The bright moon shone the streets eerily. She glanced at the moon nervously as she didn't have much time until midnight. After the midnight, she will have no chakra for few days because it was the week. She cursed silently. This would surely lengthen her travel time since her only method of transportation would be her feet. Oh well, she couldn't help it. She couldn't stand to be in this accursed place, now that her memory was back. She had to leave here as soon as possible.
How did she end up in this kind of situation? She asked herself thousand times as she passed the streets. But still, she couldn't find answer to that. Instead of confronting about it, she would leave. Hopefully, he would forget everything, although she knew that she wouldn't.
She was a memory keeper after all.
She finally arrived where she wanted to be: Tsunade's house. She knew that Jiraiya would have told Tsunade what he was going to do. She could feel her chakra seeping away, indicating that it was getting very close to midnight. She had to hurry. Fortunately, hypnosis didn't take too much chakra.
She silently entered the house, trying to see if Tsunade was awake. The quiet, even breathing proved her to be correct. She tiptoed to the bed where Tsunade was sleeping and called for her in low, layered voice. "Wake up."
Tsunade's eyes fluttered and half opened. Her stare was blank and it looked like she was still asleep even with her eyes open. Rena calmly asked, "Do you know where Jiraiya headed?"
"...To Ame... The village hidden in Rain..." Tsunade quietly muttered. Rena raised her eyebrow in wonder. Why would he go to such place?
"He said..." Tsunade slowly answered to the question. "He is investigating… the leader of Akatsuki..."
Akatsuki... That was where Itachi once belonged, Rena thought. But who was the leader? Even she had no idea. It was such a secretive group that she couldn't even get her hands on it. She knew briefly that they were after tailed bijuus, but that was about it.
That train of thoughts painfully made her remember Naruto. He didn't see her many times, but the boy was getting attached to her immensely. He was almost considering her like what he considered Ikaru as; If Ikaru was like a father figure to him, Rena was like his mother. She laughed at the bitter thought. But this had to be done. She had to find Jiraiya and before it was too late, she had to finish one thing--something that she should have done a long time ago.
She could tell that she got all the information that she could from Tsunade. Now, it was time to pay a little visit to the older Uchiha.
"Rise, Itachi. I know you're awake."
The solemn tone of her voice told Uchiha that she was here for a purpose, not just to say hi. Slowly he rose up, gazing into her deep, dark eyes. He was surprised how much she changed. She seemed to be in
pain, confusion, but also determination to overcome those obstacles. He bowed his head slightly and asked, "What is it that you desire, milady?"
Itachi's words gave her a queer sensation, reminding her of the encounters with him. First, he visited her to ask her to join forces, and then, he took her into his captive when she was Saiyen. How funny, she thought. After all these years, I still couldn't forget about him.
But no more would she falter under the past. She had new important people, new reasons to protect this village, new purpose to stop him. She couldn't dwell in the past forever. She knew. She told herself million times, but somehow, after learning that someone actually loved her for who she was, she finally got the courage to break the tie that tangled her for many years.
"Akatsuki... Tell me everything you know. What they're after, why and who the leader is."
Itachi blankly stared at her in astonishment. He knew someone would ask him about it sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to be this soon—and he didn't expect the interrogator to be her. But somehow, he could tell that she wasn't working for the sake of Hokage or ANBU. This was for her information. Not that it made any difference. He owed his life to her. He owed his honor to her. He owed… his brother to her. He would anything he could do to help her in order to repay the debt.
"Akatsuki... was formed by runaway ninjas like myself. Right now, the leader's main goal is capture all nine bijuus. As far as I know, they have successfully captured all but Kyuubi."
A cold chill ran down Rena's spine. That meant the next target was surely Naruto...
"Why? Who is this madman planning this?"
"He says that he will build a super-weapon that will eventually lead to the self-destruction of human race. If that happens, he intends to rise as a new God."
A new God… That phrase sounded so familiar to her. He said it all the time—that he will rule over the humanity as a new God with fear. The cloud that shrouded the mysterious leader seemed to clear out. Surpassing her fear and the worst scenario bubbling in her head, she calmly asked, "And his name is…?"
"...Pein."
She jumped over his bed to the windowsill as soon as she heard the name. She burst open the window, causing a gush of night wind to come in. Before she headed off, she pointed a finger at Itachi. He felt his throat choking a little bit, but the feeling was soon gone.
"You will be forbidden to mention anything about this encounter. Do you understand?"
Itachi nodded. If that was what she wanted, then he would follow.
The Goddess was gone in the flash.
