A/N: I apologize for the delay of this chapter. With the pregnancy entering its last trimester, work and a toddler running around I find myself being a bit... braindead at the end of the day. But we are moving on, and although the updates might slow down in the future, they will come. I will finish this!
Once more, a million thanks to Katiebees for being a great Beta!
Third Year part 2
-Itachi-
Itachi observed the interaction between Kisame and the Suna puppeteer with bored interest. There was nothing else to do as they traveled through the rocky terrain of Iwa in search of their newest recruit, a sentiment which Kisame seemed to share as he needled their third party member.
"So, you make dolls," said the former Kiri nin, a sharp serrated tooth poking through his lips. "And then you...play with them."
Itachi had to commend Kisame's straight face, even if his eyes danced with mirth.
"I create puppets," intoned Sasori with pronounced aggravation, his voice rising an octave above the usual bored baritone, "and I use them to fight. Then again, that might be too complex for your understanding. Swinging a sword is dreadfully... mundane. And owning such a large one, makes one wonder whether you are overcompensating, Kisame-san."
The mirth in Kisame's eyes turned sour. "At least I still have a dick," he snarled.
"Clearly it is of no use to you," retorted Sasori.
Itachi closed his eyes and sighed at the rising tension. Funny how even world-renowned warriors such as them worried about that which dangled between their legs. "We are closing on the location," he said, hoping to remind the two men what their mission was.
A boom echoed in the distance, and soon the wooden roof of a temple came into view. The building was half carved into stone, as most buildings in Iwa were, using the rocky terrain to its advantage to create a long-lasting structure. Another smaller explosion resonated from within. It did not take them long to find the source of the commotion as frightened monks ran from the them stood a blonde teenager, who Itachi guessed was slightly younger than himself from the baby fat still lingering in his cheeks. His boyish look contrasted drastically with the wild look in his eyes and the confident smirk that graced his lips."Who the hell are ya, and what do you want, hmm?" he asked, his chin jutting up to make himself taller.
Sasori snorted, a loud clack echoing in the cavernous chamber as his puppet moved. "This is whom I have to work with? Pein can forget it."
"Who said I wanna work with you, hmm? I am a lone artist; none can challenge the beauty of my craft. Plus, I'll never get a girl if I work with some pretty face like you. So, fuck off and let me focus on making a masterpiece of this shitty temple."
"Art, you call this art, boy?" Sasori's beautifully sculpted face remained impassive, but Itachi could hear the indignation in his voice. "This instantaneous garbage you are making is an insult to the everlasting spirit of art."
Kisame leaned over Itachi, his voice a whisper. "I have a feeling they will get along swimmingly."
That is not the point! Itachi wanted to shout, but opted for a tired sigh instead. Dealing with recruitments was exhausting and having people talk to him all the time was fraying his nerves. Maybe if they finished quickly, he could make a detour and see Shisui later. He couldn't keep his escapades secret from Kisame. His partner was far too nosey for that, but as long as the former Mist nin believed he was going to the okiya to seek company, Itachi wasn't about to contradict him. With a goal set before him, Itachi stepped between the two artists.
"Deidara, are you satisfied with taking petty missions to..." he looked around, the eerie crimson of his eyes glowing in the room's semi-darkness. "... annihilate helpless monks and scare away villagers? Akatsuki can offer a challenge."
"Yeah, with a chain attached to it," sneered the young blonde. "Look, whoever you are. I don't just give myself over like some common whore. If you want me so bad, win me."
He could recognize a challenge, no matter how strangely worded. Itachi nodded, stepping toward his opponent. "If I win, you will join Akatsuki and become Sasori-san's partner."
Deidara nodded, his blue eyes igniting. "And if I win, you leave me alone, for good. And I get a kiss."
Behind Itachi, Sasori grunted in disapproval. "As expected of someone with such poor taste in art."
The duel, if he could even call it that, did not last long. Deidara was good, but his talents were woefully useless against Itachi's Sharingan. A well-placed genjutsu was all it took to literally bring Deidara to his knees. His surrender was inevitable, but the look he gave Itachi was anything but defeated. It burned, fueled by a sentiment he did not care to identify, so he ignored it. He passed by Deidara, the back of his head heated with the other's gaze, his eyes focused on the setting sun.
