ii.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Second Love
"I hear you in my echo, a few steps behind. I see you in my shadow, waiting inside." -At the Point of Ignition, Dark Tranquility
Nanami sat at the low table with crossed legs, feeling comfortable and content. She set aside her pen and ignored the huffing noises Loud Blood kept making behind her in his boredom.
He lay sprawled on the floor carelessly in nothing but his pants and the strange white leg wrappings they all wore. She heard his scythe clink against the stone floor as he shifted it about.
Nanami looked over at Beating Hearts who sat next to her.
His eye was twitching.
Uh oh.
"Uhm," she stumbled looking for something to say to stave off the inevitable blood puddles she would be mopping up if she didn't find something to distract the duo with.
"What are we doing today?" She asked and was rewarded with acid green in a sea of red sliding over to look at her. She smiled hesitantly because she knew he was well aware she was attempting to distract him from his partner.
"The Uchiha has plans with you." He rumbled. Nanami blinked at that, because Raven Eyes and False Pieces had left on a mission together almost a week ago, and hadn't returned yet.
Behind her Hidan made an irritated noise. "Fucking finally."
It wasn't often that they switched around like that, but Oceans had mentioned it would involve a certain amount of infiltration. Which made sense to Nanami, because as incredible as Burning Earth was; explosions weren't exactly sneaky, and a large shark man wasn't the most inconspicuous of images.
So that meant they'd be home sometime today. Nanami stretched her senses out and felt a distant ping in return at the edge of her awareness.
Maybe an hour then. She grinned to herself. It would be nice to see them after the long absence.
"Took those ass holes long enough." Loud Blood grouched.
A muscle jumped in Beating Hearts arm, and Nanami was pushing herself up and away from the table before she even registered fully the need to move. The skin of her toes scraped along the stone in quick backwards steps just as Kakuzu's threads rose from his arms to surround his upper body; like long hair floating behind a woman in the sea.
They lashed out at Hidan without Kakuzu even turning to face the man.
His narrowed eyes and twitching was the only sign she needed to signify the impending violence.
"Hey! What the fuck seriou-" Loud Blood shifted to roll from his position in a sloppy dodge (He wasn't very good at dodging, he told her it was because it didn't matter if he did or not really.) only to be interrupted by a group of threads as thick as her arm impaling his voice box.
And just like that it was over, threads gone with nothing to show for it except Hidan's limp form on the floor in a pool of blood.
Beating Hearts shoulders relaxed a little in a proverbial 'that irritating thing has been dealt with' kind of way.
Nanami sighed and retrieved the breakfast plates from the table and carefully made her way around the growing puddle of bodily fluids to clean them in the kitchen sink.
Just another morning in the Akatsuki base.
Nanami doodled on the scrap paper while she waited. Maybe another fifteen minutes, it didn't seem like Raven Eyes and False Pieces were moving very quickly.
She made another set of algebraic equations for fun, something to occupy her mind. The numbers flowed easily across the paper, and she liked the way the completed sets looked. All in neat little rows with definite answers.
Nanami had always enjoyed math. It wasn't complicated, and there was always a right answer.
Kakuzu paused as he passed by her, she looked up to find his eyes following the numbers across her paper.
He rose an eyebrow at her. "Whats this?" A small gesture at her doodles, and she was pleased to hear the note of interest in his voice.
Her lips parted to answer, but she paused. Nanami had no idea what the word for algebra was in Japanese.
They had never done anything more complication than percentages and fractions, and they had never touched on words like this in her Japanese lessons with Raven Eyes.
She shrugged. "Algebra." and the English word sounded a little heavy on her tongue.
"Ar… gi bra…" Kakuzu attempted to repeat the word and butchered it in the process. Nanami smothered a giggle with her hand and nodded.
"Would you like me to show you?" He didn't say anything, but when he sat next to her it was all the answer she needed.
She bit the inside of her cheek to contain the massive grin that wanted to split her face. She felt a rush of happiness, and love for the man sitting next to her as he listened to her explanation on the basics of the more complicated form of math.
Oceans came over to see what they were talking about while she was in the middle of explaining how to solve tables that involved parentheses. She found she kept having to use English words to make up for the lack of words she knew in Japanese. It had been a long while since that had happened to her. Beating Hearts took it in stride, and didn't question the strange vocabulary, or how she even knew this level of math to begin with.
Oceans gave them both a strange look.
"You two." was all he said when he turned to leave, looking completely bored.
"I know right." The freshly recovered Hidan commiserated from the couch.