Hours later, she stopped in the middle of the wood. This was the border of Konoha. After she stepped out of this boundary, she doubted that she would never come back. Was it worth it? Was it smart of her to visit this place again?
The answer came fairly easy—yes. She got to see Naruto and everyone else, helped protecting village, and found a new courage to finish what should have been a long time ago. He would hate her for a long time, but maybe it was better for the sake of Kakashi. The thought of him made her choke with tears. She knew that if he knew who she really was, then he wouldn't forgive her and himself. This was better for both of them. And Naruto… He would live on. She would do everything in her power to ensure that. Pein will not get his hands on him.
There were many things that she wanted to tell the villagers. How she enjoyed her stay, how she felt alive and accepted, how she would never want to leave…. But what she chose to say was..
"I'm sorry..."
She had the tiniest bit of chakra left—the most amount of chakra that she could store in herself during the week. Her forehead showed the sign of red lotus and glowed. One place in the village glowed in red. That would be her last gift, hopefully, sending the message that she didn't leave in hatred.
"My last gift to you..."
Next morning, Kakashi woke up with splitting headache to find his bed... empty. He scrounged through he memory to remember what happened. He… finally confessed. And he was sure that he heard the same words coming out of her lips. But… She froze as if she was hit by immobilization jutsu, then.. all was blank.
Did she leave him? Then why? Couldn't she stand that she actually came to love a human? Or was it that she couldn't forgive herself for loving him? Doubts and confusion started bubbling in his mind. What was he supposed to do now? He opened his heart for someone for the very first time… and he couldn't honestly tell if he was accepted or not. But she was gone and that was what was important.
"Sensei!! Kakashi sensei!!" He heard a breathless voice by his door. He wasn't really in the mood of meeting someone so he decided to ignore the call.
"Sensei! I know you're in there! Please open the door. I think this has to do something with Rena."
In lightening speed, the door was open and Sakura stared at her former sensei in awe. She realized just how much effect Rena had on him. But she could ponder about that later. She grabbed his wrist and tugged.
"I think you should really see this."
Where she led him was the greenhouse. Since he was far from medic-nin, he never visited here before. Why was she dragging him here and what could possibly this have to do with Rena?
She pointed at the pond and his eyes grew wide with shock. In the pond were the most beautiful lotuses that he had ever seen. Sakura was in awe as well. This wasn't her first time seeing them but every time she saw them, she was awestruck.
"These..." She explained. "are the Red Lotuses. They are legendary flowers that are rumored to have the healing power that no herb can perform. It can purify any kind of poison and if people drink the water that boiled one petal, they will regain their health. I didn't even know they really existed until now... But the more important thing is..."
Her next words hit his heart like a hammer. "The Red Lotus is also the flower of Suzaku."
He remembered the Red Lotus mark on her forehead whenever she released her demon chakra. So... this was her doing? For what? Just to leave him like without saying anything.. How was he supposed to accept her last gift when he didn't even know how she felt about him?
"Well, there is more... and that's why I called you." She pointed to the biggest lotus in the middle. He cast his glance nonchalantly to where she pointed but his eyes were fixed there. In that lotus was a familiar headband—his headband.
"I tried to reach for it, but every time I try, the vines prevent me to do so. I didn't know who would be able to do it, and I thought..." She stopped her sentence. "Sensei?"
Kakashi couldn't even hear what Sakura was saying. Slowly, he reached out his arm. The vines came up to entangle his arm, but it was more like petting and caressing, not restricting any of his movement. He could feel Rena's warm presence in the midst of the lotuses. He finally grabbed the headband in the lotus. It felt warm and panorama of emotions went through him.
He was still confused. He still didn't know why she left, but he could say one thing.
She did love him. And that idiot left because of his sake. He headed out of the greenhouse. Sakura, surprised, called after him. But he didn't care. He had to go see Hokage immediately.
"Do you know where she went?"
Tsunade shook her head. Kakashi already tried to sense her chakra, but it was no use. Even his nin-dogs failed to detect her. She already knew about his dogs, so it was no surprise that she prepared something for that.
"Where could she have…. What are you doing?" Kakashi asked incredulously.
In front of Tsunade were bright bands of ancient language. He realized that it was what Rena called Formula. What was Hokage doing, tempering with the delicate jutsu?
"Look at this." She pointed at the three bands. "This one looks familiar to me, since I studied some ancient language. I know this one is the barrier, protecting the village from certain someone."
Kakashi listened to it interested. It was like she was going somewhere.
"Now look at these two bands. She created this one faltering people memory about Itachi and Sasuke. And look at the other one closely."
He did. And he realized something astonishing. "….It looks almost the same!" He exclaimed.