Another mission done, another recruit added. They were now ten in total if one were to count the masked Madara. Ten men, each worth at least a platoon. Their actual goal remained shrouded in mystery. For now, they focused on gathering funds, taking jobs and making lesser affiliated groups work for them. Amegakure was thriving from their presence, but Itachi doubted Madara's plan was to bring up a small nation from the ashes of war. It had to be more and Itachi doubted it held any of the altruism they had shown Ame so far. One could not deny that the usually war-torn, dirt-poor land of Rain had never seen better days. The people were happy and well fed, their shinobi numbers were increasing, mortality rate went down and children laughed as they jumped in the perpetually present rain puddles. It was a strange thing to see, and even stranger to be stopped on the streets by random villagers that pushed gifts in their hands and murmured prayers of thanks. Their distinctive cloaks might peg them as criminals in the world, but in Ame they were heroes.
Itachi kept that thought in mind as they returned, a part of him already crafting a plan to slip away before they got their next mission.
-Yahizui-
Her knees ached under the wooden floor, the supplicant position grating on her nerves. Above her, scrutinizing her with a lone narrowed eye, Danzo waited. For what, Yahizui could only guess. A week had passed since her memories returned and she'd never had a moment alone ever since. Fuu, the Yamanaka platoon leader who had been partly responsible for her initial conditioning, was her constant shadow, his pupil-less eyes scrutinizing every move she made in her small cell. They were testing her; she knew that. Yahizui wondered if Fuu had reached his conclusion and she now kneeled before her executioner. What a pitiful end that would be. She glared at the wooden floor, her eyes counting the lines in each plank, breath calming. If death were to take her now, she would not show fear.
"I realize you see me as some sort of villain, no doubt your moral code guiding you to place me in that neat box," said Danzo.
Yahizui bit her tongue, swallowing the automatic reply which had already formed on her lips. Her memories were back, but she was no longer the brash girl she had been. She'd seen things, done unspeakable things that would have turned her stomach a few years back, and learned to think first. She learned to hold in her emotions, to place a mask over herself and wait. This was not the time to make grand declarations. So she listened.
Danzo did not disappoint. He liked to hear himself talk, that she knew too well. "I do not take offense. I revel in my role, knowing that each frowned upon action I take is for Konoha's ultimate good. They wasted your potential as a genin, and the Hokage could not see that. And I was right. Look at you now, one of the elite." He paused, one hand pushing through her crimson strands to pull her head up. Yahizui looked at him with barely contained fury.
"I have invested a lot of time and effort in you, Yahizui-chan." Calloused fingers gripped her jaw, forcing her mouth open, his thumb pushing upon the blocky cursed seal on her tongue. "You are my property, and I do not relinquish my things."
Yahizui's eyes widened as ice filled her soul. This was it. He was going to wipe her memory clean once more. She had to do something, say something to prevent that. "I would be of no use to you as a mindless puppet... Danzo-sama." The honorific burned on her tongue, but she did not care. If she were to have a chance at getting away from here, she had to keep her memories.
"No," said Danzo, his thumb moving to caress her cheek. "It will be a more fitting challenge to break you as you are. A fine blade you are, Yahizui-chan, but you must be reforged."
He moved away from her and Yahizui finally breathed properly.
"I will station you here for now. You will enter the Uzumaki temple and report all findings. Fuu and Dai will accompany you."
Everything in her rebelled at the thought. "The temple has been sealed against outsiders," she said, her voice strained. The image of Ashina had haunted her the entire week. It was because of his sacrifice that she could regain her memories. She would not tarnish his wish to keep the temple a secret. Yahizui knew there were more things there than met the eye. The seal keeping the massive double doors shut was still in place, and whatever was on the other side would be important enough to lock behind such a seal. To have Danzo get his hands on that... no. "I cannot."
"And yet, you will." The finality in his voice made her shudder. "Your teammates have been doing well for themselves. Young Hakudoshi is even becoming interested in ANBU, and Tojiro has a stellar mission record, for a chuunin. Not to mention young Naruto."
Yahizui froze, her muscles spasming with raw panic. Seconds stretched into hours inside her head as every scenario passed before her eyes. Hakudoshi in a pile of blood, Tojiro's body filled with kunai during an escort mission gone wrong, Root agents hiding in the shadows. And Naruto, happy and free Naruto, writhing under the force of a monstrous chakra he could not contain. Yahizui's chakra spiked, a wave of killing intent pushing forth from her still kneeling form.
Twenty agents melted from the shadows, a Nara already trapping her in their Shadow Paralysis jutsu, forcing her hands to the floor. There was no way out. Yahizui relaxed in the jutsu's hold, her emotions leashed once more. The memory of Kaito telling them the meaning of the word shinobi came to her, as clear as spring water. She was a shinobi, and for her friends, for their safety, she would endure anything.
Danzo stepped around her, his hand grasping her hair and pulling upwards, twisting her neck at an awkward angle.
"You will all do. In time you will see the sense of it."
She relaxed her stance as much as the jutsu would allow, her eyes looking down in supplication. "Yes, Danzo-sama."
