Chapter 16: The Mission
Itachi was annoyed. Itachi rarely let something like annoyance bother him, but it seemed that lately, his emotions were a crap-shoot where Kisara was concerned. Leader had been true to his word and informed Itachi that Kisara's test had been put in motion.
"She is to complete a short mission with the help of Deidara and Sasori. Are you…worried?" A red eyebrow shot up, mocking Itachi. Daring him to do anything other than his usual set of behaviors.
"No, she is an excellent Shinobi. I merely wish to let you know it would be…unfortunate if something were to happen to our investment."
"Investment?" Leader asked, amusement now clearly present in his pierced features.
"I went through a great deal to obtain her and bring her to the Organization."
"Yes, including inciting two countries against us."
"Two countries that the girl can help us to quell…and eventually to get what we are truly after. The Tailed Beasts."
Leader's eyebrows shot up. "We won't need the most of the Tailed Beasts for some time. Currently, we will not even be moving forward with obtaining the One Tail for at least a year. Are you suggesting it would be beneficial to us to hold onto this girl for over a year?"
"I am suggesting that it would be unwise to allow her to leave until we have obtained our goal."
"And how do you propose to keep a Shinobi who is loyal to her village, not a missing-nin, from not just leaving the Akatsuki, but from betraying us entirely?"
"I am going to make her a missing-nin." Came his cold response.
And he told Leader his plan.
Afterwards, Pein leveled his gaze on Itachi, the Rennegan piercing through his very skin. "You are going through quite a lot for one Kunoichi." It wasn't a question.
"I'm going through just enough trouble to secure the loyalties of one of two Shinobi who could not only pose a significant threat to me…but also to Madara. By ensuring the girl is loyal to us, we also ensure the brother can't strike us for fear of hurting her. Hidden Frost will not attack us while we have the next in line to their main clan's blood-line limit and Genjutsu inabilities.``
Leader stiffened at the mention of the other man behind Akatsuki. Currently, Itachi was the only member who knew his true identity as he had helped him carry out the Uchiha massacre and recruited him to Akatsuki. Even so, Pein did not like to mention the man by name lest others in the Organization catch on to their ace in the hole.
"I see that you have thought this through and considered every angle, as usual. I will approve your plan, for the moment. However, if at any point the girl poses a risk to the safety of Akatsuki's goals, I will kill her personally. If she poses a risk to your own personal goals, I expect you to do the same. Remember Itachi, we are an organization of individuals, but anything that doesn't gain the Akatsuki ground in this world must be cut. I trust you to remember that."
Itachi would remember, for he knew that lesson better than anyone.
Kira clenched his fist, preparing to force it through the skull of the Raikage, if necessary. "My sister has been kidnapped by some unknown, but obviously powerful, Shinobi, and you propose to do nothing?"
The Raikage leaned back in his chair, regarding the Yukikage with intense dislike. "You say kidnap; I say she went with them willingly."
"How dare you! My sister is an honorable woman and she would never back out of our agreement." Kira bit back at the Raikage.
It had always been like this between them. Hidden Cloud, with all its commerce and wealth had always lorded over its poorer neighbors, preferring to intimidate rather than negotiate. Well, Kira wouldn't let it happen, not after all the work and sweat he had accumulated for this deal. Not after all the pain he had been forced to put his sister through to arrange this marriage. He couldn't believe she would do this willingly.
"Now, now gentlemen, I am sure that we can come to some kind of agreement. We know at least that Lady Matsuoka has vacated the area and was last seen in the company of the two men who were her bodyguards. Now, as those guards were hired by me, I am sure you must have some suspicions that I am behind her disappearance." The Lord Matsuoka said.
Kira eyed the other man with dislike, though he did have to agree with his logic. It did look a lot like the Hidden Cloud was attempting to sabotage the arrangement. He nodded and encouraged the third man to continue.
"Of course I do, I'm not an idiot." Answered Kira. "However, I am also curious as to why you choose to strike your Raikage in the chest during your own wedding. I'm starting to think this entire mess is both of your faults."
The Raikage sneered in Kira's general direction and his hand with involuntarily to the area of his chest where the butter knife had poked through.
"I understand your concern, Lord Kage. I honestly can't explain what came over me at that moment but I can assure you I gave no such instructions regarding the kidnapping of my wife." Lord Matsuoka continued. "However, I can also tell you that I know very little about the bodyguard's background including their affiliations, if any, to a Hidden Village. Therefore, even if my wife did go with them of her own free will, there is little information as to where that would be."
