Wolf Thief
Chapter 27: Ambush
Someone poked her.
In all senses it was more like a painful jab.
"Ai-chan. Ai-chan." The second time her name was said the idiot elongated it. She was reluctant to wake up now that she was positive yesterday had not been a nightmare. Tobi poked her again. Maybe if she held her breath and didn't move they'd think she had died and leave her. Unfortunately she knew that wasn't going to work. Another poke.
"Will you quit poking me!" Aiyana snapped.
"Oh Ai-chan! You're awake! Tobi thought you died!"
Aiyana wished she had. At least then she wouldn't have to put up with the blundering idiot. She huffed and watched as Adrik and Itachi finished cleaning up the camp. The sun was barely over the horizon by the time they were all up and moving. Itachi kept her hands tied behind her back but did not put a gag in her mouth. He warned her to stay quiet for the day or he would gag her again though.
They kept a formation. Tobi usually was in the front simply because he'd run ahead in excitement and then have to wait for them to catch up. Adrik was after Tobi keeping far enough away where most would assume he wasn't part of their group. Itachi remained behind her watching the ropes on her wrists for any fray or attempt to escape. Aiyana, caught in between probably the two worst people in the world, sulked.
Haka, however, would have been humming if her vocal cords allowed her too. "Aiyana, this situation isn't too bad. Sure, you're trapped with the village idiot, your conniving father, and the man who murdered Mingan, but at least you're not dead."
Aiyana rolled her eyes at the spirit's attempt to brighten her day. "Yeah, at least I'm not dead. Seriously Haka if that's all you can come up with then just be quiet."
"Fine, Miss Snippy. On top of not being dead, you're also not poor or sick or being experimented on or trapped in jail. You are outside breathing fresh air and have chances to escape. What are you planning to do anyways? To escape?"
"I'm not snippy," Aiyana whined.
"You haven't thought of an escape plan, have you?"
"Normally the people I'm escaping from aren't as strong or clever as Uchiha-san, okay? They're always lacking! I need a way to outsmart and I'd rather not deal with Tobi and that bastard on top of Uchiha. I was just going to wait till after Amegakure."
Haka snorted and shook her head. Amusement shined in her gold eyes. "Excuses Ai-chan. Take this challenge head on."
"Ha! Head on! I'd rather sneak around the back and pounce on it. What are you so happy about anyways?"
"We're outside again."
Aiyana waited a moment for Haka to add more, but the spirit remained silent and content. "That's it?"
"Yes."
"Really, as in seriously, you're happy because we're outside?"
"Ai-chan, don't forget that I'm a wolf. I don't mind caves since we tend to use them as dens, but it's been over a week since the last time we were outside. It's nice to be surrounded by trees again."
"Yeah, and it'd be nicer if my hands weren't tied up by these damn ropes."
"Then I guess you ought to untie them."
"With the Uchiha watching me like a hawk? I'm not going to get very far." But she'd get somewhere, Aiyana realized slowly. "He'd have to retie the ropes."
Haka's grin showed all her canines. "Yes, he would and you'd have free hands for a short while."
"Think I can get a knife off of him?"
"Probably. It's just a matter of hiding that knife."
"I've got pockets."
"As long as he doesn't know you have—"
"Anywhere will work. Excellent plan if I do say so myself."
"And who helped you come up with it?"
"My own brilliant mind."
Haka scoffed and settled back into her quiet, watchful presence mode while Aiyana went to work on the ropes. It was difficult working on them while walking and Itachi's watchful eyes behind her meant she had to keep her movements small and uninteresting. If she frayed a few strands with her nails then she'd probably be able to make it noticeable by dinner.
Tobi eventually started complaining he was hungry. Initially Itachi and Adrik ignored him, but she had to admit that when the masked member wanted to be noticed then he'd get noticed. She could feel Itachi's annoyance radiating behind her as Tobi clung onto his arm.
"Ita-chan! Tobi is so hungry! Please feed Tobi!"
His begging reminded her of her scene in the kitchen when she first arrived at the Akatsuki base. Grinning, she turned to face the two of them. "Tobi-chan, I think that will only work if you're a girl."
"Oh!" Aiyana wondered how long it would take before he realized that she was the only girl in the group. After several seconds (which was several too long) he looked her over. "Ai-chan is a girl! You can ask Ita-chan!"
"It's Aiyana," she muttered crossly. "And I sincerely doubt that Uchiha-san will listen to a word I say." A sly grin settled on her lips as she looked the deeply annoyed Uchiha in his red eyes. "But I can give it shot anyways."
