Chapter 32: Angel of Death

"Hey, is that Angel?" I heard the familiar voice of Shoichi. I blinked and wiped the tears away as they approached. Shoichi put a hand out to me with a curious expression. "You okay, Angel?" I nodded and took his hand and he helped me up...not that I needed his help. He laughed. "You look like you've seen a ghost! I bet tonight was overwhelming, right?" I simply gave him a nod. He grinned. "Let us walk you home." And they did. Him, the body guard and a couple of girls all walked with me to the apartment building.

I turned to them and bowed. "Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow."

The other three kept going on their way and Shoichi hung back. I looked to him curiously. "Hey, Angel..." he looked like he was trying to find the words, "maybe...sometime you could hang out with me...you know...have dinner or something?"

I sighed with a light smile on my face. It was against my rules to date anyone who was related to the target. It was against my rules to date anyone, actually and I peered into his features. He was nervous and not acting like a pompous prick. My smile became more genuine. "Because you showed me a sweeter side to you, I'd be happy to join you...sometime."

His excitement radiated from him and he took my hands. "Oh, Angel, I'll plan everything out!" He grinned. "See you later!" He said as he turned to follow his friends.

My expression became cold and withdrawn as I watched him go. I have to end this soon...before I grow attached. I turned to go inside the building and when I got to my apartment I quickly moved to close the curtains and sank to the floor, my back to the wall.

I was taking breaths to calm myself. What is Itachi doing here? He's so close to Konoha...and telling me that I broke my promise to him...what is he thinking? I took another breath.

I thought about my promises. The first: to live the best life possible. I thought that I was doing my best...I was taking bad guys out and making money doing it. The second: to not return to Konoha. I've stayed away so far, though, admittedly I was not very far from the village now. And the third: I would always be here for Itachi. He left me alone and never returned, so that couldn't be it.

My eyes widened. He thinks I'm a stripper, a real one! I put my face in my hands, blushing. I'm an idiot. He thinks that I broke my first and most important promise to him...! I removed my hands from my face and leaned my head against the wall. Why the hell does he care? Pondering this question made my head hurt and I decided to try to wash my thoughts away in the shower. It didn't help so I tried to go to bed and sleep. After laying in bed for two hours, I realized that I wasn't going to sleep, so I decided to go for a walk, putting on my shinobi outfit first. I took extra care to make sure I didn't forget my mask. I didn't want anyone to recognize me and I left the apartment building. There wasn't anyone out which came as a relief to me and I left Tanzaku town to blow off some steam in the forest. I trained by myself for an hour or so. The full moon kept everything illuminated and after training, I approached a river and sat there, staring into the glistening waters.

I could feel a presence and chose to wait for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Have you come to scold me...or kill me?" I tilted my head back, looking to the trees where I saw a dark figure leaning against one of them. The person straightened and made his way into the moonlight, no longer wearing a long coat with red clouds. A sarcastic smile spread across my lips. His cold eyes met mine and he sat beside me at the river bank.

He was quiet for a moment before peering into my eyes. "You dance for scum."

I innocently tilted my head. "They pay a lot of money for good dancers, you know." He was glaring at me now and I fell silent, trying to keep my composure. My eyes dropped from his, I couldn't keep my act up. "I'm not really a dancer..." my voice was a whisper.

He was watching me with that cold stare. "I've heard rumors of a rising bounty hunter who has grabbed the attention of many..."

My eyes widened. He knows? I looked up at him, eyebrows creased.

"I wonder who this bounty hunter is...who goes by the name of Angel..." he peered up at the moon. His handsome features were breath taking.

I bit my lip in thought. "Itachi-sama...the coat you were wearing at the bar..." I paused for a moment to get a hold of my nerves. They were going crazy. "...I've seen it before."

His eyes narrowed. "Stay away from people with those coats, Shikara."

I glared at him. How dare he tell me what to do... "No promises."

His eyes locked with mine as he leaned towards me. "Do. Not. Go near them." He repeated.

I stood and faced him crossing my arms. "Why? Are you a part of some nasty gang now!? What the hell, Itachi!?" I completely abandoned my fear and composure, practically yelling at him. It was a mistake and I felt my feet lose their footing as I gracefully fell to the ground. Itachi had low-swept kicked my legs out from under me.

I gasped in air after having lost it and Itachi was over me with a very serious look, one of his hands pulled the mask down to reveal the rest of my face. His eyes seemed to be filled with rage again and the hairs on my body stood on end.

