Chapter 36: Taming the Demon

Itachi's eyes widened for just a moment before turning into a cold stare. I released his lip and a dark grin came over me as I watched him lick away a small droplet of blood.

His voice was chilling. "Do you like to play rough, Angel?"

A small gasp escaped me, Itachi was suddenly on top of me, holding my wrists above my head. If I thought my expression appeared dark, his bested mine by far. One of his knees drove itself between my legs and right up against me and he leaned down close so that we were eye-to-eye.

"I'll ask again, Shikara...do you like to play rough...?" The question caused a shiver to run down my spine. It was like when the silver haired man threatened to cause me pain...it excited me.

My eyes were drawn to his lip as a trace amount of blood still appeared and then my eyes met his as I licked his lip teasingly. The taste of his blood was electrifying and I grinned at him. "The question I have...Itachi-sama...is what do you consider rough?"

...

When she licked his lip and responded with a question, he knew she had flipped...and though he wasn't showing it, he was loving it. Her darkness was just as alluring as her lighter self. Itachi concluded that Shikara has both an angelic side and also a demonic one...or so he chose to call it. It flipped depending on her emotion at the time. A combination of embarrassment and irritation easily flipped the balance, however he noticed that so far when she flipped to dark, she still wouldn't do him any serious harm...yet.

He noticed, too that when her darker side was in motion, there was a red ring that formed around her irises. Depending on how angry she was, it would seem to bleed outwards to the rest of her eye, leaving the lilac color in tact. He wanted to play a little longer and test his theory's.

Itachi raised her hands higher up so that they were now touching the headboard and held them there securely with one hand. With the other he traced her neckline with his fingers and grinned when she drew in a sharp breath and let out a soft moan. His fingers went further down to her collarbone and he could feel her curling her toes. His face was now at her neck and as his last test for the night, he bit down...hard.

"Ahhh!" She screamed out, not just in pain but in pleasure.

Her reaction was nothing short of sexy as she arched her back and moaned more loudly this time as he slowly released, her fingers balled up to make fists and her legs tightened around his, still pressed against her.

She peered into his eyes with her devilish ones, then suddenly one of her legs hooked around his waist and she flipped him over so that she was now on top of him with her hands on his chest. Itachi's eyes widened slightly at her strength and speed. She was watching him with that dark grin. He felt himself lose his cold stare as she leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Careful, I'm not so sweet when pushed...and you're about to break through that threshold." Her voice was hot on his neck.

His hands gripped her hips and he grinned up at her as she sat back. "You've become dangerous, angel. Someone needs to put you in your place."

Her eyes filled with an excited gleam. "I dare you to try..."

His excitement rose as well when her words fell upon him. She was actually challenging him. Her nervousness for him was completely gone as she was attempting to take hold of a more dominant roll...and that didn't sit well with Itachi. He took both of her wrists and brought her down face-first into the pillows as he twisted around her. He held one of her wrists behind her back and another over her head. He was bent over her backside, grinning softly as she started to breath a little more heavily.

"I don't want to hurt my sweet angel, however I will not allow you to look down on me...again." He smirked. "So the next time you want to be a naughty girl, just know that I will be the one over you."

Hearing what he said took her darker side down a few pegs and she nodded to signify that she understood. He was satisfied with the response and released her and she turned to him looking as if she had been scolded. "Sorry, Itachi-sama...I don't know what came over me..."

She flipped again. Itachi breathed a small sigh of relief, he was into that dark side of her, however he had to stay in complete control the whole time, otherwise she could go wild. It wouldn't be an issue...if he knew more about it and how far she could actually go, even with him. So far, he gathered that the demonic side of her still had enough feeling and respect for him that he could sway her with a little force. It was wise to not push her demonic side too far though, even if it was him.

As for what he gathered from her angelic side, she was submissively sexy and the side of her that he didn't want to disappear. It was the side of her that still had reason, compassion and innocence. It was the side that made him feel at ease and brought him the happiness that he hadn't felt in years.

Itachi took Shikara into his arms and held her for a while. "It's okay, angel. I had some things that I wanted to test out. I'm sorry to have pushed you."

"I understand..." she replied, still unsure of herself.

Itachi peered into her eyes for a moment before laying down and gently pulling her with him. He held her close, kissing her forehead, then closed his eyes to rest.

...