"Enough!" Adrik snapped. "Uchiha-san, if this is how you handle to teenagers then I place no trust in your leadership skill."
Aiyana snorted. "Like you have any."
"I certainly have more than a boy half my age," Adrik spat out.
Aiyana glanced at Itachi expecting anger or at the least irritation. Instead she saw that his expression was completely blank. Why wasn't he defending himself against this bastard? He never brushed off her insults without responding, so why do it with him? Well, though she didn't like either of them, she still felt more of a connection with Itachi than her own father and would rather see Itachi win the argument. Even if she had to do it for him.
"And less than a ninja," she retorted harshly.
"Aiyana!" She twisted on her heel to face the Uchiha and gritted his teeth. He doesn't get mad at Adrik for insulting him, but gets mad at her when she tries to defend him. Where was the sense in that logic? "Leave it be. We'll be stopping for lunch and water for ten minutes."
Her blue eyes darkened but she managed to keep herself from snapping at him. Adrik's own blue eyes lit up in amusement. The ass probably thought that he won the argument. For one second his eyes connected with hers. Angry, she lifted her lip to bare her teeth and gave a snarl in his direction. A firm hand fastened onto the ropes that kept hers together and forced her to sit on the ground. Aiyana immediately turned her snarl to the Uchiha. In return, he stared her down refusing to look away until she did first. There was no way she was going to look away. No. Fucking. Way. But he kept staring and she swore that the rings around his pupils would occasionally spin. Itachi probably knew that looking away would give her some semblance of dominance over the situation. The rings spun again. His cold, red eyes seemed to begin to bleed into her sight.
Huffing, Aiyana looked away. Satisfied that he had won the fight, he sat a good arms distance away. "Do you plan to eat today, Shijo-san?"
She snorted and, as if to answer the question, got up and moved so she was further away from him and leaning against a tree. While the Akatsuki members were busy eating, she rubbed the ropes against the rough bark fraying the ropes far faster than her single nail. When they began to pack up their lunches she heard the last strand snap and the ropes fell off her wrists.
Aiyana didn't hesitate. The moment the ropes came off, she got to her feet and took off at a run. Behind her she could hear a very clear "shit" and then the sounds of pursuit.
"Faster, damnit, faster."
"Aiyana, used that technique the Uchiha showed you on land," Haka suggested calmly.
"I don't have time to concentrate chakra while these assholes are chasing me!" Aiyana quickly swerved her way between a thick batch of trees. One of the branches above shook but she didn't dare look up.
"Then do it while you run."
"And crash into a tree? I don't think so! There has to be somewhere I can hide! If only I had a smoke bomb or something!"
"Ai-chan, we both know that you aren't going to get far. You just want that knife, remember?"
"Yeah, but we don't need them to be suspicious. If I just give up Uchiha-san will definitely think something is up. And who knows, Haka? Maybe if I run fast enough I really will—"
"Fuck!" Aiyana shouted skidding to a halt as the Uchiha jumped down from the trees in front of her. She didn't, couldn't, hesitate before taking off in a different direction. Only to realize that she was heading straight towards the cliff face that had been walking parallel to all day. The asshole was trying to corner her like a rat. Gritting her teeth she turned again so she was partially running in the direction she had a come from.
"Ai-chan, are we playing tag? Are you it?" Tobi called.
Aiyana stopped for a moment to see the masked member hovering on the branches above her. "Yes, tag! But I'm not it! Itachi is!"
"Oh!" cooed the member. "Then we better start running! Ita-chan is right there!"
Aiyana glanced behind her to see that the Uchiha was indeed approaching. He wasn't running; he simply walked towards her with murder spelt in his eyes. She clenched her fist and turned to run again. Only Adrik stood in her way. Without hesitation he threw a punch right into her abdomen and she doubled over while gasping for the air that was forced out.
"Really daughter? You think you can escape Akatsuki by running like a lost pup?"
Shit for someone who wasn't a ninja he could hit pretty damn hard. Aiyana felt tears prick her eyes but still managed to keep an objective in mind. Delicately she scanned Adrik's body and spotted a weapons bag tied onto his right leg. He may not be a ninja, but he certainly tried to act like one. And just in case getting his weapon failed, she knew that Itachi's weapons were on his left leg and hidden under his silly Akatsuki cloak.
