Itachi-(sitting on UB's couch and repeatly throwing a tennis ball on the wall in a bored manner)
Naruto- (playing Mario Kart with Sasuke) I'm winning! Go Yoshi!
Sasuke- (launches a spiny shell, causing Yoshi to crash)
Naruto- No fair! That can't be legal!
Sasuke- (passes Yoshi as Bowser, therefore winning the race) I win, dobe.
Naruto- (throws a fit and storms out of the house) TEME!
Itachi-(still throwing the ball) He'll be back.
UB-……You guys are hopeless…TT
Rock Lee- (jumps through UB's window, holding a rose) Be mine!
UB-(blushes) Aww…thanx Lee…you sure know how to treat a woman.
Naruto- (coming back) UB'S A WOMAN?
UB- (quickly forming hand seals) Fire Jutsu!
Naruto-…(sizzle)…
Rock Lee-Nice fire jutsu!
UB-Yeppers! .v
Itachi-…can we get on with the story? I'm bored…
UB-(grins from ear to ear) Sure! Anything for you, Itachi!
Rock Lee-(grumbles in jealousy)
Chapter Two- Frustration
Lenne's brain slurred slowly to life, the Mangekyo Sharingan slowly relinquishing its hold on her mind and conscience. Creaking open her eyes, she felt as if she had awoken from a deep sleep, everything was blurry, but as things flickered into focus, she saw a pair beady black eyes staring into her amber orbs. Blinking rapidly, she saw the unpleasant sight of Kisame's face, inches from her own. Taking a deep breath, Lenne tried to scream in fright, but Kisame's hand had covered her mouth roughly, cutting off her voice.
"Quiet!" He commanded harshly, hand pushing against her harder. Lenne, not liking being silenced, bit down hard, driving her fangs deep into Sharky's hand, tasting his coppery blood. It was Kisame who howled in pain, immediately letting go. Lenne took her opportunity. Even though her hands were bound behind her back, Lenne performed an impressive leg sweep, causing Kisame to fall to the ground, inches from a blazing fire. She leaned back, and whipped upwards, getting to her feet without the aid of her hands, and without a second thought, pinned Kisame to the ground, with her foot crashing down on his chest with brutal force, causing him to gasp in pain.
"Just who are you, getting in my face like that!" she snarled, putting more force behind her boot. Upon feeling Sharky's ribs start to crack, she smirked evilly,
"Whatsa matter? I thought shark skeletons were made out of cartilage!" She was about to break his ribs when she felt the icy blade of a kunai rest against the part of her throat that wasn't covered by the leather collar.
"That would not be wise, young dragoness…" a voice hissed in her ear, warm breath sending shivers up her spine. It's him! She thought savagely, and without thinking, Lenne knelt into a crouch and tried to leg sweep Itachi, who leapt into the air to avoid her attack. With a flutter of robes, he landed on the other side of the campfire, not taking his Sharingan orbs off Lenne's amber ones. Big mistake. For Lenne, anyways.
"Eat this!" she took a deep breath, accessing the fire within. But before she could release the blistering torch, a strong wave of pain rippled throughout Lenne's body, causing her to scream in pain as she was driven to the ground, sweating as the pain caused her to have a seizure, writhing on the ground as it felt like she was the one on fire. Damn Sharingan of his! I should have taken my eyes off him! She thought as she thrashed wildly, holding in the urge to scream again. Is this how something feels as my fire consumes something alive? Lenne was about to pass out, when the pain was suddenly lifted. Breathing heavily, she struggled to her feet, eyes stubbornly glaring at Itachi, who stared impassively right back.