This is what Itachi and Sasori walked in on, and Hidan was leaping from the back of the couch at the sound of the main door clicking open.
"Thank fucking Jashin-sama." and he did sound very relieved to see them. Nanami watched as Itachi gave the white haired man a perplexed look, and when he noticed the two of them he seemed to understand.
Itachi was a very intelligent man.
"Nanami." He called, and she gave an apologetic smile to Beating Hearts who looked like he couldn't care less either way. She knew better though, him sitting with her alone showed his interest.
"We'll finish later." She told him even as she stood.
"Welcome home," She greeted as she approached. Sasori's scorpion body shifted, and he grumbled a low "Thank you" in return before he slid across the floor towards his room.
Deidara would be home soon, and Nanami was sure he'd be pleased to have his partner back- regardless of how much they bickered.
Itachi turned back to the door, his dark eyes sliding towards her as he held it open.
She grinned and loped her way past him and up the stairs.
"I'm coming too!" She heard Hidan behind her, and she felt Beating Hearts and Oceans chakra shift and follow as well.
The five of them didn't go very far before Raven Eyes stopped near a copse of leafy green trees about ten minutes from the base.
The sunlight streamed through, playing dappled patterns across the grass. The breeze was cool and light, it was a beautiful day.
"This will be fine." He stated, and he turned to her, fishing around in his hip pouch to produce a scroll. It wasn't very large, but Nanami was more interested in the strange chakra that clung to it.
"So you did manage to get it." Kisame grinned at her as Loud Blood and Beating Hearts stepped forward to form a loose circled around the proffered scroll.
Nanami took it gently, and instantly liked the way it's chakra caressed along hers.
It was heavier than she thought it would be, and as she peeled it open Raven Eyes spoke.
"This is a summoning contract." He said, and her eyes flashed up to meet his in surprise. The scroll unrolled to show names. Lots of names, and Nanami felt her breath catch at the sight of the majority of the surnames emblazoned on it in blood.
Nara
"How did you get this?" She asked in curiosity before she could stop herself.
"They went all the way to that shit hole Konoha for you little bitch." Hidan told her when no answer seemed forthcoming.
Itachi nodded at her questioning look.
"But… won't they notice it's missing?" Oceans laughed and shifted to adjusted the broad strap that ran across his chest and held Samehada to his back.
"Probably. But it's not like they were using it anyways." Nanami chewed her lip. They'd obviously gone to lengths to retrieve it… for her.
And she couldn't help but feel ecstatic at the thought. This wasn't just any gift- this was-
A summoning contract.
"Thank you." She breathed eyes wide.
Kakuzu huffed. "We don't know if you will be compatible yet, they have to agree to work with you." He said.
"Oh… what do I do?" and with that Itachi launched into teacher-mode.
"Cut your finger, and sign an available space in blood. I will teach you the hand seals. From there we will attempt the summoning, don't be surprised if nothing happens at first, it takes practice."
Nanami did as she was told, crouching onto the ground to lay the the paper flat. She pressed her thumb to one of her sharper canines to split the skin, and held the digit to ancient scroll with quick strokes to sign the characters of her name with the impromptu ink.
"Three hundred ryo says she gets it on the first try." Oceans told Hidan and Kakuzu.
Kakuzu grunted, "Four hundred ryo says the third." Hidan crouched next to her, to watch her sign with a mumbled, "Betting is a fucking sin you heathens."
Kisame grinned at him, "Think you'll lose Hidan-chan?"
Nanami looked up at Itachi, and he met her eyes and sighed. He started showing her the seals, five in all and she hurried to copy him and commit them to memory.
"What the fuck did you say fish face? Fuck you six hundred ryo say the second try." Hidan shot back right into her ear. She winced at the volume of his voice, and Kakuzu's sandaled foot came crunching into his chest and knocked him back from their little circle.
He sputtered as he stood back up, brandishing his red three pronged scythe at his partner. Kisame just laughed good naturedly.
Itachi and Nanami attempted to ignore them.
He stopped her twice to make her redo the ram sign, one that was more difficult for her little fingers to make, but in the end she could follow along at a decent speed.
"Good, now channel-" Here he paused, and his sharingan swirled to life as he looked her over.
Nanami always liked the way it looked, she secretly thought it was very pretty. (But she would never tell him that.) "-About a quarter of your chakra as you make the seals, and press your palm flat to the ground." He kneeled and demonstrated the same movement he and Oceans had before when they'd shown her their summons.
"Alright." and Oceans and Loud Blood stopped bickering long enough to watch her first attempt.