With anger she didn't need to fake, she lurched forward and attempted to get a hit on Adrik. Purposely she slowed her fist down to make him feel comfortable catching it. When his hand rose up to do so, she grinned at him and quickly changed direction from his face to his stomach and then followed with her other fist and a kick for good measure. Immediately, he found himself in the position that she was in just moments ago.
"I am not your daughter!" Aiyana snapped and moved to hit his face. Doing so would get her close enough to slip her hand in his weapons bag and snatch a kunai without him realizing.
If her fist had landed.
Lithe fingers wrapped around her wrist and yanked her in their owner's direction. "Shit." Her chance to steal the kunai from Adrik was gone. It'd be far harder to get it from Itachi. She grinned diabolically at the Uchiha. "You just had to interrupt us, didn't you? I wouldn't mind getting a few more hits in if you wouldn't mind letting go." His grip tightened. "I take that as a no."
"Shijo-san, enough of this. You're wasting time and elongating our travel time." His eyes flickered to Adrik and he added quite arrogantly, "with them."
Really? The Uchiha just had to play that card. He knew that she hated all three of her traveling companions and some more than others. The longer she was with them the more miserable she was and he knew it. "Tch, I'd expect a ninja like you to be able to catch a girl like me far faster, Uchiha-san. You're the one wasting time."
"There aren't very many girls like you, Shijo-san."
Aiyana started and glowered suspiciously at the Uchiha. Was that a compliment or an insult? Why should she even care? Without wasting another moment, Itachi spun her around and grabbed her other wrist so he could tie them behind her back. As expected, she began to shout and scream and demand her immediate release, but he managed to work through all of that and tied a solid knot with an addition.
"Is that a leash?" Aiyana screeched. "Did you just put me on a fucking leash, Itachi Uchiha?"
"Shijo-san, be quiet," Itachi ordered in a hiss-like voice.
"Not until you get rid of that fucking leash, Uchiha—"
Itachi tugged out her bandana from his cloak pocket and stuffed it into her mouth. Her screams muffled she resorted to death glares that failed to kill. The Uchiha sighed in relief and nodded to his companions to get back on the road. Aiyana tugged on the rope and refused to move.
"You brought this on yourself, Aiyana-chan."
She narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears.
"You can't deny it this time. Tsuzuki-san was right, did you really expect to escape?"
Aiyana snorted which came out as an odd sounding huff.
Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his raven hair. "Let's catch up."
With a gag stuffed into her mouth, the rest of the afternoon was silent. Tobi, who had taken off after Aiyana told him that Itachi was 'it' in tag, didn't reappear until they set up camp for the night. Immediately he began to complain about how Itachi failed to chase him and that this was the worst game of tag he had ever played. The thief, now forbidden from sitting next to trees or talking, glared down the masked man in hopes that he'd shut up.
"Oh, are we playing hide-and-go-seek now?" Tobi asked bouncing with excitement.
"Don't be stupid," Adrik scolded, "we aren't out here to—"
"Quiet, both of you," Itachi ordered softly.
It took Aiyana a moment to realize what was going on.
They were surrounded.
Cat's Notes
Happy Birthday! Here's your present!
[As a note, I personally know no one who celebrates their birthday on Feb 22, but I'm sure there's a birthday somewhere out there.]
So Ai-chan is back with her usual problems! I believe I've finally gotten over my writer's block. Is it a writer's block when you know exactly what you want to write but can't put it down in words? That's what I've been dealing with these past few days. Horrible, horrible feeling.
Also I realized I made a mistake. When Itachi is talking to or around Adrik he refers to him as "Tsuzuki-san". Itachi does hold a higher position than Adrik in Akatsuki, but Adrik is older than him. Now, when Itachi is mentioning Adrik and he isn't around, then he calls him "Adrik-san". Itachi actually has little to no respect for Adrik and only acts like he does around him to avoid fights or seeming disrespectful.
On another note, this is mentioned in the second chapter, but I'm not sure you all remember, but Aiyana's last name is, by the culture, Tsuzuki. She uses her mother's last name of Shijo though. It's not particular important to plot; it has more to do with her character development and relationship with her father. I just wanted to make sure that was clear.
And another reminder, updates will continue to be completely sporadic. Expect them at any time! :) I'm evil.
Review please, me dearies!
P.S. Those of you who guessed that she hides the lock picks in her bra were right. She actually sewed them in the padding area so they're really difficult to reach and nearly impossible for others to find. Usually she never has to resort to using them. You all get an internet fudge brownie as a reward :) Cause brownies are awesome!