Tsunade nodded. "It could mean that she tempered with people's memory in the past. What I'm trying to do is what she was trying to hide. It will take some days, but I will do anything I can to uncover it."
"But what if it's better to be hidden? She couldn't have altered people's memory for fun. She must have had some reason to do it. Do we have rights to go against that?"
Tsunade thought for a while about his concern. "It might be. But she didn't have any rights to change people's memory either. Whatever it is, it's people's past. You can't just make them forget or have fake memories without people's consent." She quickly added, "except Uchiha's case, of course."
Kakashi nodded. He knew why Tsunade was doing it and he couldn't oppose her reasoning. She was right. Rena had no rights to temper with people's memory… or their heart.
Tsuande already knew about Rena's departure. Actually, when Sakura came to report the Red Lotuses, she realized that it was the Goddess's last gift to the village. But she had never expected to see Kakashi like this after her leaving. She figured out that something finally did happen between those two. Well, it wouldn't hurt to give him some clue about where she might be.
"If I were her..." She stated. "I would have gone to smack Jiraiya's face and..." She stopped. How much information could she give? "He headed to Ame."
Kakashi noticed that she was hiding something. "What's there at Ame?"
Tsunade sighed. He was no child and she couldn't hide this from him if he really was going to go after her. "It seems that Akatsuki leader is residing there. Jiraiya went there to find him."
Kakashi stared at her in shock. "Do you think Rena knows about the leader?"
She merely shrugged. "Well, I don't think Jiraiya would have told her that he was going to get the Akatsuki leader. And since she left, that means she knows where Jiraiya is headed. But I don't think she knows about Akatsuki."
As soon as she finished her sentence, Kakashi burst out of the room, heading to Uchiha.
First it was Rena and now Kakashi. Itachi calmly gazed at the flustered man. Kakashi evened his breath and asked, "Did you tell Rena anything about Akatsuki?"
Itachi didn't answer. Kakashi glared at the overly-calm face. "I'm asking you, Uchiha Itachi. Have you given her the information about Akatsuki or their leader?"
Again, no answer. Kakashi couldn't help but grabbing Itachi by his collar and yelling at his face. "Tell me, Itachi. Her life is in danger and all you're doing is sit here and stare at me! NOW TELL ME!"
Itachi showed no emotion but was surprised in his mind. Kakashi was a professional shinobi, there was no doubt. To see him getting this flustered and emotional was something that Itachi never expected. He must really cherish that woman, he thought.
"Kakashi." Another voice called and there was Sasuke. "If you calm down and feel closely, you can see that there is a weird concentration on Itachi, which means someone put a jutsu on him. He probably did give her the information, and she probably put a jutsu on him so that he couldn't tell anyone about it."
Kakashi stared at his former student rather dumbly. He released his hands from Itachi and apologized. Itachi didn't seem to mind. Kakashi sluggishly went out of the door.
"What are you planning to do?" Itachi asked.
"I'm going after her."
"Kakashi, she already knows about Pein! And she still went! Don't you think that you should respect her decision?"
"I should..." He sadly pulled out his headband out of his pocket. When she put a jutsu on this headband so that it would teleport to the lotuses, some of her strong emotions came with her chakra. And from that… I know that she's leaving for my sake, because that idiot is too afraid that she might hurt me. I just want to go tell her... That I don't care. I don't care if we are different. I don't care if she thinks she's going to hurt me. I'm ready for it. I just want to tell her that. If she still wishes to leave me after that..." He finished painfully. "Then I should leave her alone as well."
Sasuke was leaning against the wall and then nonchalantly told him, "I'm going with you."
"What?" asked Kakashi, surprised.
"Well, I do owe her my life. My brother paid her back by giving the necessary information to her. I want to go there and be any assistance I can."
Kakashi knew that he couldn't make Sasuke change his mind. Wearily he nodded his head.
"Ah, I think there is one more person who wishes to join." Sasuke smirked, his Sharingans activated.
There came a familiar laugh and a blond haired boy's head poked out. "I guess I'm not really good at hiding."
"Naruto?!" Kakashi was struck. If he couldn't even tell the presence of Naruto, he must have been really emotionally distressed.
"Sensei, let me go too. She always helped me in tough spot and... she kinda feels like my mom to me. I want to help her! And it would be nice to see that Ero-Sannin for a change." He grinned.
Kakashi let out a small, defeated laugh. Oh well, he knew for sure that nothing will change this knuckle-head ninja. He nodded his head. "Fine. We will go as a three-cell team to retrieve Rena and probably Jiraiya-sama. Understood?"
They all nodded and headed toward Ame.