"Well damn." Kisame murmured, disappointed when her first summoning resulted in a small pile of a soft, yet bloody substance.
"Sick, what the fuck is that?" Hidan asked as he ambled back over.
"It's velvet." She provided, feeling excited that at least her attempt got her something.
She tried again, panting at the loss of half her reserves in less than five minutes, and was rewarded with an actual antler this time.
It was huge. Larger than her torso, with many sharp prongs in a beautiful bone white color.
She tittered, a high and sharp joyful sound as she ran her palm over the length of it. This antler belonged to a beautiful creature.
"This time." She murmured to herself, and she missed Kakuzu's approving grunt as she tried one last time. She wouldn't have enough chakra to do it again, she was already feeling the strain- Nanami didn't have very large chakra reserves, luckily she didn't usually need to use a lot of it. Summoning was different however, it was very chakra intensive for her.
Summoning smoke exploded into the clearing, and she coughed a little and waved a hand in front of her face to try to get it away from her eyes.
To her left, Kakuzu held out his hand and Kisame muttered curses as he fished around in his pocket.
"You already keep all my fucking money you dick!" Hidan cried.
Nanami didn't register any of this, as the deer before her held all of her attention.
It was much larger than a normal buck, but not as massive as she knew summons could be. It was only slightly smaller than an elephant, with a snow white coat, and massive antlers that appeared similar to the ones she'd gotten on her second try. Except much larger, and actually attached to the animal.
Vines grew around its antlers, blooming with some kind of yellow flower that reminded her of morning glory, the plant curved its way down the animal's neck and tucked into a kind of plated armor that had similar vine like designs carved into its surface. A large swath of a silky looking blue fabric ran the length of it's chest, tying either sides of the armor together.
It was a mythical looking thing. Nanami stared up at it in wide-eyed awe.
Itachi's hand touched her shoulder gently, and left just as quickly with a murmured "Well done."
It shook its head back and forth and turned its massive snout to peer at her with one liquid dark eye.
Nanami stood politely. "Hello, I am Nanami." she greeted softly.
"You are not a Nara." The beast spoke in a surprisingly feminine voice, but it didn't sound displeased. It pawed at the ground with a massive leg. "I am called Renji."
Nanami bit her lip at the summons name, because 'second love' seemed overly appropriate for her.
"Why have you called, little human." His head lifted and turned, his dark eye taking in her Red Clouds as he spoke.
Nanami looked up and over at Itachi, and he nodded encouragingly.
"Nanami was hoping- I was hoping to have a contract with the deer summons." She quickly corrected her mistake in her nervousness.
Renji turned his attention back on the small child before him.
"It is so." He said gravely. "Tell me then, littlest human, why you desire this."
Nanami wasn't sure what to say, she never had been good with words. She opened her mouth to speak but paused. She knew very well how something could sound great in your head and then come out sounding... pithy and stupid. So she decided to go with a better form of communication when it came to animals.
Chakra didn't lie after all, and though what was said wasn't exactly words (more like feelings and instincts) she thought this summon would understand what she needed to say better if she didn't use human tongue at all.
She unfurled a single chakra string and brushed it along Renji's ambient chakra.
She told him of her feelings for each and every one of her Red Clouds, how she held them dear to her as precious people who had their own wants and desires and feelings. How real they were to her, how much they mattered.
She told him of her hopes of keeping them safe, to protect them when she didn't know how.
Her desire to be of use to them.
Her place among them and the powerful sense of belonging she felt when they were with her.
Her greatest desire to keep them alive, and her frustration in not knowing how to make it happen.
He threw his head back in surprise, great antlers rising into the air whipping vines about with the motion, little yellow petals floated softly to the ground, and large muscular leg rose and crashed back down in a thunderous movement.
He made a strange sound then, a huffing sort of laugh that reverberated around in the air and rose goosebumps along her arms. Nanami liked the sound.
Renji's head came down low then, his forelegs bending a little to bring himself eye level with her.
"You are a unique human, little child Nanami." He told her pleasantly, and she smiled for him. "Your desires are not unworthy." This was said a little sadly.
"We shall answer, if you desire to call." He affirmed.
Nanami felt a tightness well up in her chest, and she clasped the front of her shirt with a tiny fist.
"Thank you." She said a little wetly.
When Renji was dismissed and returned to his home, rumors would spread like wildfire among the deer summons, "A new summoner, who is not a Nara" they would say. "A small child who speaks with her chakra, a little girl who hopes to keep those fated to die from suffering."
