Chapter 21: The (Awkward) Fellowship
"You're early."
"You're early," she uttered back.
"I told you to meet at 3."
"Well, it's not like I have a clock I can look at," she yawned as she pointed to her eyes and dusted off her hair for any residual dirt that may have been leftover from the tunnel she had emerged from.
3 o'clock in the morning. The days when she would need to get up at that hour seemed so long ago now. She didn't miss them.
"I didn't tell you to bring a dog either."
"He would bark if I didn't bring him."
Her lower lip puffed and curled in a childish pout as she turned to scratch Yami behind the ears. She recalled the first time she saw him, muddied and filthy under a heap of trash, barking at her until he bit her hand the moment she reached to touch him. He had drawn blood and the wound from that day was now faint on her hand.
As if to throw in his own piece, Yami shook himself and circled in place before letting out a bark in his direction.
Itachi sighed staring at the dog that had immediately fallen asleep at her feet.
"The dog stays," she said bringing his attention back to her.
He wasn't sure how to take her response but before he thought about it any further, he was behind her, one arm wrapped firmly over her as the other supported his own, embracing her neck in a tight grip.
"Does this mean we're training?" She choked out, her hands reaching to pull at his arms.
Kintsugi internally blushed, she had never been hugged and she cringed at the embarrassing thought that this was the closest she had come to one without the other person actually exuding complete and utter hatred. Sure, he had her in a chokehold, but at least she wasn't dying. She had thought Rashaan had come close to hugging her once, though it had turned out he had only been reaching to open a door. She had been in the way.
Yami opened one eye and huffed in response, seeming to sense the man's true intentions before nodding off again.
With a quick flick of her wrist, she threw him off her, her body feeling a slight chill from the sudden disappearance of warmth.
"No powers," he said as he landed on his feet a few feet away.
"Just...don't actually kill me? At least not yet."
She lifted her arms in the well-practiced stance Rashaan had taught her, the many years of training had permanently scarred her knuckles and palms into an ugly layer of tissue, something she had grown to hate the older she became.
With a slight nod, she signaled his advance.
Like before, he was immediately behind her, Kintsugi making sure to dodge his grasp as she evaded his grip in one move.
A quick fist headed towards her face before she managed to block it until his foot headed towards the back of her knee.
Going with the momentum of the fall she twisted to reach towards his ankle, flipping out of his reach the moment he evaded her.
It was only a few minutes after a series of further jabs and kicks that Itachi suddenly stood still.
"What?" She asked bringing her hands down momentarily, a thin layer of sweat bordering her brows.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I need the practice," she shrugged, hands lifting up again in a fighting stance.
"I don't care where you're from, but anyone can tell you've had special training, not to mention your ability to manipulate certain elements despite your lack of chakra."
"So?"
"But you're not that fast either. I could have killed you several times in those three minutes."
"Well, I'm sure you could. It's why I asked you not to, remember?"
"If you go through with this, you will die. If you don't go through with this, you still die, sooner or later."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's only a matter of time. You doing this is pointless. Your search for the Rinnegan is pointless. You're better off at this point serving us...in exchange... I'll continue to train you."
Kintsugi raked a hand through her hair in frustration. How was any of what he said fair? If anything, she was getting the short end of the stick.
"I don't need you to tell me what's pointless or not. I just need you to help me with this one thing. I thought we already talked about this."
He walked closer to her, staring down at her unseeing but sensing eyes that reminded him so much of who he had been and who he was.
Her eyes, reflecting himself...
He grunted as a quick fist collided with his stomach.
"Is that fast enough for you?"
The smirk on her face told him she knew he had been distracted, Yami offering a single huff in his direction hearing the man's pain.
She plopped down on the ground as she looked up at him, patting the large dog while she spoke.
"Danzo. I overheard him mention something about a stone tablet. Know anything about it? It's why I thought you'd called me this early in the morning, to finally give me an update, not some training session or motivational speech."
Itachi effortlessly recovered, the blank expression he always seemed to carry seamlessly covering any emotion that would give away any unspoken thought.
"Perhaps I should kill you. Right now."
She frowned as she gripped a bunch of grass and threw it at him.
"Stop it."
