She had changed a lot since she had been accepted into the organization. She had long forgotten the name 'Rei', her only name now was Raine, what the other members called her. Her body and mind were numb most of the time, she had no feeling and felt no emotion towards anything or anyone. She was almost a double of Itachi, minus the complete insantiy that came when he got excited. Akatsuki had been laying low for the past two years, but it was now the last year before Orochimaru would begin moving. They were heading to one of their last meetings, the last meeting before the time they would meet in order to discuss battle plans for Orochimaru's move on Konoha and the Fire country.
She doubted anyone other than those in the Akatsuki would recognize her now. Her beauty surpassed even that of her mother's, the Lady Raikage. Her hair was a long wave of ebony that was soft and silky, reaching well past her waist. She wore her Cloud hiate around her forehead in the traditional style instead of her previous bandana style. She had little colour to her smooth, pale skin, but it was not sickly or unhealthy-looking, instead it almost glowed. But the skin on her face was broken, a short, bright red scar on her right cheek, just under her right eye. It was a reminder of who was in charge in the Akatsuki, and she would never again argue with Kariudo. He was much more powerful than her. She had not moved up in the heirarchy of the Akatsuki, but she had not moved down either. On the little finger of her left hand she still bore the ring with the kanji for 'Empty' on it, the ring that had formerly belonged to Higure Ayame, and to Orochimaru as well some time before that. She was both the shortest and youngest in the organization, but she had grown considerably stronger in the past two years, and was in the middle of the rankings, with four people above her and four below her. Right now she was preparing for the last leg of the journey towards a meeting place just outside of the Cloud.
"Raine, let's go," came a voice from below. For the last two months she had been paired off with Itachi. She was edgy and uncomfortable around him, but he was better than some of the others she had been paired off with on previous dates. But he was one of the most dangerous, posessing the Sharingan at its highest level. He also had a jumpy mind- on the outside he seemed quiet and reserved, and he knew when to speak and when to keep quiet. He could think clearly in dangerous and potentially life-threatening situations. But sometimes, something in his head snapped and he would go crazy. It was a good thing that this only happened in battles, otherwise she would have refused to go anywhere near him. And she knew now in detail what had happened to his clan. He had killed them, every last one save for his brother, at the age of thirteen. What suprised her further was the fact that he was, technically, still on a chuunin level, since he had left the village when he was an Anbu captain at chuunin level. but in their organization levels meant nothing, and the top five, herself included, would pose problems for even Kages. In fact, Kariudo could probably have easily taken on the Third Hokage, which Orochimaru had defeated with the cost of his arms and jutsus.
"Yes, Itachi-san." She slid from her tree branch, landing silently on the forest floor below. It was a two hour's walk to the meeting place from their current position. She brushed her long, black hair out of her face, thowing it over her shoulders and keeping it out of the way. She could feel the Ikichi around her neck, inside of her shirt and her Akatsuki trenchcoat. There had been much arguement over her, the Ikichi and the Aohane, but she had been able to keep the small piece of jewelry and the store of chakra that was the Aohane. She was now able to fully harness the Aohane's power, after Kariudo had unsealed the five element seal that was over her two four-seasons seals on her stomach. He had been the one to place the seal over it many years before, when she had fought him once. She was now able to make a full transformation and was able to fully utilize the Aohane's chakra, and when needed, she fell back onto these abilities as her last resort.
The Akatsuki had been fairly active in the past few years, nothing too drastic, but they had been moving around in groups of two, with Kariudo working on his own. They had been doing mostly information gathering and monitering the movements of countries or certain people. But now, before they went to battle with the Leaf and Orochimaru, they were going to bring it all together. Each person in the organization equally shared in the jutsus learned by others, but the more powerful things were for Kariudo and possibly only the more powerful members only. This meeting, Kariudo would decide their last groups, for the rest of the year, and assign them their last missions.