Kira narrowed his eyes at the two men. It did appear to be the case that Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan had wiped them both of their ture memories of the incident. Kira was sure that Lord Matsuoka's violence was a result of the Uchiha meddling with his mind, however, Kira had no intention of showing his entire hand. He also wasn't sure if the other men would even believe him, given that Kira was the only person who seemed to remember the rest of the incident.
"And that is where we now stand. We know that your wife is missing, however we have no idea who took her, for what reason, or where they are." Said the Raikage. "In any case, Cloud agrees to do what we can to locate her. Not just to salvage this partnership, but as she is now a citizen of both Hidden Frost and Hidden Cloud, I will not allow my citizens to be unaccounted for. However, we promise nothing past determining her location."
"What is it you are proposing?" Kira asked, finally relieved at getting down to brass tax as well as getting some cooperation regarding locating his sister.
The Raikage smiled, and it was unpleasant.
"I propose we strike a deal".
"This is amazing!" Kisara exclaimed, her hair whipping back and forth behind her as the three charged though the sky, actually flying, on the back of a giant clay pigeon.
Deidara grinned back at her, one bright blue eye visible while the other was covered by his scope. "Glad to hear you appreciate fine art, yeah!"
Sasori scoffed beside him. "Don't start that again, I'm not in the mood."
Kisara openned her mouth to ask what the older nin meant when suddenly the bird tilted downwards and landed smoothly on the grass below.
"Alright, Kuniochi." Sasori said instead, jumping down from the back of the bird. "It's time for your first mission."
"Is this the test that was mentioned?" Kisara replied cautiously before joining him on the ground. Sasori didn't reply.
"Yeah, time we got started. So, what do you know of Akatsuki's goals?" Deidara asked her instead.
"Umm…making money?" Kisara guessed though she had no clue beyond that.
"Man, you sound like Kukazu." Deidara huffed. "Yes, but we make money for a reason, yeah!"
"Reasons which even you don't know." Sasori said dryly.
"Hey–" Deidara started but Kisara cut him off.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"No-one except Leader and Konan know the true purpose of the Akatsuki. Everyone else knows…parts…pieces. No-one has the whole picture. Put simply: we get money and we know some of the goals, and in the meantime, we work on our individual…interests." The last word was hissed out and Kisara was strongly reminded of a snake. "As long as those interests don't interfere with Leader's plans or our individual missions, we are free to do as we wish."
"So, you all do missions and you don't know why?" She questioned, very skeptical.
"Yes, not so different from a Hidden Village, aren't we?" The man chuckled and Kisara found that she would need to think more about this comment later. "But enough chit-chat, down to your mission. As Leader said, pass this test and we will decide what to do with you."
"And if I refuse?" Kisara always liked to know limits.
Sasori chuckled again while Deidara looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure you want to find out?"
Kisara weighed her options. She was among wanted criminals in the middle of an area she didn't understand, a place she didn't know. But what she did know was that for the moment they had promised not to hurt her while going back to her husband…she was sure she didn't have the same guarantee, no matter how circumstancial it was. But Kisara knew one thing for sure, she had to get back to her brother and protect her clan and Village. She knew the longer she stayed alive the more chances for gathering intel and more changes of escape. And to have a chance of doing that, she needed to pass whatever bull-shit test these guys had for her.
"Not really, so let's get on with it." Kisara tightened several straps on her person, her sword easily accessible from his scabbard at her back.
Sasori didn't say anything, but she thought she might have seen something like respect glint in his odd eyes.
"Well then, here's the test. See that building over there?" He pointed in the distance and Kisara had to squint to see it. She nodded.
"We're going to break in."
Itachi was nervous while waiting for Kisara to return with Sasori and Deidara. He had to stop himself from visibly shaking his leg from time to time lest Kisame make fun of him even more than he already had.
"Calm your tits, Itachi. I'm sure they're fine." Kisame chuckled as he leafed through a magazine, both feet propped up on the table in front of them.
Itachi cursed his partner under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Uh huh."
The sound of the doors to the third floor opening cut off any further discussion and Itachi couldn't stop his head from whipping around a bit too fast.
"Man, that was great! I couldn't believe how you hit that guy in the face with your sword hilt, yeah!" Deidara came into view, and if he had a tail it would be wagging.
Sasori and Kisara came up behind him, Kisara was noticeably dirty and had blood smeared in places, but otherwise appeared to be unhurt. Itachi allowed his shoulders to come down a milimeter from around his ears.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Deidara-kun." Kisara replied as she smiled at the younger Shinobi.