Does he not fear or hate the darkness inside me? I wondered to myself as I stared into his handsome features. I closed my eyes and a light smile appeared over my lips. I guess he is the only one that could tease that darker side of me the way he just did...However...I must still find a way to get rid of it, or at least suppress it. I don't want to hurt Itachi-sama...there's so much about myself that I don't know... I snuggled into his chest and allowed sleep to take over.

When I woke, Itachi was gone but left a note on the table.

Shikara,

I have some things to do. Do not go to Konoha. I will know if you try.

-I

A shiver ran up my spine. Nope. I won't even attempt that...but god, what am I? Grounded? A flat look appeared over my expression as I grabbed my bag and began to head out the door. I can at least go to that other village nearby and see if they have anything on folklore and whatnot.

It didn't take me long to notice a crow following me from a good distance. It was definitely one of Itachi's. I sighed but kept going. If he was watching my every move then I had no choice but to comply with his rules...I didn't want to find out what he might do if I chose differently...though deep down inside I had this strange, excited curiosity. I shook my head to clear the feeling.

It took me four hours to get to the village but luckily it was still late morning. I came across a few kids, playing with marbles on the road. They all peered up at me with such innocence that it caused me to smile warmly.

"Good morning." I gently said to them and one little boy stood.

"Woah! You're super pretty!" He exclaimed.

I knelt down, giggling. "Thank you, sweetie." I winked at him. "Does this village have a library?"

Another child piped up. She had cute, pink pigtails. "Yes! We can take you, pretty lady!" She ran over to me as I stood again and she took my hand to guide me to the spot. All the other kids came along, too.

The boy I spoke to first called up to me. "Hey, miss?"

I turned my head to him, "yes?"

"What's your name?" He asked.

I smiled again, "Shikara, it's nice to meet you...?"

"Oh! I'm Rei!"

"It's nice to meet you, Rei." I giggled and by the time we arrived at the library, all six of the children had shouted their names to me. And I laughed, "well...it's nice to meet all of you." The little girl released my hand. "Thank you for showing me the way!" I waived bye to them and went inside the library.

"Good morning miss!" A nice looking older man greeted me. "Is there anything specific that you're looking for?"

I grinned. "Actually yes!" I explained what I was looking for from the different genres to narrow down on my search and he happily helped me pick out scrolls that might touch on the subject that I was looking for. I spent the rest of the day researching and sadly, didn't find anything. I sighed and helped the librarian put the scrolls away.

"You know..." the librarian started, "...if you're looking for a wide range of material, Konahagakure is the best place for it."

I sighed, "thank you, sir. Have a good night." I waived him bye and started to head back home. It would be dark by the time I would reach the cottage. The black crow followed me all the way back. There's no chance that I could go there without him knowing... I let myself in and Itachi still hadn't returned. He probably had to keep appearances with that group he's with. I decided to take a shower and rest for the night, come morning I would leave a note for him and set out to find answers again. I probably wouldn't return for a while.

...

A week passed and somehow Shikara had managed to loose the crow Itachi had sent so that he could keep tabs on her. The moment he was able, he split from Kisame and made his way to the cottage. She left a note.

Itachi,

I will keep my promise by not going to Konoha, however I'm not a child and I don't need to have a feathered spy. I'll be away until I've found something to help with my situation. Until I've found something I'll be exploring the surrounding nations. Take care!

~Shikara

He sighed. Troublesome girl... the crow wasn't meant to be a spy but rather a way to protect her in case she had run into trouble. He would have been able to find her and now...aside from Konoha...she could literally be anywhere in the world.

...

Several months passed and the other nations had nothing that came close to what was happening inside me. I was growing tired of being on the road all the time and was headed back home to recharge. The last several months were hard and because I had been running low on cash I had to hunt down some more bounties just to be comfortable.

I was maybe a couple days away from home, coming back from the Land of Lightning. I sighed, feeling defeated and was staring at the ground as I kept going. Suddenly I came across a black coat with red clouds and toes that were painted purple. A grin spread across my lips as I looked up, hopefully to see Itachi-sama. My grin fell and I was face-to-face with the silver haired man. I took a couple steps back and gazed up at him curiously.

A dark grin crossed over his face. "Hey Kakuzu...look who we have here." His husky voice was slightly alarming. He was eyeing me like I was a snack.