After an hour and a half of walking through the forest, the sun finally broke through the trees above, dimly lighting the forest. Travelling with Itachi was almost enough to drive you insane. He never spoke unless it was absolutely neccessary, or when something interested him. She was currently seventeen, Itachi was nineteen, and they were the youngest members along with one other. She was, technically, on a lower level than Itachi. After thinking about it, she had realized she was not even at the level of Acadamy Student yet. She had never once set foot into the acadamy, but had always been personally trained. At seven, her brother had given her his hiate. Technically, she wasn't even a ninja. She just knew how to use ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu well.
"This is it," he said quietly, stopping. Below them, at the bottom of a fairly steep cliff, was a small, dark pit. She had been here several times before to meet with Kariudo, but never with the entire number of the Akatsuki, four or five at the most. She held out her hands in silence, her gloved fingertips slipping out from the baggy sleeves of her trenchcoat as two, dull yellow orbs appeared before her. One moved towards Itachi and she jumped onto the other, controlling it easily and lowering them into the darkness. She had learned how to control the Ikichi almost fully now, and although the most orbs she could use at once was still twenty-four, she no longer had to make one for each element. She could make twenty-four Air orbs if she wanted, or sixteen Fire orbs and eight Light orbs, any combination, as long as there were no more than twenty-four in total. She controlled the two Air orbs down until they reached the bottom of the pit, where they vanished and the two Akatsuki dropped a few feet, landing on the cold stone in crouches. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as they stood and stepped forwards.
Stalagmites and stalagtites grew up from the floor and hung from the ceiling around them, and the steady drip of water was audible through the darkness. They walked in silence for a few moments, until they came to the center of the cave where several other shadows were already waiting, a few of the speaking quietly to eachother. She looked around in the darkness as she came to a halt, slightly further away from the rest of the group than the others were. From her current position, she could pick out the features of the ones around her.
To her left stood the person who was one level below her, Hoshigaki Kisame. She greatly disliked him, not only for his personality, but for his appearance as well. His skin was a pale blue colour and he had slits on his face that she assumed to be gills. His eyes were small and beady, like fish eyes, and for teeth he had a number of triangular points that made him looke like a shark, or a samebito. Across his back he carried a giant, chakra-absorbing sword, wrapped in bandages. She had seen the surface of the sword many times before, and had her left shoulder torn open twice by it, and it was not an actual blade, more of a collection of sharp, serrated scales that were meant to tear instead of slice. He was originally from the Wave country, and was one of the Hidden Mist's Seven Swordsman. He had a ring on his left ring finger with the kanji for 'South' on it.
Directly beside him stood Kaitou Akage, a former jounin from the Sand. He was the one who originally took up Orochimaru's place when he left the organization, starting at the bottom, but working his way up to seventh in their rankings. He had flaming red hair that was cut short and a pair of lazy-looking brown eyes. He was actually not very strong, not at all, but he was uncannily intelligent and resourceful, and that, together with his speed, were a dangerous combination. He was difficult to deal with in battles because he memorizes and recognizes patterns and concepts after seeing them once only, and after that he never forgets. That is why he was an important part of the organization, because once he sees a jutsu, he will remember it to pass it on to the others. On his left hand's middle finger he wore the ring with the kanji for 'North' on it.
A few feet away from Akage stood Fummetsu Kageru, probably the most consistantly mysterious of their number. She knew hardly anything about him. He was the most consistently secretive member, even Itachi finally told her about what had happened to his clan, but Kageru said hardly anything about anything. She knew he had a bloodline, a bloodline that allowed him to control the fire and water elements. He had bizzarre eyes, each of his eyes split between red and blue, and when he activated his bloodline, they would begin to spin, making his eyes look almost purple. He was a former chuunin of the Sand, and always wore a raven's feather in his hiate for some reason. On the index finger of his left hand he wore a ring with the kanji for 'Three,' which meant he was eighth in the rankings of their organization.
The person behind him, and the lowest ranking person in Akatsuki, was Daiku Tsutomu. He was freakishly large, which was the first thing she had noticed about him, towering almost two feet taller than herself. He relied on brute strength to accomplish things, and wasn't incredibly smart, but he had a bloodline as well. It allowed him to make a weapon out of anything he wished. For example, once she had been paired with him on a mission to the Grass, and he had picked up a treebranch during a fight and somehow it had turned into a spear. To her, it appeared as if he enjoyed being at the bottom of the organization, he never tried to fight for a higher position. Originally from the Stone as a jounin, he wore the ring with the kanji for 'Jade' on his left hand's thumb.