"Indeed, your performance was impressive. I will report to Leader and I'm sure he will take this into consideration when making his decision." Sasori replied before sliding out of the room.
Kisara looked around the room for the first time since entering and seemed to register that Itachi and Kisame were watching her.
"How did it go, girlie?" Kisame asked.
"I think it went fine, we got what we came to get." Kisara responded.
"She's downplaying it. She kicked butt!" Deidara cut in. "Kisame-san, you should have seen it. We went to this outpost near Hidden Grass and Kisara-san was able to get these scrolls that Leader wanted no problem! I don't think she even had to kill anyone to take them out, no-one saw her coming." The teen shrugged as if not killing someone was much more impressive than a Shinobi's ability to kill indescrimanately.
"Good to hear it went well, kid." Kisame chucked.
"I'm sure Orochimaru too, will be very pleased to hear that as well ." Itachi muttered. He knew when the Legendary Sannin had skulked off to create his own pseudo-village after leaving the Akatsuke and it worried Itachi to think that someone like Kisara could have gotten onto his radar so soon. He had no idea what these scrolls contained, but anything with Hidden Grass couldn't be good.
"Orochimaru? Why does that name sound familiar?" Kisara asked, surprising Itachi by directing the question at him. She hadn't spoken to him since he had kissed her several days previously and she had responded only by slapping him and throwing him out of her room.
"One of the Legendary Sannin from Hidden Leaf." He sat back in his chair, leaning back and stretching his legs out in front of him. It was an unconscious gesture, one that for some reason caused Kisara to stare at him several more seconds than was strictly necessary.
"A Sannin? What does that have to do with Hidden Grass? Her eyes flicked up to his but he didn't miss that her cheeks were tinged the slightest pink.
Itachi swallowed thickly before answering. "Orochimaru is currently operating out of Hidden Grass. Whatever those scrolls were that Leader asked you to obtain must in some way be linked to the Sannin."
Kisara didn't respond at first, her lips were pressed into a hard line while her gaze was focused somewhere over Itachi's head. "Well, that's all very interesting, but if you boys will excuse me." She left the room after nodding to them, walking down the hallway to her own quarters.
"Man, you sure know how to kill a party, uh." Deidara huffed.
Itachi only glared at the younger man.
"Piss off." Was Deidara's only response as he walked down the hallway in the opposite direction as the Kunoichi.
"For once, I think I agree with him." Kisame broke the silence.
Itachi shrugged one shoulder, feeling like he was once again missing something.
"Come on, Itachi-san. That was the first time I've seen her smile since she's been here."
Itachi turned to face him, still feeling like he couldn't catch Kisame's drift.
Kisame rolled his eyes. "She was proud of completing something, and after the past several months, who knows when the last time was that she did something for herself. Who knows when the last time was that she had a real mission. And she did it well. Then, instead of letting her celebrate you drag her into more shit. Man, some genius you are." And he signed and went back to his magazine.
Itachi leaned his head back and played out the scenario from a different angle. He knew that he wasn't wrong to alert Kisara of the other players…but had he been right to do so in that moment?
Itachi let out a silent breath and closed his eyes. He really was hopeless at this sort of thing. But he had a feeling he knew what he needed to do next. Unfortunately, before he could make that move, Sasori reappeared.
"Itachi-kun, Leader wants to speak to you."
"Sasori had some interesting things to report about our new guest." Pein looked down at the Itachi through his ringed eyes. "Would you like to know what they were?"
Itachi didn't respond but continued to stare levelly at Leader.
Pein contemplated this response from the Uchiha. The Kuniochi was unexpected and he usually didn't like those sorts of complications. Though fortunately for her, Pein's goals seemed to align with Itachi's, at least for this moment.
The Uchiha needed to be kept in check. Pein understood that his organization members had their own agenda. That suited him just fine as long as their agenda never interfered with the larger picture of Akatsuki. He pondered the situation.
"I suppose it doesn't matter. We will keep her on for the moment. She will be given the usual privileges, but watched closely. Her powers will come in handy if she can be…persuaded into our direction."
Itachi again simply waited.
"I don't care at the end of the day if you choose to have your fun with her or not." Pein said coldly. "But if you choose to be swayed by a woman, it is simply a weakness that can be exploited if necessary. Am I making myself clear enough for you?"
"Of course Leader." Itachi was neutral in his response.
"Dismissed." The Puppet Master exited the chamber.
Pein leaned back in his chair. This was an interesting development indeed. Itachi had information that was potentially damning to Akatsuki should it get out to the other members. If the Leaf-nin really had feelings for this Kuniochi they could be used in Pein's favor.