IMPORTANT AN PLEASE READ: The below section was originally intended to be the actual chapter here, but no matter how many times a rewrote it I just really, really disliked the direction it took the story, and how Itachi's character came off a little wrong- and just eh. I'm really unhappy with it as a part of the actual plot. THEREFORE, from here forward THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL PART OF THE STORY. Lets call this an alternate universe omake, it has no bearing on the actual story and is not a part of this fanfictions timeline. So please enjoy this extra tid bit but keep in mind that NONE OF THE FOLLOWING ACTUALLY HAPPENS. Thanks guys! Please read and review!
"We'll be doing something different today." Raven Eyes said as he glided across the grass with all the grace of a trained killer. Kisame walked at her side, a large imposing figure with comforting chakra and a presence that demanded attention without him even having to say a word. She thought both he and Beating Hearts had that same sort of… aura.
Behind them trailed the Zombie Combo, and although she knew this lesson didn't require them, Loud Blood had stated that he thought it would be something interesting to watch. Beating Hearts hadn't offered an explanation, he'd just followed them out like he was meant to be here.
Nanami didn't question these things.
Ahead of her Raven Eyes stopped in a small clearing between trees. They weren't far from home really, but it had been a good fifteen minute jaunt.
He made a sweeping gesture. "Here will do."
And at his words Kisame fell over into the grass like a cat ready to laze in a ray of sunlight. She grinned down at him, and he returned it with a hint of those sharp teeth she liked to see.
Loud Blood made himself comfortable in a similar fashion but Beating Hearts sat down with more grace.
"Alright, Nanami." Itachi gathered her attention back to him. He was without his cloak, as most the Akatsuki preferred not to wear them if they didn't have to. So today he wore his dark blue tunic that had fishnet peaking out from the neck.
"Today's lesson will have two facets" He ticked off his fingers, "We'll start with attempting to cast genjutsu, and then move onto dispelling them. Understand?" She nodded eagerly.
He made a hand seal, and she quickly brought her hands up to copy him. He made four in total, and he went slowly so she could get the finger placements just right.
"Now," he said carefully, his dark eyes pinning her with that spark she recognized as interest. "Again, and as you make the seals, channel your chakra and hold an image in your mind of what you want me to see."
Nanami considered his words, and the less than stellar explanation on how it worked. It was… kind of unlike him to skip the details in a lesson. Was this a test of some kind? She eyed him then, looking to see if his body language or something in his eyes was off.
There was nothing, except that spark of interest. She thought it probably was a test then, because Raven Eyes rarely took interest in anything so apparently.
"What kind of image?" She asked for clarification. Behind her, Hidan made a rude snorting sound.
"Something believable." Was all the man offered her. He paused then, and added. "Memories work best, because they are the most vivid to the user. The stronger your feelings were at the time, the easier it will be to impress them upon your enemy."
So she took a minute to think about what she might like to show the man.
She frowned, lips pursing in thought. It wasn't exactly something she'd like to show Raven Eyes… but… if she could make anything intense it would be that… and she wanted to do a good job.
"Alright" She said slowly, almost… regretfully, and Itachi watched her dispassionately as she made the hand seals again, but this time he felt the telltale trickle of foreign chakra arrest his consciousness.
It was amature at best, the edges holding an off-ness about them that he knew he could dispel with ease. It wasn't even genin level quality.
At least… that's was how it was at first, before the images seemed to gain momentum. He always had his sharingan, but that wasn't what this exercise was about today, so he left it inactive.
He tumbled suddenly in a small body that was not his own. There was a roll forward, and a backward surge and he tumbled once again. The sand scraped against his heels as he came to the edge of the continental shelf, and then he tumbled from the drop off and sank into deep waters.
There was no panic, or urgency as he sank. There was only the ocean's cold embrace, and the last loving thoughts for a brother who had been the only one to care… his brother? No… Nanami's brother.
He wasn't aware she'd had one.
He lost his way for a short time that somehow felt like forever. He was distantly aware that his lungs were burning, so he filled them with the ocean in response. It felt like the right thing to do.
He hadn't realized how easy it would be to drown… drown? He was drowning?
The red streaking light of dawn above the waves dimmed and he relaxed, because this felt right. Finally. After all the searching… finally he could rest. He realized with relief that it was finally over.
Thank the gods, it was over.
Thoughts that were not his own trickled by, they told him he'd tried so hard for so long, and what he was looking for just didn't exist.
He wasn't even sure what he was looking for…
But none of that mattered now as he sank beneath the waves, because he'd looked long and hard across the world, people and cultures and continents and still-
He was so alone… Nanami was so alone.