"I don't think you'll be trying that again." He said, walking around the campfire casually. Lenne, still breathing harder than normal, looked down, determined not to meet his deadly gaze. Itachi stood in front of the defiant dragoness, whose head was still down. Gently, he titled her chin to meet his gaze. Lenne's eyes widened in fright, and she instinctively jerked away, but his grip only hardened slightly. Much to her embarrassment, Lenne felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes, and since her hands were bound behind her back, she couldn't wipe them away. Itachi looked deep into her amber orbs, telling him plainly that she was scared, and when a dragon gets scared…well…Her tears had built up to such a level that when she blinked, they spilled over and left streams of silver running down her face. Itachi sighed slightly, his orders was not to harm the girl, but not only did he harm her, he scared her too. Taking his hand off her chin, he cupped her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb. Lenne froze under his gentle touch, her skin tingling under his hand.
"I'm sorry." He stated plainly, removing his hand and returned to the dying campfire. Lenne blinked, "Why are you sorry?" the words had come out in a sudden rush on their own accord. Itachi stopped what he was doing and turned his head from the crouched position on the ground to look at her.
"For using the Mangekyo Sharingan on you in such a manner. You didn't deserve it." Lenne blinked again, more confused than ever, for she could tell this man normally doesn't apologize for anything he did, intentional and non intentional, but she was lost in his eyes, which had lost the Sharingan and was replaced by a deep onyx color. Lenne couldn't avert her gaze, "I'm…sorry too…for trying to burn you into a crisp…" she almost laughed at her confession, and she thought she saw a slight smirk on his face before the flames from the fire completely died.
"Kuso!" Itachi swore as the forest was swamped in darkness. Lenne's vision was clear, but Itachi was merely human, and without his Sharingan, was practically useless in the dark. She rolled her eyes as she knelt next her captor.
"Here, lemme help…" she looked into his now Sharingan eyes for permission. He looked at her suspiciously before nodding. He turned her attention to the red embers, and breathed deeply, the fire in her lungs burning to be released. Blowing outward, bright red flames rushed past her sculpted lips, igniting with the logs Itachi had put on in a few minutes earlier. Itachi, not expecting the flames to be as hot as they were, was practically blown backward from the intense wave of heat. Lenne continued to blow until she was sure the logs were lit. Done, she looked for the Sharingan master, who, to Lenne's surprise, was on his back and moving away from the bright red campfire. She cocked an eyebrow at his expense.
"What? Too hot for ya?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips. Itachi shot her a death glare, and sat on a fallen log with as much dignity as he could muster. Even from his position four feet away, the fire was still scorching. But much to his annoyance, Lenne started to giggle, almost maliciously.
"Serves you right for kidnapping me!" she declared, now starting to laugh harder than before, so hard in fact, she fell forward, right into the flames! Itachi, adrenaline shooting through him, and instinctively leapt to his feet and grabbed her waist, to pull her out. Still standing, he turned her around and checked her face, but to his surprise, Lenne's face had not a single burn on it, only ash, and a lot of it. Lenne looked at him funny.
"What was that for…and what are you staring at?" she thrust her hip to the side, eyes glaring at him. But then something completely unexpected happened. Itachi started to laugh, not just chuckle. I mean full throat, clutching his stomach laughing. So hard in fact, Kisame immediately awoke and stared at his partner in utter shock.
"What did you do to make-!" Kisame started, but when he caught sight of Lenne's face, which was completely covered in black soot, amber eyes staring out of an "ashen" face, he too started to laugh, but with the damage Lenne did to his ribs earlier, started to cough. She stood, completely offended, as Itachi's laughter subsided to a fit of chuckles, a true smile on his face for the first time in years. He wiped the tears off the corners of his eyes, another first time in many years. Lenne huffed, and stalked off, but Itachi was too quick for her, and she bumped into his solid chest, emotionless mask back on his face.
"Where do you think you are going?" he asked, his deep voice growling, demeanor completely changed. Lenne took a few steps backward, responding with a loud growl of her own, buthis eye merely twitched.
"I was just going to wash my face off. I hear a stream close by." She said, not moving. Itachi thought about it, then.