Itachi sighed again as he brushed off the few blades that had managed to land on his cloak.
"You could say it runs in the clan. Though even then, it's known as a myth-"
"...you've already said that-"
"-it's known as a myth, but I suppose if you're looking for the Rinnegan, it's as good a place to start as any."
"Of course."
"What else did you hear?"
"Not much, just that a survivor of the Uchiha massacre might know where it is. Haven't figured out exactly who that is, but let's just say it's not that hard to figure out with your brother being your brother and you being you."
"A survivor," though he stated it, he was confused as to why Danzo would think his own brother would know where the tablet was and not himself, it seemed the young woman before him had better sense than Danzo.
The thought that he was giving her credit for anything made him cringe.
"An Uchiha of course."
"Did Danzo specifically say it was a survivor?"
"Well, I suppose it was something along those lines, why?"
"If you know that much then I suppose I can follow the lead."
"Perfect!" Kintsugi clapped in excitement before standing up immediately.
They had training to get to.
"Didn't think you were the type to take a hit," Kisame muttered mockingly as he walked out of the brush
"Didn't think you were the type to take a hit," Kisame muttered mockingly as he walked out of the brush.
"I heard that."
He was picking up the knives that had been strewn about in every which direction during practice. He figured it would be better to start with something simple to build up her skill and had set up some logs for target practice.
The only problem with that was that she seemed more than an expert in wielding a kunai during combat than at a stationary object.
"You were supposed to," Kisame retorted.
He had sliced her hand on purpose after she had failed to aim at the target for what seemed like the fiftieth time. In a moment of frustration, she had locked his legs in a solid mound of earth, blade aimed for his stomach before he managed to break free, falling to his right before springing up in a different position.
Even the dog had barked at him.
Her movements had been erratic but like the common expression, it seemed like there had been a method to her madness.
He could have killed her in any other circumstance, but he had promised. In turn, he now had a ripped cloak.
"Ah, sorry. I-I got carried away," she had awkwardly apologized.
They had continued training, her anger forgotten and immediately turning to leave the moment it became 7:30 in the morning.
"What do you think?" Itachi said as he ignored Kisame's response.
"I say we keep her...for now."
Itachi grimaced at the thought, he wasn't sure he wanted to be in her company any more than he had to, but what choice did he have when a complete stranger knew more about the village and his own life than he cared to be comfortable with. The money she provided the Akatsuki an even clearer factor at the moment.
"I suppose. Though someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version."
"I didn't do it."
"Then why are you laughing?"
"Because whoever did is a genius."
The warm sun was beating down on them, the smell of aerosol still fresh in the air overpowering the smell of Kintsugi and Yami's own sweat as they sat on their apartment's front balcony.
They had noticed Akari's figure in the distance as she drew closer to her own home and Kintsugi had decided to wait out the show, silently waiting for Akari to see what they could clearly smell.
"Ugh! This is driving me crazy."
"Who'd you annoy so much that would make em' do this masterpiece?"
"What does it even say?" Akari stared at the messy and runny writing.
"How should I know?" Kintsugi said before standing up, Yami behind her trail as she closed the metal door to her own apartment.
Akari couldn't stand the smell and despite her urge to rip her hair out with the accumulating stress, she lightly touched the words, realization hitting her in one blow the moment it all clicked together.
The word kore was written over Akari's front door in giant letters, the paint trickling down to form a small puddle of red beneath the threshold.
"I hate kids," Akari muttered as she slammed her door shut.
Kakashi had gotten home later than he had expected, the air growing colder from the hidden sun.
"That's new," he muttered as he glanced towards Akari's newly, painted red door, his steps silently making their way up the stairs.
He had seen Kintsugi at the mines earlier in the day but for a moment he thought about knocking on Kintsugi's door to say hello the closer he reached it.
His fingers hovered over the cold metal, waiting to knock against its surface.
...I shouldn't need to remind you whose side you're on, the previous conversation with Danzo seemed to echo in his mind, his thoughts a muddled mix of confusion as he turned and continued to walk towards his own door, another restless night awaiting him.
Good night, he thought out.
A/N: Time sure flies. Can't believe it's been a year since I've started this. I actually cringed while writing this. I feel like somethings missing. I don't know.