-Kaito-
He was losing his mind, of that Kaito was certain. Sake bottles littered the table in his small apartment, a half-empty one still open. To his right, a small pile of files had been haphazardly closed, written reports and pictures peeking between thick, brown covers. He was onto something. He could almost taste it on his tongue, his chakra humming in anticipation. It had been a week since that painfully familiar chakra spike disturbed his sensor network. He'd rushed to the spot immediately, reaching the deserted Uchiha compound in record time, but by then all trace of the signature was gone.
Had it been her? Impossible. He was staring at her death record, complete with pictures. He'd been there that day, and saw her lying there on the cold, hard floor. Yahizui was dead.
His hand reached for the sake bottle, then stopped. Something did not feel right. His eyes dropped to her file once more, scrutinising the tightly packed text. The cause of death had been determined at the crime scene, but there was no detailed autopsy report. He grabbed a random file from the enormous pile of Uchiha victim reports. Each had a two page long autopsy report attached. The nagging feeling at the back of his head grew larger. There was no plausible reason to ignore protocol, and Kaito knew that the Konoha medics would not simply skip a victim, nor would they get lazy on one person. They were all fastidious workers.
It was a small thing, a detail that would normally slip through the bureaucratic machine. But it was still out of the ordinary, like a slightly crooked senbon in an otherwise perfect set. A headache pulsed at his temples. This was insane. He was questioning Konoha, questioning a decision made and approved by the Hokage himself. But he had to try. He owed that to her.
He bit into his finger and, with a flare of chakra, summoned most of his rat colony.
Nezumokumi, a rat the size of a small dog wearing a purple vest, sniffed the air, then turned to the rest of the colony. "Fall in line, you scoundrels! This is important!" He then turned to Kaito. "What can we do?"
"Spread across the land," he said, voice hoarse from too much alcohol and too little sleep. "Search for Yahizui and report here in one week's time. Leave no stone unturned."
With a collective nod, three hundred rats flashed away to complete their mission.
-Yahizui-
She could feel Fuu's impatience in the way his chakra swirled behind her, swishing like an angry cat's tail. Yahizui ignored it. For the first time in three years, she was back in the Uzumaki Temple, and for the first time it was without Ashina's presence. His absence left behind a void in the chakra-saturated building. Before her, the sculpted double doors at the back of the temple remained closed, their seal holding strong. It was the third day she spent pushing and probing the complex structure and her assigned guards were losing patience. Dai, an active person by nature, had already taken to throwing shuriken into the surrounding trees, deeming her work as boring. She could sense that Fuu was not far behind, his usual stillness betrayed by the occasional glance outside.
"I am not about to have a breakthrough with you fidgeting behind me," snapped Yahizui, not bothering to look behind her. She knew that Fuu's face would show no outward emotion. He was better than that, well trained.
"Danzo-sama expects results."
"Danzo-sama is also aware of the time and work one must put into seal making and seal breaking." The implied 'unlike other people,' needed not be said. "I am dealing with a seal which has held for over one hundred years. Breaking it will take some time."
"Make sure it does not take too long."
The lack of emotion in his voice made her wonder if she ever sounded like that. Like a shell of a person, a tool with no thought or desire. Yahizui nodded, pleased to see that Fuu had finally given into the impulse to join Dai and leave her alone. Maybe he wasn't as hallowed as he sounded.
"You can come out now," she whispered, pleased to see the small rat crawl out from between two loose floorboards. Yahizui stretched her hand, giving the animal a few crumbs from an earlier eaten nutrition bar.
It was a summon, Kaito's summon. Yahizui thanked the Gods above that Fuu hadn't sensed it. Unlike regular animals, summons had chakra networks and a good sensor, which Fuu was, would notice their presence. Alas, the temple and its surrounding perimeter were saturated with chakra, rendering a sensor's capabilities null. Even she had trouble distinguishing the small animal from a normal rat, and if it weren't for its out of the ordinary behaviour, she would have put a kunai in it long ago.
The small animal grabbed a couple of breadcrumbs and stared at her with intelligent eyes. "He's been looking for you," it said, licking its paws clean. "Never seen him so out of sorts."
"I know. There's a lot to talk about. For now, he needs to lie low. Leave it be. Tell him I am alive and will contact him later."
"I, Nizu, can help. I will tell master Kaito and will find you again."
"You need to come only here while the blonde one still guards me. He's a sensor."
Nizu nodded, and faster than Yahizui could see, disappeared beneath the floor.
A shuddered sigh escaped her lips, hope bubbling in her chest. Kaito knew she was alive. Someone was on her side. Now she just had to plan this right.