His partner, called Kakuzu came up beside him to peer down at me. "Hmmm, it's the enfamed bounty hunter, the Angel of Death."

My expression became surprised. "You recognize me?"

"You look different, but those eyes are a giveaway." Kakuzu replied, seeming a bit bored.

"Ah, I see." I thought that I did such a good job with this disguise, too. I pouted to myself before trying to walk around them.

"Hold it, Angel of Death." The silver haired man blocked me with his triple-bladed scythe. I eyed him curiously. "We have a score to settle."

I backed away from his scythe and tilted my head. "Score? What score?"

He leaned closer to me. "You've been stealing all the bounties."

I felt offended. "Hey, that's not how it works! First come-first served. Ever hear of that? Plus, I only hunt bounty's now if I'm desperate for cash..." I muttered that last part, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Leave her be, Hidan." Said the Kakuzu guy.

"Heh, no way! Look at her, she looks like she could be a lot of fun. Why not test her strength?" He pointed the head of his scythe at me. "What do you say? A little training never hurt anybody." The look that he was giving me said otherwise. I knew almost nothing about this guy except that he's an S-class criminal, just like the rest of the guys in this gang and I was so tired that I was hardly interested in fighting.

I sighed. "No, thank you, I just want to go home, if it's all the same." I tried to walk past him again and he took a swing at me. His partner left his side to be at a safer distance and observe what was about to transpire.

I dodged the swing and gave him an irritated look. "I take it that you won't take no for an answer..."

"Right-o, little girl." Was his simple response before lunging at me with another powerful swing.

He's slow...dodging him won't be an issue. I kept dodging his attacks, formulating a plan as we went. I had a moment to create hand signs while in the air and blew a powerful fireball jutsu at him, knocking him off balance.

He started to laugh, almost psychotically. "Yeah! That's more like it!"

I gave him a rather disturbed look before landing gracefully on my feet again and pulled the blade from my back strap. "You like that...?"

"Heh, not as much as I'll enjoy the pain I give you!" He swiped at me again and I moved out of the way. Annoyance began to show on his face. "Fight me!" He charged again and I threw my blade as hard as I could and it went right into his chest. It's over...I grinned for just a split moment before my face fell. His laughter as he pulled the blade out and tossed it to the ground sent a shiver down my spine.

This guy is nuts...he should be dead! I took a few steps back and watched as he began to approach me again...I actually started to feel a sting of fear. He enjoys the pain...welcomes it, even. Taking a quick glance around, I looked for an escape. Itachi was right, the members of this group were really on another level. If the other guy decided to join in, I may as well just dig my own grave. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my gut and I flew back into a tree and gasped for air. He had kicked me while I was lost in thought and was now coming down on me with his scythe. I rolled out of the way and decided that it was now or never...if he kept this up I would either get killed, or I would be possessed, neither one sounded good at all. I made my way deeper into the forest, following the path, I could hear his crazy laughter following behind me.

"You won't be able to run forever!"

He wasn't wrong...I had to lose him, quick. I took to the trees and tried my best to confuse him. I was going in circles now and he stood there looking around, annoyed. I found my opening and with kunai in both hands, I dropped down and intended to bury both in his skull...

Right before making contact, I felt the impact of another, who tackled me to the ground. I felt us skid and roll across the ground and just as I looked up to see the attacker, my eyes widened as I stared into the eyes of Itachi's Sharingan. A small gasp caught in my throat and I tilted my head away and closed my eyes.

"Shikara..." Itachi's low voice called to me. I peeked up at him, his Sharingan still activated. "What...are you doing?"

"Hey! Itachi, she's mine to kill!" I heard Hidan call out, approaching us with an annoyed look on his face. He paused several feet away. "Wait...Shikara? You know this chick?"

Itachi's glaring eyes never left mine. I stared coldly back at him as he pinned my wrists hard against the ground. He ruined my chances to bury those kunai in that man's brain. He spoke again with a cold tone. "What are you doing, Shikara...?"

I sighed before eyeballing Hidan. "It seems that your homie here isn't one for some friendly competition..."

Hidan pointed his scythe at me again. "You're stealing bounty's, therefore, our business...and did you seriously call me homie!?" He looked pissed.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not my fault I'm better and faster at loping people's heads off, freak." I could feel myself loosing control again.