"Fine. But I shall accompany you, dragoness." And with that, side stepped to let her pass. Lenne walked by, glaring at him as she passed. Itachi turned to follow, eyeing Lenne's movements so he could prevent any form of escape. As they got farther away from camp, the light from the fire faded, and even with the Sharingan on his side, felt like he was blundering in the intense darkness, his foot catching on tree roots from time to time, but soon, he too, heard the bubbling of water from a stream.
Sighing, Lenne fell on her knees and tried to cup water in her hands, but being bound behind her back, found that quite difficult. Her arms were starting to cramp, but neither were aware that the thin rough rope had cut into her wrists, causing her blood to drip. Lenne nervously looked at Itachi, and he looked back impassively, aware of the situation, but enjoying her frustration. Finally,
"Could you please untie me? Not only can I not wash my face off, this rope is too rough." There was an irritated edge to her voice as Itachi weighted his options. The collar around her neck prevented her from transforming, and it absorbed most of her chakra, so even if she tried to escape, he could easily catch her. Pulling a kunai from his robe, he knelt down and tried to cut her bonds, but they had cut in so deep, being the thin rope, and he couldn't simply cut them. He cursed Kisame's bad tying job, which was his responsibility while Itachi scouted the area, fearing she would wake before he returned.
"Well?" she was getting impatient. Itachi sight, knowing she was going to be pissed.
"Kisame, that idiot back there in the clearing, tied your bonds tight enough that it cut into your flesh, possibly down to the bone." He waited for her reaction, some cursing, maybe some blowing-off-steam fire breathing, but Lenne just sighed in irritation,
"Do what you must. I'm used to pain." She said in monotone, eyes listless and dull. Itachi nodded, and said, "Lie flat, this is going to hurt. I don't care if you scream." Lenne leaned forward, realizing without her hands, she was going to fall flat on her face, but a strong hand caught her and lowered her gently to the ground, head turned to the side, cheek against the dirt, a strong smell of soil in her nose. Itachi raised his blade, keen edge glistening in the moonlight. Using his thumb to peel back the cut flesh, he inserted the tip of the blade just enough to saw at the offending bonds ever so slightly. He glanced at Lenne's face, which was as impassive as his. Luckily for her, the rope only dug into the top of her wrists, not cutting through her arteries, but he didn't want to risk cutting them, so he had to focus on the embedded part. Butthat was thepart that did dig in down to the bone. Wincing slightly, he cut them loose and pulled delicately, freeing the rope, and saving her hands. Lenne, sensing he was done, pushed herself up and observed her wrists with distaste, blood now started to trickle down her arm in a dark red line. She touched the tender flesh slightly, wrinkling her nose at the infection that had started to develop.
"Ugh, I'm gonna skin that fish…" she grumbled, lowering her still dirty face to the river, washing it clean and drinking at the same time. She also let the icy water numb her cuts, her blood turning the creek red with the profuse bleeding now that the rope was gone. She felt a warm hand grip her upper arm, pulling the dragoness to her feet.
"I'll heal you when we get to camp." Itachi said, ushering her forward back through the trees. Lenne walked slowly, stepping delicately through the improvised path. Itachi was so close her could feel his warm breath tickle her neck whenever he exhaled. Upon reaching camp, they found Kisame poking at the fire with a long stick he had found. He looked up and gasped when he saw Lenne's arms unbound and by her sides.
"You cut her free!" he yelled, jumping up from his crouched position by the fire. Lenne calmly walked up to the stricken shark man, and when she was less than a foot away, looked him in the eye. And she struck him so fast and hard, one second he was staring death in the face, the next keeled over on the ground, gasping for air as his dinner came back up to visit.
"That was for tying my wrists too tight! This is for scaring the s$# outta me!" and with a savage snarl, cracked him so hard on the head, his world went black immediately. She stood, fuming above him, sleeved braid swishing as she abruptly turned around, only yet again to bump into a solid object. Lenne jumped backward and mumbled apologies, until Itachi took her gently by the hand, and pulled her down as he kneeled down to the ground.
