CHAPTER 24: LATERAL MOVE

Here lies the world and its treasure, the words had been etched in a simple beaded copper bracelet that fit around her scarred wrist, words that haunted her, echoed within her, and hung over her head in a stifling pressure of unmet expectations.

There had been times she wished it could come off. And other times she didn't know what she would do if it did.

Who was Kintsugi, if not the Avatar?

For a long time, she had been her world's saving grace, the unmatched human creation of the universe, the embodiment of hope and security, a load of political semantics and promises for a group who claimed she would be for the good of the people.

For all she cared, it could all burn.

The world and its treasure was a cloud of dust the moment Aang entered into the picture.

"You don't think you'll be safe with me do you?"

"Think of this as a lateral move Kintsugi. You're not renouncing your powers, merely stepping aside, taking a different role, if you would."

"It's Avatar Kintsugi you old man, but I suppose that once the body goes, the mind follows," she hissed at the ambassador as the sound of gasps could be heard among the small crowd, her own handcuffs jingling in sync with her trembling body.

"Watch your tongue, child. You may be like the Avatar, but the world knows and I know, you are unfit to lead as you have so clearly demonstrated with your blood bending for who knows how long."

"And what, what do you want me to do? I've dedicated years of my life to you people, more than a DECADE. My childhood? Gone," she breathed in anger, "And now that I'm an adult, now that you feel like you can't control me, I just leave? You drop me like you dropped your rationality, ambassador."

"I would have thought all that training would have done away with your immaturity, but I am proven wrong."

"Ha! You say I am unfit to lead, you are the one who is unfit, unfit to lead anyone but a spoon to your own mouth. But I'll tell you what, you're afraid of me-"

"I am not afraid of you," the old man seethed as his graying brows lowered in a mix of frustration and annoyance.

"I was a child with the weight of the world in my hands. Your words, not mine. You are afraid of what you do not understand, all of you. Besides, I never blood-bended anyone out of malice. Even now, I could easily get out of these cuffs-"

"Enough!"

Yes, the old man had, had enough. Everybody had, and in a splatter of dark blood, Kintsugi had escaped.


PRESENT

"Your apartment is not in that direction."

"I know."

"So you lied to him."

"No, I'm merely taking a different road. You see that tree back there, that leads to the street with the pork skewers and then the laundry mat? If I cross the bridge from there to where the dango stand is, that'll lead me to the apartment. But if I take this road...I only have to cross the stream and hike the winding road up the hill while I get to walk through the forest like some sort of fairytale character."

"And this is pleasant to you?"

"A walk through the woods? Of course it is. Don't you ever just go out for a walk?"

Itachi didn't answer as he matched her pace. She wasn't surprised he had shown up. In fact, she had been expecting him to show up after her meeting with the Hokage.

He was wearing a loose, white short-sleeved shirt with fitted black pants, albeit the illusion he was creating to those around them was not lost on Kintsugi, she could still tell it was him by the way his footsteps seemed to press gently against the ground with each foot forward.

With Kakashi, his footsteps seemed to land on the ground as if in a proclamation of presence which she supposed contradicted his overall laid-back personality.

Yet, when Kakashi was in a room, it was hard to ignore he was there.

"Well, you should do it more often," Kintsugi sighed as she played with the ground beneath her feet, creating little whirlwinds of dust as they moved forward, slowly erasing them with a flick of her hands.

Itachi watched in curiosity as her fingers gently curved and maneuvered the small fragments into birds, finally settling on the shape of what appeared to be a raven that followed them and would re-emerge in front of them every now and then.

"You have something to say."

She paused, as they came to a stop. Yes, she did have something to say.

"Do you care if...that...I can't," she knew what she wanted to ask. It was on the tip of her tongue and as the scar on her wrist began to itch, she raised her hand.

"It is not wise to judge others based on your own preconceptions and by their appearances," he spoke lowly, holding her wrist as he pulled it away from her arm, the sleeve of her loose shirt rolling down to her elbow as old and faded nail marks coiled against muscle in Itachi's sight.

He couldn't help but notice the way her breathing seemed to calm down in his grasp. But then again, Itachi noticed everything.

And her eyes, for a moment, seemed to meet his own.

"If you want to know who you are, you have to look at your real self and acknowledge what you see," he continued, this time stepping away from her as he began to walk ahead.

I am Akatsuki, he reminded himself like a mantra in his head, his thoughts conflicting as he watched her eventually settle in the spot next to him.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" She asked.

The conversation, much like the moment, was over. They both knew they couldn't afford anything permanent when they were both living lives on speedrun. They couldn't afford more than the present connection of extending a hand, one built on favors and threats.

"Building you a house-"

"I already have an apartment."

"An apartment that's constantly being monitored despite what any of this village's officials may or may not say."

"I mean you're not wrong. But doesn't that apply to you two? If it's not the village, it's the Akatsuki, if not the Akatsuki, there'll just be somebody else...Is this about what I'd said about possibly finding you guys a secret hideout when I met you two?"

"Your apartment has a structure and layout predetermined by someone other than yourself. And if you're willing to trust someone else with your living arrangements-"

"Okay, well I didn't say no. I was just wondering."

"Then, this would be convenient for all of us."

"Right," she smirked as he seemed to glare at her.

But that was okay with her. She would rather he glare at her than notice how her breathing would calm down every time he was near, to have her mind clear with every sound of his voice as he looked at her without any expectations of grandeur.

"I used to build community houses out of compact dirt when I was kid. There were a few villages near where I lived that didn't really have the skillset to be able to make them out of anything but wood, and what with the earthquakes, they would easily get destroyed-"

"This isn't community service."

"I know," Kintsugi retorted, "I'm just saying. I know just the place. Here," she said as she reached for his hand, dropping the small piece of paper Lady Tsunade had given her into it.

She couldn't really read his face, but Kintsugi knew he had read it.

"I just need some help finding whatever's on that slip of paper. You're good at finding stuff."

"I thought I told you this wasn't community service."

"It's not. Think of this as a measure of good faith. The Hokage asked me to look into it."

"In exchange for...?"

"Citizenship. I get that and I'll be able to expand the mines, I can go through all the legal procedures of removing the foreign exchange tax that's currently being applied to my net profits without suspicion, and in turn...we get more money for you and your friends over in the Akatsuki. It's technically a 5% fee on all income, but that's still a large sum if we're talking about thousands of money going out of pocket."

"I expect this additional 5% you earn back to go to us," he spoke monotonously.

"Of course," Kintsugi grinned, "We keep the books clean, we keep it legal there, and there won't be a trail leading back to anybody. I can even have my employees fill out wage and tax statements to reduce the current Konoha rate applied to non-citizen employers. With the construction of the house, that'll serve to cover the trail of money I give to you when in fact, I won't really need any money for most of the build. Just good ground, really."

"That only serves to cover us for a few weeks at best."

"Well, I could always build the worker's houses for when they're away from home. Some of them live 20 miles away and they stay at the hotel down in the village square."

Itachi looked at her. It was strange to think that out of all this, she would still find a way to do good. He wasn't sure where she came from before meeting him, but he knew that the Kintsugi that had existed before arriving to Konoha had most likely been a good person. In some way, she was still a good person, even if she didn't see it all the time.

"There's about 10 of them right now, if I hire electricians, plumbers, oh!...and since we're expanding the mine, I'll need to hire a few more people..."

Yes, it was strange to him. It was strange to watch her talk about indirectly doing so much good for a village he was supposed to hate.

He was supposed to be a lot of things, but the mantra still stayed.

I am Akatsuki.