She turned her head to the right, where the people that ranked higher than her stood. The closest was the person who ranked fourth, one rank above her. Or, rather than stood, he hung from the ceiling, like a bat. His name was Kohaku Koumori, and was the only member that was not originally from one of the five great shinobi countries, being from the Rain. He probably scared her as much, if not more, than Itachi for several reasons. He had a bloodline, for starters, that granted him bat-like qualities. Or more vampire like, she thought, shivering slightly. He used his looks and talk to get close to women, before he would drink their blood to obtain extra chakra. He had the largest store of chakra in the organization at the moment by far. He was one of the more important members of the organization, at least as important as Itachi. Itachi had the Sharingan, and could copy techniques. Koumori needed only for a drop of his enemy's blood to land in his mouth, and he would be able to tell anything about them: gender, age, jutsus, if they had a bloodline, etc... He was the second most intelligent in their group and heavily relied on his instincts to get him by in battles and life. She looked him over closely, studying his face. He had small, well-defined features, medium-length black hair that hung in his face due to the fact he was upside-down, and his eyes were odd, one black and beady and the other dull, glazed over and grey almost. On the little finger of his right hand he wore the ring with the kanji for 'Black' on it.
Below him stood Uchiha Itachi, slightly further away from the group as in the same manner she stood. He was someone to be feared greatly. Anyone who killed an entire clan that posessed a bloodline at the age of thirteen deserved to be feared. Kariudo favoured him for his Sharingan, which was used to collect information and learn jutsus. The fact that he could make a person relive something he had seen by using a form of genjutsu was useful for relaying information accurately. He had short black bangs in front and a longer ponytail which was not clearly visible in the back. Most of the time, his Sharingan was active, making his eyes red with three, small, comma-shaped markings in each one, but he de-activated it to save chakra, and at that time his eyes became a deep brown that could pass for black easily. He wore the ring with the kanji for 'Scarlet' on the ring finger of his right hand.
Beside him, crouched low on the ground like an animal, was Hokkou Shirotaka, probably the most sensible and normal person in the organization along with her and Kariudo. He was originally a specialized jounin from the Hidden Stone, and was most likely the most trusted shinobi in their organization for Kariudo. He was the leader's right-hand man, and was more powerful than even the Uchiha. Shirotaka has a good memory, often providing information and backing it up with evidence from past dates to prove his points. He was able to speak at any time and is usually the only one able to reason with Kariudo. Almost all of his jutsu revolved around the wind and electic element, but being as intelligent as he was, he could use them to accomplish anything. On top of his elemental attacks, he also fought like an animal, with many animal-based jutsu. Raine didn't mind being paired off with him, he spoke to her and made good decisions most of the time. He had short, silver hair that was windswept and stuck out behind him in several, neatly-pointed spikes, and his eyes were amber and wild, animal-like. On the middle finger of his right had he had the ring with the kanji on it for 'White'.
There was a hiss and a small puff of silver smoke, and at the head of the rough circle appeared Muteki Kariudo himself. He always worked alone, as the odd-man-out, and as the most powerful member in the group. It was in his eyes that he had gained most of his power. His eyes were usually a dull, brownish-red, until he activated his bloodline. It was a bloodline he had created by experimenting on himself many years ago, and it was a dangerous combination. Byakugan and Sharingan, two of the most feared bloodlines found in the Leaf. She did not know how he obtained both of them, but he was a master at using both, and when activated, his eyes became completely white with three, dark commas in each pupiless orb. He also, on top of that, knew well over a thousand jutsus from every shinobi country, and used them well along with his incredible speed and unmatched judgement. On the index finger of his right hand he wore the ring with the kanji for 'Blue' on it, signifying that he was their leader.