Then again, Pein wasn't sure if he needed to even seriously consider that as an option for the moment. No, he thought he would focus on Itachi's plan and see if they could sway the Kunoichi over to their side first.
"Konan," Pein called. "It's time we talked about accelerating our plans".
Kisara didn't know how long she was in the shower, it might have been ten minutes, or an hour. But she didn't step out until the water started to run icy cold on her skin. The blood and dirt had long since washed off, but she was still processing the situation. It was like she was blind, but sometimes had flashes of clarity as to what the whole situation was. She knew she had to tread carefully and that one wrong step could lead to her death.
Sighing, she turned off the water and reached for the towel before stepping out into the small bathroom that was attached to her bedroom. She wrung the rest of the water out of her hair and took her time before she entered the main area where her bed was. Only one foot had exited the bathroom before she realized she wasn't alone.
"What do you want, Itachi-san?" Kisara's tone was icy, caught between surprise and somehow, exactly what she expected.
Itachi was sitting on her bed, his eyes on hers, but he said nothing.
"Please leave, I've had enough for one day I think." She didn't even bother trying to talk to him, she didn't have the energy for it.
"You're sad." It wasn't a question.
Whatever she thought he was going to say, it wasn't that.
"What're you talking about?" Kisara was still very aware that she was standing before him in only a towel, her damp hair framing her face.
Itachi shrugged one shoulder. "This is already hard for you, and I know I'm making it worse. I wanted you to know what you were getting into, I don't want you to…die." He said the last word with a quiet bleakness that made Kisara believe it.
"What do you want, Itachi?" She asked him again softly, omitting the honorific for the first time.
His red gaze snapped to hers. "I want…many things."
She waited.
He rose from his position on the bed and again she was hit with the impression of a lion stalking its prey. "I think you know what I want, Kisara." He was standing close to her now, looking down at her with the most curious expression on his face.
"I don't know, not really. This isn't some story where the knight comes in and saves the princess. I'm the one who needs to save myself…or the one who chooses to sacrifice myself."
"Is that what you were doing, sacrificing yourself?" Itachi asked her in a whisper. "Was your marriage a sacrifice?"
"I was fulfilling my duty. You're a Shinobi, even a missing-nin knows about duty. And I don't know what you want." She said also in a whisper.
Itachi's eyes darkened, the red color seeming to burn into her. "I want many things, things I can't have."
Green eyes searched red. "And if you could have them?"
Itachi's face seemed to shift and Kisara thought for one wild moment that he might cry in front of her, but the look was gone just like that. Itachi didn't answer her and looked away.
Kisara held his gaze, willing him to return it. When he didn't she signed and stepped past him long enough to see that he hadn't come to her empty-handed.
"What is that?" She asked, pointing to a bundle of cloth on the bed.
"Your uniform. Leader has passed you, you have full privileges the same as any member of the Akatsuki." He watched her as she walked over and took out the black sparring clothes and the heavy black cloak with red clouds.
"Am I expected to become a missing-nin?" Kisara said bitterly. "I won't strike through my Hitai-ate."
"Leader did not require that." Itachi replied evenly. "He only requires that you follow orders, wear the uniform and…try not to kill the other members." Kisara looked at his face at his last point and saw that one side of his mouth was tipped up in an almost-smile.
"I can't make any promises on the last point. And, Itachi-san, it is important you know that I will not do anything that I perceive to be a threat to my Village." Kisara started.
"Which one?"
"What?" she was thrown off by his question.
"Which Village? Shimogakure or Kumogakure?" The question was a challenge, stated with an edge which could be interpreted as mocking.
Kisara's lips thinned. The bastard knew he had scored a point, but Kisara didn't want to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging it. "You know Itachi-san, you were quite incorrect with your assumption earlier."
Itachi blinked at her, furrowing his brow. "What was that?"
"When you said I was sad earlier. You were wrong."
He waited for her to continue.
"I'm not sad, I'm pissed. And the more time you spend pissing me off right now will result in my not being able to follow through with the last of Leader's conditions. I suggest you leave."
Itachi huffed out a low laugh. "As you wish, but Kisara? I did mean what I said. I don't want you to die." And with that he left and the door closed soundlessly behind him. Kisara sank to the floor and tried not to think about how his last words were said so tenderly it was almost like he was really saying something else.
Hi everyone! It's been four years but I came back to this and this time I'm going to finish it. Thanks to everyone who was hoping to read further and the support as always. Please comment, I love reading your thoughts!