After a moment he seemed to cool off a little, seeing the fear flash through my eyes as I stared up at him. He sighed and continued to explain. "They are dangerous in ways that you haven't yet seen, Shikara. The people you have hunted this far do not compare."

"Dangerous...you mean like you?" I glared up at him. I watched his expression closely and there was a sting of hurt as he stared into my eyes for what felt like a long time. I felt bad for snapping at him like that. I knew better than anyone that Itachi wasn't a bad person...I closed my eyes. "I'm sorry...Itachi-sama..."

He released me before standing. "You're creating enemies without realizing." He warned, before turning away and disappearing into the night.

I sat up and buried my face in my hands. He's so close and yet so far away... When I finally finished sulking, I returned to my apartment and tried to get some rest.

The next day I looked like crap. Dark circles were forming under my eyes as I gazed at myself in the mirror while brushing my teeth. I quickly applied some makeup to cover my lack of sleep and let my hair drape down my left side. I packed a bag for tonight and slung it over my shoulder. It had everything I brought for this assassination.

I must make my move...tonight.

I put on my best game face as I entered the bar. Shoichi was there to greet me. "Angel! I love that you're always early. Come sit, my father and I have some things we would like to discuss."

I gave him a sweet smile, though something didn't feel right. "Okay."

Shuji greeted me by kissing the back of my hand. He was a true gentleman...as long as things went his way. "Angel..." he looked up at me with a dangerous grin, "please join us." He guided me to the booth we sat at last night, still holding my hand as we went.

He had me sit in the middle, between him and his son, the body guards sat on the ends and every one of them were eyeing me with an air of curiosity. I felt a little uncomfortable, however I kept a classy appearance as I sat there and waited to see what this was about. I felt another set of eyes on me and glanced over. Itachi was sitting alone in the booth he had been in the night prior. My eyes narrowed at him for just a second before returning my calm gaze to the current men sitting around me.

"Angel," Shuji spoke quietly as to not disturb any of the clients, even though his personal booth was secluded from any of the others. "You said last night that you came from a village that had fallen four years ago..."

I gave him a slight nod. "Yes, sir.

He paused, looking intently into my eyes as a waitress placed water in front of everyone. Shuji elegantly took a sip and sat the glass down, leaning back and never taking his eyes off of me. "Four years ago...a band of rouge ninja demolished that village, taking everything valuable and slaughtering everyone there...except for one."

My eyebrows creased a little. This was starting to sound bad.

"There was one survivor," Shuji continued, "who is said to have taken vengeance and started their interesting career as a bounty hunter." The table became tense as Shuji's eyes narrowed at me. "Does this ring any bells?"

A small smile spread across my lips. "Shuji, sir, you believe that I could be that bounty hunter?" His eyes were tense and the body guards looked like they were about to pounce.

"You've been sloppy, Angel of Death." Shuji replied. Shoichi had a shocked look on his stupidly handsome face and the body guards had their hands on the hilt of their blades.

I looked to each of them, my eyes meeting Shuji's last. "It's true...though I'm not sure I appreciate the nickname...I suppose it's fitting." I replied giving a sheepish smile. "And you're right, I have been sloppy this time around...you see, I've been quite distracted." Shuji was glaring at me and Shoichi was now leaning away from me looking like a scared little bitch.

"Distracted, you say?" Shuji replied.

My eyes never left his and I leaned a little forward, causing the guards to stand and halfway draw their swords before Shuji put a hand up to stop them and let me speak. A few of the patrons were beginning to take notice of what was happening at our booth. I smiled, amused. "Yes, I've been distracted because...well...you see...there is one other person who has been coming here...who is far more dangerous than you, Shuji." My smile became a dark grin. "More powerful than your body guards here." I waived a hand in their direction before pausing to glance at Itachi who I knew now for certain was eavesdropping. He was glaring at me, the fire in his eyes burned a bright red. I grinned. "See? Isn't he fearsome?" My hand guided in Itachi's direction and all the men around me looked. The last thing they ever saw was the death glare of an Uchiha.

I collected the head of Shuji, ignoring the screams and panic that had erupted throughout the establishment. Those poor fools were too easy, getting distracted like that. Tetsip, Shoichi's bodyguard, hadn't noticed that I had swiped his spare blade before cutting them all down during my distraction.

I calmly slung my bag over my shoulder again, still grasping the hair of Shuji's head in one hand and slowly made my way for the exit. All but one panicked and ran and as I passed by...I gave Itachi a sideways smirk before disappearing.