She shifted uncomfortably as the smoke dissipated. Meetings between all group members like this tended to be tense. One wrong word on your part, and one of the Akatsuki might attack you, or even kill you. She knew by now to never, ever look anyone above you directly in the eye, and to keep all traces of emotion out of your voice when you spoke to them. The scar under her right eye tingled slightly as she remembered the time she had stepped out of line. Kariudo had said something she had disagreed with, and she had looked him in the eye, breaking the first unspoken rule, before yelling at him. She never made that mistake again. The people above you in the Akatsuki would not hesitate to attack, and Kariudo usually didn't interfere unless it involved him in the forst place. They were, after all, a group of the world's most-wanted criminals. They would show no mercy if you angered them.
"Good," he said quietly, adjusting something in the dark. "Is everyone here?"
"Yes," said Shirotaka, shifting as well.
"Before Orochimaru makes his move, we have to prepare. There are approximately eight months until he will wage war on Konoha, so before that time, we have to pull all of the pieces together."
"Will we be going out in new groups?" asked Akage.
"Yes, I will be re-dividing you. I will be putting each of you with the person you work best with and assigning the final missions."
"Then... The things we have left to obtain are the Kyuubi, the remaining jutsu from the Stone and the scroll of jutsus from the Sand... yeah. We still need to get rid of all those who know about us, and find out what the other counrties are up to... yeah."
"But, about the Kyuubi... Naruto-kun has become much more powerful, and he is still training with the sannin, Jiraiya. How will we get past them?"
"Yes... The Kyuubi isn't neccessary to destroy Orochimaru, but we need it for after that. In order to posess everything and to become unstoppable, we will eventually have to harness the Kyuubi. I will send out two after them, but it is not expected of them to capture it, but to simply moniter their movements and measure their strength."
"What will the teams be for the rest of the year then?" asked Shirotaka from where he remained crouched on the stone floor.
"The teams... The ones who will be monitering Naruto-kun and Jiraiya will be Itachi and Kisame. You are not required to do much, simply gather information unless there is an opening for you to capture Naruto-kun and bring him to me. I will be working in the Stone learning the last jutsus. Tsutomu and Koumori will be working together in the Sand to steal the scroll of the current Kazekage. You will also be required to gather information on any battle plans they have ready for the upcoming war. I'm sure they know that it is coming.
"Akage and Kageru will be doing some spying in the Sound. I need you two to keep a close eye on Orochimaru's movements and plans for the war, and the current state of the village. Shirotaka and Raine, you two will be monitering the Cloud. Raine, you have a deep knowledge of the Cloud, and you will both be using that to investigate what they are up to. For the last while they have been preparing for something, and we need to find out their plans for the war as well."
There's no going back now, she thought, shifting slightly. I don't want our plans to fail. I had better tell them... "There is another thing that I should tell you," she said quietly to Kariudo, avoiding looking directly at him. He turned slightly, and she could catch his dark eyes glimmering in the shadow out of the corner of her eye. To the others, she seemed to be staring at his chest, her eyes unfocussed as if she were looking through him rather than at him.
"What is it?"
"There are many more people who know about you than you think."
"Tell us."
"In the Stone there is one who knows many things about us. He knows everything from our intentions, to our abilities, to our names even. In the Cloud, Leaf, Sand and Mist there are also sources of information like this. I would think it wise to eliminate them now before any more information leaks out."
"We need names," said Akage.
"In the Stone there is Shinji, in the Leaf there is Kanzen, in the Sand there is Mikata, in the Mist there is Heion and in the Cloud there is Tsuta."
"What are their levels? Are they strong?"
"No, some of them are not even shinobi. The highest level is Tsuta in the cloud, who is a Jounin, but the others are all Chuunin or not shinobi at all."
"Then... You and Shirotaka can take care of Tsuta since you will be heading to the Cloud, Koumori and Tsutomu will take care of Mikata, and I will take care of the rest, Shinji, Kanzen and Heion. We will not be meeting again until I call for you again, which is almost a year from now. You will have plenty of time to complete your parts of this mission."
Raine took a long drag on her cigarette, her body relaxing as she closed her eyes and sent a puff of smoke into the early morning. She could not remember when she had started smoking, but it had been an exceptional replacement for coke, which she had stopped drinking years ago. They had just arrived in the Cloud, and were currently planning out their next moves. She felt much more comfortable around Shirotaka than Itachi, he wasn't insane.