He thought today was a good day to die.
As good.. a day… as… any…
Itachi jerked backwards, returning to his own mind with a wet gasp that sent him hacking uncomfortably.
That had been… very real.
"Woh there Itachi- you okay?" Came Kisame's surprised voice. Itachi ignored him, and took a small moment to compose himself.
Had he just… died? Had Nanami…?
Yes, it was an amature genjutsu. But it had become very vivid. Itachi took a moment to remind himself that yes, his lungs felt wet, but they always felt wet. That was normal. He was not dead and he had not drowned.
"Gehah! Holy shit! What the fuck did you show him little bitch?" Hidan's laughing voice made him look up.
She stood there before him, with her doe brown eyes set into lightly tanned skin. Her shoulder length hair floated towards him on a soft breeze with the chime of a bell.
She looked sad, and apologetic.
"I'm sorry" She said once she caught his eyes.
"Nanami… you…" Was all he could seem to manage for the moment.
"What the fuck!" Hidan stood from his sprawl on the ground looking overly excited and he set his crazy eyes on the little girl.
"Fuck little bitch you gotta show me too I wanna see!"
Hidan's words made him wonder, if maybe it had only been vivid for him because he deeply empathized with the feelings she'd projected to him in the genjutsu.
A tired, and world weary sort of sensation.
Nanami shied away, not meeting Hidan's intense purple gaze as he hovered around her small stature. "I don't think you know what you're asking..." She murmured. This only seemed to make the Jashinist more interested.
And yet, Itachi still wondered, his curiosity burned. Was it only him? Had she chosen those images because she knew him well enough? Or perhaps she had simply made the choice because of the intensity behind them?
He shook it off quickly, and brushed off his pant legs like nothing had happened at all.
Hidan looked even more excited at her words. "Oh, fuck yes-"
"Show him." Nanami looked over at Itachi at the sound of his voice, who had only been under the influence of her chakra for less than two seconds.
It had apparently been enough, he looked… ruffled, and the way he'd jerked backwards like that had been dramatic by his standards. The coughing though… Raven Eyes had been sick for as long as she'd known him, but he hid it well.
Hidan was bouncing from foot to foot, and she could feel the scowl in Kakuzu's chakra from where she stood.
"Can he even break a genjutsu?" Kisame asked laughingly.
"Hey fuck you." Hidan bit out at him, because although he wasn't very good at ninjutsu, he was still an Akatsuki member.
Nanami sighed. "Are you sure?" but she wasn't even sure who she was asking, Loud Blood, Raven Eyes or herself. But if that's what they wanted… she was obliged to offer it. She would give them anything, not because she felt like she had to, but because she wanted to.
Raven Eyes gave her a searching look for a moment, as if trying to figure something out that she didn't understand.
Loud Blood shifted his stance, bringing one leg out behind him as if he might lunge at her. "Let's do this." He said eagerly, purple eyes shining.
"Alright." She repeated the word she told Raven Eyes less than a minute before. She brought her hands up and made the few short seals, holding his gaze.
She felt the drain on her reserves immediately, and watched as Loud Bloods eyes took on the same glassy quality Itachi's had. He features went slack, his posture relaxing.
She held him for at least twelve seconds. A long time in a shinobi battle, but she could also tell he wasn't fighting it.
He took a sudden step away, blinking harshly a few times. He turned his head and spat as if he thought he might expel water onto the ground.
Hidan sat himself down bonelessly with a far away look, his mouth parted as if he might have something to say but no words came out. His hand came up to gently touch the silver necklace that rested on his bare chest.
"Damn." Kisame commented, watching from his lazy position in the grass. His silver eyes turned to her, and he flashed her a roguish grin full of humor. Well, at least someone was entertained.
"So it wasn't just the empathy then." Itachi commented quietly his own eyes resting on Hidan.
When Loud Bloods gaze finally did come up to meet hers, she saw something in them she hadn't been expecting.
Reverence.
He continued to keep his silence. It was unnerving.
"Loud Blood…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say, she twisted her hands together to keep herself from reaching for him. Had she gone too far?
"There's something holy in death you know." He whispered, and Kakuzu gave her a sharp look at his partner's words from his folded position against a tree.
"I wasn't aware you had a brother." Itachi said to her, breaking her attention away from Hidan.
Vague images of a blond man with a saccharine smile passed through her mind. She shook it off.
"Once." She said hesitantly, meeting Raven Eyes piercing gaze. "A lifetime ago."
She saw the moment understanding passed through his eyes, through his chakra.
Itachi was a smart man. He understood the implications.