together until they reached the crossroad the signaled the end of the village. Jiraiya and Naruto were going to head left and towards one of the gambling capitals of the region whereas Gai, Maiko, and Sasuke were to head right back to Konoha. This was the second time Maiko was supposed to part ways with Naruto and this time she felt even more nervous and anxious then before after today's events.
"Jiraiya-sama please find Tsunade-sama and bring her back to us!" Gai asked with enthusiasm that Maiko wished she could feel. All she could do was hug Naruto as hard as she could and gave a meaningful look to Jiraiya. He understood what she was silently telling him, she could tell by the way he nodded his head and the look in his eyes was grave. It wasn't until Jiraiya did this that Maiko finally let go of her hold on Naruto.
"Don'tcha worry, we'll find her! Take care of Sasuke Nee-chan, Mr. Thick-Brows!" Her otuoto responded with determination oozing out of every single pore in his body. This made Maiko smile a real smile for the first time that day and Jiraiya even ruffled his hair. Both were proud of the genin before them for his resilience.
"Well, Gai, Maiko, we'll be leaving Sasuke in your guys' care." Jiraiya concluded and this time Maiko really did roll her eyes at Jiraiya's obviousness and repetitiveness. But she wasn't able to say anything for Gai addressed Naruto.
"Naruto! You've got guts; I like kids like that! Here, I'm giving this to you!" Gai said as he hunched over to grab something from his vest and Maiko was impressed that he didn't drop the unconscious Sasuke on his back. The look of curiosity and suspense found its way onto Naruto's face.
"This is the reason why Lee is strong…" Gai did not finish his sentence leaving Naruto in even further suspense.
"EH? WHAT? WHAT?" Her otuoto asked with glee and impatience.
"THIS!" And Gai whipped out an identical green spandex jumpsuit. Naruto gaped while Jiraiya and Maiko had a grim expression on their faces.
"It's the ultimate stream-lined, form-fitting, easily-accessible, perfectly-made, bodysuit! Wear it while training and you'll know the difference! You'll never look back! Our Lee wears it 24/7 and of course, it is my most-beloved piece of ninja gear one must-have!" Gai explained in one breath.
"COOOOL!" Naruto yelled and accepted the green jumpsuit. Maiko felt a sweat drop from her forehead at this. It was bad enough with his orange outfit; if he started wearing the green spandex suit as well Maiko would die from the fashion disaster. She would just have to wait to talk to Naruto until after he got back about such matters.
"Um, yes thank you Gai for that lovely present but Jiraiya and Naruto should really start getting on their way if they want to make any head way in finding Tsu- in finding Jiraiya's friend." Maiko began in a rush pushing Naruto and Jiraiya towards their road but faltered at the mention of her second cousin.
All three men caught this. Naruto and Gai gave her questioning looks; neither understood why she did falter in saying Tsunade's name. But Jiraiya knew about her relationship to Tsunade… or lack of relationship. He gave her a sympathetic look and agreed with her by walking down the road dragging Naruto with him. Naruto fought him and wiggled his way free before running all the way back to Maiko and giving her one last hug.
"I will be back soon so don't worry about me Nee-chan and stop looking so sad." Naruto said to her and gave her a squeeze before looking up at her. Maiko could feel the tears prick in eyes and she gave Naruto her brilliant smile that he loved so much. She then kissed his nose and ruffled his hair before releasing him. He took off towards Jiraiya and waved back to her and Gai. She watched them go until they were out of sight.
Maiko exchanged a glance with Gai and they too left. On their way back to Konoha Maiko renewed her chakra net to maintain a 10m radius around the three of them. But even doing this was taking its toll on her already taxed chakra reserves. The only thing that was keeping her going was the trees surrounding her that she was tapping into. But the group of three made it back to Konoha in one piece and went straight to the hospital explaining to the hospital staff what had happened to Sasuke and the connection to Kakashi. With this the hospital staff set out and retrieved Kakashi and set the two up in the hospital to await the arrival of Tsunade Senju. Maiko had visited Kakashi for a brief period of time but didn't officially sit down until she went to Sasuke's room.
This was because everyone was always talking to her, trying to figure out what exactly happened with Itachi. It was insufferable having to detail the same story over and over again for strangers. So she escaped to Sasuke's room which oddly had remained quiet and unvisited, his fan-girls having not found out yet about his condition. Maiko let out a sigh when she finally sat down and didn't have to stand on her feet any longer, letting the exhaustion over take her body. But she was still attentive to notice that a third chakra presence had entered the room; a third presence that she would recognize anywhere, a presence that she had experienced numerous times that day, more than in the past couple of years.
"Itachi," She stated with no emotion, she had expended all of it earlier that day during their past two encounters, or so she thought.
"Maiko," The cool voice greeted back and Maiko could hear and feel him walk towards her but she continued to remain watching Sasuke. When he put a hand on her shoulder, Maiko felt a jolt of energy that got her standing up, the chair clattering across the floor, and backing away from Itachi.
"Don't run. Please, I just want to talk to you." Itachi stated and even though most people wouldn't have noticed it, Maiko heard the plea in his voice. But she continued to take one step back with every step forward he took. Unfortunately, she was stopped by the wall which allowed Itachi to invade her personal space.
"Maiko, please believe me, I have missed you. I have never betrayed you and I never will." He said quietly and pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Maiko couldn't move, couldn't breathe, she just stood there locking her green eyes with his blood red ones. He took her inaction as acceptance of his words because he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Again, Maiko could only stand there: immobile. Her mind was blank and her emotions were warring against each other.
On one side, her emotions were embracing the familiarity of the kiss, of Itachi's close presence in general. But then her other half was reminding her of all the pain she had suffered because of Itachi, of all of the things he did that had lead him to becoming an S-class missing-nin that joined a group bent on kidnapping Naruto and stealing the nine tails out of him. Because of this her body remained still as Itachi just kissed her, he did not push for access to the inside of her mouth but worked his lips over her own. Their bodies were not touching each other except for their mouths but Maiko could feel the passion from Itachi. That was the strange thing about Itachi, everything about him screamed cold and impassiveness but when he made physical contact it was hard not to notice the passion and emotion spark off of him like fire. It just consumed the person, the same way it was doing to Maiko now.
"What the-?" Asuma exclaimed and both he and Kurenai threw their kunais at Itachi, careful not to hit Maiko. The kunai hit their mark and Itachi disappeared in a cloud, his clone dispersed. Even after Itachi's clone was gone Maiko remained impassive and stiff. It wasn't until Kurenai swam into view that she finally broke out of her trance.
"Mai-chan?" Kurenai asked hesitantly and with one simple touch on the shoulder, Maiko broke down and cried. Kurenai quickly hugged Maiko before the two lowered to the ground. As Asuma walked over to rub her back and while Kurenai attempted to mutter soothing words to Maiko, the two shared confused glances as to what happened and why Maiko would be reacting like this. But they both remained quiet as they tried to comfort their crying friend.