"We should take care of Tsuta first. Before we continue investigating the rest of the Cloud," said Shirotaka, yawning widely. She sighed, sending a puff of smoke out once more before dropping the cigarette and grinding it into the ground. She picked up her hat, replacing it on her head and brushing the strips of cloth from her face. Shirotaka did the same, and led her away from the building, over the edge and into the streets of the Cloud.
"Which building is it?" he asked as they walked slowly down the street.
"It's just down this street," she replied quietly leading him past the shops which were just beginning to open. They walked in silence, Raine leading him finally down a small alley, heading towards the end, just before a chain-link fence where a door was. She reached forwards, turning the unlocked handle of the door and pushing it open, stepping into the dimly-lit basement.
It looked exactly as she had last seen it, completely bare, the stone walls and stone floors devoid of colour or decoration. On the far side of the room was an empty bed, neatly made with plain, off-white covers and two small pillows at the head. There was a small, bare kitchen and a single couch in the living room, but nothing other than that.
"He's not home," she said blankly, relaxing slightly. Tsuta was a Jounin, and although he was not a very high-level ninja, he was still a Jounin. And a jounin was not someone who you could simply kill, they usually put up a small fight before they died.
"We should wait here until he returns," said Shirotaka, looking around the apartment. She nodded silently, moving to the far side of the room. They stood in the far corner of the room, in the darkest shadows, barely breathing as they patiently waited. The house was completely silent, no sound whatsoever of the outside world reaching their ears. Raine's head was pounding and she closed her eyes, feeling the package of cigarettes pressing into her side as if mocking her.
But her eyes snapped open, suddenly alert as she heard voices approaching from faroff, heading towards the basement slowly. She concentrated, honing her senses and pinpointing it, calculating quickly and hearing three people approaching. She could hear Tsuta's voice, along with another man and a woman. She lowered her hat, drawing her hands inside of her trenchcoat and resting her left on a fan and her right on her weapon's pouch. The door opened.
Her guess had been accurate, but she hadn't expected three Jounin. Tsut stopped at the door, still speaking with the other two. he had long, brown hair done up in a loose ponytail, and wore a dark grey Jounin vest, along with his Cloud hiate around his forehead. The girl had dirty blonde hair and cold, grey eyes, although she seemed to smile often enough, unlike the other man. He had fairly long, black hair that was hanging over his shoulders, and seemed the type to find nothing amusing.
"I don't think Raikage-sama would do that, would he?" asked Tsuta, still holding the door open a crack and speaking outside with the other two.
"If he wanted to, he could, but I honestly don't think so," said the blonde, brushing her hair from her face. Raine froze. The dark-haired Jounin was staring directly at them. She knew he couldn't possibly see into that darkness, but if he stared long enough, his eyes would surely become accostomed and he would be able to see their shadows.
"Tsuta," he said quietly, catching the other man's attention. "Get away from the door."
"What?" he asked, turning to look behind him. Raine ground her teeth and narrowed her eyes, glaring out at them from under the straw hat, hoping they still couldn't see her. She was about to move, when Shirotaka held his hand out, stopping her. He was staring intently at the threesome.
"Is there something in there?" asked the girl, edging behind the dark-haired , Shizen!" snapped the dark-haired man suddenly, throwing out his arm. He had spotted them. Shirotaka moved with incredible speed, dropping to the floor like an animal and pulling out a large knife from within his trenchcoat. Before the girl could run, he sent it directly at her, the blade burying deep into her chest. She almost cried out, but instead slumped to the ground, eyes open in shock.
Raine dashed forwards as well, sending three shuriken at Tsuta, who knocked them away woth three kunai, jumping back into the street. She and Shirotaka dashed out, stopping in the alley and facing them, the girl dead between them. Tsuta tore his eyes away from her body and glared at them instead. he had a kunai in each hand, and was tense, unlike the two Akatsuki who were simply standing there, facing them in silence.
"Who are you!? What are Akatsuki doing in the Cloud?" snarled Tsuta, gripping his weapons tighter. She looked him directly in the eye, and knew exactly what he was thinking. He knew he stood no chance against her, he knew he was about to be killed. But the other man seemed more confident. He could pose a problem, she thought emotionlessly.