"I'm just going to heal your injuries by idiot partner caused you." Lenne swallowed and nodded for him to continue. Itachi accessed his chakra, his hand glowing a deep blue aura (A/N-Is that the color? Forgive my ignorance…but it matches his eyes w/o the Sharingan...)
Lenne witnessed her cuts being healed before her eyes, flesh knitting itself back together as Itachi's chakra healed the deep cuts until they were nothing but faint scars. Itachi removed his hands from hers to allow Lenne to admire his handiwork. She lightly traced a finger over the faint scars, a smile forming on her lips.
"Thank you…but from using that…Sharingan technique, your vision isn't up to scratch." She stated. Itachi blinked, and deactivated his Sharingan, and to his shock, his vision was blurry, as if he was looking through thick wavy glass. It gave him a headache as he shook his head trying to rid himself of the blurriness. He tried looking at Lenne, but all he saw was a fuzzy outline.
"Do you want me to heal you?"
That simple question caused immediate suspicion in Itachi's calculating mind. He was vulnerable, and she was fully aware of it, even pointing it out to him. What was that dragoness planning?
"Why?" his voice was low, almost a growl. "I abducted you. Why would you want to heal me?" he said, averting his gaze. Lenne sighed; the Sharingan master was a stubborn one. He than felt her slender fingers pull his chin to look at her, and if he could see, he would see a hurt look in her golden amber orbs.
"Yes, you did abduct me, but you are following orders from your leader, an honorable thing to do. It's in my nature to heal those who need it, enemy or friend. I am not a bloodthirsty monster, but…" Lenne bit her lower lip, not sure whether to continue.
"It is how your kind is perceived. You fear to be hated by humans for who you are." Itachi hit the nail on the head, as usual. Lenne's eyes widened, slit pupils thinning.
"Yes…I don't kill for pleasure, unlike dragons from the past…I feel as if I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. I am the last of my kind." Tears were starting to form once again, but she blinked them away, determined not to show weakness. The last sentence hit Itachi hard. Lenne was the last of the dragons that graced the Elemental Countries. She is more alone then anyone in the world. Lenne swallowed, and focused her remaining chakra into a healing jutsu, doing her best to concentrate on the hand seals. Her fingers started to glow with a red aura as she formed more seals.
"Hold still, and stare straight ahead." She commanded. The Sharingan master hesistated, but he realized she was using the last of her chakra to help, so he listened, onyx eyes staring ahead as Lenne's fingers came into focus as she prepared to heal his eyesight. They were so close; Lenne could feel his eyelashes tickling her fingers as her chakra was absorbed into his eyes. Itachi felt his eyes grow warm as his vision started to clear beyond what he would consider normal vision. Lenne finished, and collapsed on her side, totally spent. Itachi looked around, and he realized she had done. He could see almost as well as the dragoness. Her chakra…its not…normal…Somehow, she gave me vision nearly equivalent to her own. Was it intentional? Itachi just shrugged, and decided to take watch, as Kisame was unable to do so in his current state, but not before putting a blanket over Lenne, who was in a deep sleep. He found it somewhat impressive she had that much chakra to heal him to the extent that she did. But another thought materialized in his mind: if she refused to join Akatsuki, what would become of the songstress? Knowing his leader, he wouldn't let such a prize leave just like that. But in the meantime, he would just have to follow orders and somehow get Lenne to the Akatsuki without harming her in the process, which he and Kisame had both come very close to doing so. His goals were still on getting as strong as possible, training and honing his skills so when his little brother finally wanted to challenge him, he would be ready. These thoughts plagued him as he fell into a light sleep, ready to awaken at the slightest sing of danger.
Yeah! Second chappie completed, and so far, NO reviews! Oh well, but the first person to review will appear as an Akatsuki member next chappie (and I know Akatsuki only has a few members, but who cares? Just tell me your fav element while ur at it. Any element.) I also apologize for any OOCness on Itachi's part. He's only being nice cause he waz ordered to. And sorry for any other mistakes too…Until next time!
THE UNCHAINED BEAST HATH SPOKEN!