Itachi's glare turned colder. "Silence, Shikara." I shut my mouth, still glaring over at Hidan as his partner rejoined him.

"It was just starting to get interesting." Kakuzu said, crossing his arms.

Itachi released my wrists and stood, eyeing me as his own partner, Kisame, appeared with a freaky shark grin. "Interesting, indeed." Kisame chuckled.

What did I just get myself into? I sat up and peered at all these guys with nail polish and gang coats.

"Good...now I can finish what I started." Hidan said approaching closer.

Itachi shot him a glare. "Stand down...Hidan."

Just before Hidan could curse profanities at Itachi, an even creepier guy came up from the ground, looking like some kind of venus fly trap. "Good...she's been found." Even his voice was creepy. I scrambled to my feet, ready to use another familiar jutsu to probe this freaky fucker.

Itachi turned his cool gaze back to me. "Relax, Shikara."

How the hell does he expect me to do that!? All these guys were the ones he told me to stay away from and now we were having a gathering! I put my hands down obediently but was now sending glares at everyone, aside from Itachi.

"Hah, she's obedient to Itachi? She's like a bitch..." Hidan made that comment and I nearly charged him. I could feel my eyes begin to change and Itachi stopped me in my tracks by standing in front of me, still glaring. The smirk on Hidan's face infuriated me.

"Allow me to introduce myself." Plant man said, "My name is Zetsu." My eyes locked on to him and I tilted my head, the glare in my own eyes was becoming just as cold as Itachi's.

Zetsu continued. "We are the Akatsuki." He motioned towards the guys surrounding me. "I've been tracking you for some time...and hope to recruit you."

I froze and went completely blank. This was not what I was expecting... I peered up at Itachi and his expression didn't change. He knew about this.

"Oh, no, not her..." I heard Hidan complain and I shot him another glare from around Itachi.

...

Itachi's cold stare never faltered as he watched Shikara, this is exactly why he wanted her to stay away. The skills she possesses reached the attention of those who lead the Akatsuki and they had been searching for her since. He had been slightly glad that she went on a world tour, it made it more difficult for them to find her but of course she had to run into Hidan and Kakuzu...

It was even more troublesome now because he was the only one that could keep her from making poor choices...and even now it was becoming more difficult with Hidan agging her on. The red around her irises was taking over the whites of her eyes slowly by slowly.

"Everyone...back off." He warned. The dark aura started to emit from her, she felt threatened, even with him standing before her, however she knew that he had to keep appearances, which wasn't helping the cause. If he could hold her or talk soothingly to her it would make a difference but he had to depend on her own ability to keep calm.

She then did something that shocked everyone, she sat on her knees before a bunch of criminals and began to meditate. He could hear a whispered prayer from her as she begged the gods to keep her steady. All but Hidan and Itachi took several steps back as the dark aura expanded, then slowly lightened before it dispersed. Hidan was now standing beside Itachi examining her and Itachi sent him a glare.

"Did she just...pray?"

Shikara slowly opened her eyes and they were back to normal and she blushed, putting her hands down on her lap. She looked up at Itachi, embarrassed. "Oops...I nearly lost it again..." her voice was sweet and Itachi had to close his eyes to keep his composure.

"Shikara...we as the Akatsuki...wish for you to join us." Itachi said in a flat tone.

...

I blinked a few times, observing all the men around. Three of them had actually done what Itachi suggested and had moved back and were slowly becoming less defensive. I then tilted my head at Hidan. "If you promise not to trigger me, I'll see what you are all about, I suppose..." I peered back over at Zetsu. "Otherwise you probably weren't going to give me much choice...were you?"

"On the contrary, you know very little about us, so it's a request, rather than a demand." Zetsu replied.

I thought for a while longer. "I need time to consider this proposal, if you'll allow. I usually search and destroy people like you..." I bowed my head respectfully, "...no offense."

The mixed expressions from everyone caused me to blush again and I stood up, my hands behind my back. I waited for Zetsu's response.

"It's fair to allow you time." He finally said.

"Thank you, I will return here in a days time." I shot a look at Hidan again who hadn't stopped staring at me. "I'd like to request that I not see him when I do."

A smirk appeared on his face and he turned away. "Heh, fine by me." He started to walk away which made me feel better and better with every step he took. Kakuzu followed behind after giving me a curious glance.

I bowed to the remaining three and turned to leave. What am I going to do...?