The other man suddenly moved, throwing a kunai at her, but she was ready. She whipped out her fan, catching the kunai in the paper and sending it back at him with deadly accuracy. He ducked just in time as it took a few strands of hair off, hitting the chain-link fence behind him and clattering to the ground. But she wasn't done. She brought the fan back again and opened it fully, revealing a number of senbon neatly wedged in the folds of paper. He had only a second to react before she brought it around, sending the twenty or so senbon directly at him with incredible speed. Almost all of them hit home, embedding deep into his flesh, before he disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Her eyes narrowed as she felt a kunai press into her back, and she dropped her hand, lowering it slowly and continuing to glare through the cloth hanging from her straw hat.
"Who are you?" he asked, pressing the kunai sharply into her back. Her eyes narrowed as far as they could, almost at the point of closing, but she said nothing.
"Shirotaka-san," she said slowly, in her unusually quiet voice, "you should take care of Tsuta-san before he becomes a problem."
Shirotaka grinned under his hat, reaching up and removing it to reveal his silver-haired head. He raised his hands and tensed his fingers as if they were claws, which they soon became. Chakra, visible to even the others, surrounded his fingers, turning each into a deadly blade and making his hands into lethal weapons. The blade at her back broke through the coat and drew blood from her flesh, and she ground her teeth, dealing with the pain.
"Move and I'll kill her," said the man behind her. Shirotaka paused, glancing at Raine.
"Kill Tsuta," she said quietly, in the same emotionless tone. Shirotaka grinned and dashed forwards with incredible speed as Raine spun suddenly, grabbing the man's wrist and attempting to wrestle the kunai from his grasp. He produced another in the other hand and slashed across, forcing her to jump back a few feet just as Shirotaka forced past Tsuta's defense, plunging his blades of chakra into the man's neck and killing him instantly. As Tsuta hit the ground, another shadow slashed down from above, nearly catching Shirotaka on the shoulder as he ducked and sprung backwards, facing the new enemy along with Raine. there was silence again as they faced eachother.
"What are you doing in Kumogakure?" asked the new arrival, narrowing his eyes. He had the same personality as the former, dark-haired man. His hair was considerably shorter, save for his long bangs, which hung in his eyes. Raine relaxed slightly, this was getting to be more difficult than she had first thought. They were beginning to draw too much attention.
"Kenja-san," she said, adressing the one she knew, the one who had just arrived. "We do not wish to cause any problems."
Kenja grinned, his eyes widening. "How do you know me? You must have been a Cloud-nin, ne?"
She reached up and removed her hat, lowering her hand slowly and letting the hat drop to the ground softly. The two men seemed to falter for a moment as her pale, blue eyes, clouded from her emotionless years in the Akatsuki, met theirs. She knew they couldn't possibly recognize her now.
"I don't remember a woman like you ever belonging to the Cloud," said Kenja. But the other man narrowed his eyes, tensing slightly.
"Heh, you're an exact replica of the Lady Raikage. Henge?" But she knew by looking into his eyes that he knew already it was no jutsu.
She cocked her head slightly, trying to remember the name of the first man. "I am not the Raikage-sama." They had spotted her hiate as well, and their attention seemed to be focused on her. They recognize me...?
Shirotaka turned away, replacing his hat and turning to her. "We should go before we start something."
She nodded, picking up her own hat. "Yes, Shirotaka-san."
But something stopped her, the first man spoke suddenly. "Tsukimi."
She stopped dead in her tracks, her hand lowering before she could replace her hat fully, She turned slightly to look at the man from the corner of her eye. He had drawn a weapon, but his face was not nearly as confident as before.
"We cannot let you leave now. You are a wanted criminal." Her eyes narrowed. That's a bit obvious, isn't it? But her face broke into a smile, to large and cruel for her beautiful face. She turned fully to face the man who had last spoken, meeting a pair of slitted, yellow eyes that she had formerly failed to notice.
"I am not Tsukimi," she said slowly, as if trying to remember the name. "I do not know that name anymore. My name is Raine, Sugi-san."
