A/N: So…the third chapter I think that some of you will be pleasantly surprised that some of the originally characters will be making their first appearance into the story. I realize that things have been semi-slow thus far and I apologize for that. Also, I have noticed way too many grammatical errors in the previous chapters, as well as using the incorrect form of your. I will work on these things. To be honest, I don't really think anyone reads this part of the chapter anyways. I do from time to time, but lets be honest this isn't what any of us are here for. But for those of you that are reading this, I would love a review. Hm...maybe I should just stop begging for reviews and use some reverse psychology and you guys.

The streets held the type of gloomy darkness that only occurs in the early forgotten hours before dawn. A time ruled by drunkards and thieves. This night was made worse than most by the foreboding clouds etched in the sky.

Itachi walked through the silent streets, carefully monitoring the figures crouched in the shadows. Slowly he made his way towards the bridge on the other side of town. He wasn't sure why he had been called out of his house at such a bizarre hour, but, his teammate's voice had sounded urgent. When he rounded the corner, the bride came into view as well as a collapsed figure surrounded in a pool of unknown liquid.

His heart rate quickened and he broke into a sprint as he pulled out a kunai. It couldn't be…no it was impossible, he wouldn't even consider the possibility. Even so, he was gripped by a fear unlike anything he had ever felt.

But, his fears were quickly realized as he recognized the broken and bloody body of his teammate. Kneeling down beside of her, he gently shook her shoulder.

"Mitsukai," he whispered urgently. "Mitsukai, please wake up…don't do this to me."

Her eyes flickered open and in that moment he saw a look of terror in her eyes unlike anything he had ever seen.

"It..ach….Itachi."

"There is a critical time where a person can lose up to 3 liters of blood before they are beyond medical help. How many do you think she has lost? One liter? Two?"

Itachi spun around, kunai in hand, ready to pounce on the new foe. But, his stance relaxed when he saw the gangly figure of Shisui, his best friend.

"Shisui, help me! We need to get Mitsukai to the hospital, there's so much blood."

"Itachi Uchia, a genius as a child, current ANBU captain, the clan's prodigy and hope; afraid of a little blood?" Shisui scoffed.

"This is hardly a time for jokes," Itachi's voice rose in anger, he began to pick her up, trying desperately to be gentle.

"Oh, that wasn't a joke. And, I can't let you do that, Itachi." He began to pull a shuriken out of his pouch.

"And, why's that?" Itachi spat as he began to walk away.

"Because," Shisui appeared in front of him, "she's holding you back. Can't you see? You'll never be able to reach your potential as long as she lives. She has to die, for the good of the clan.

Itachi carefully lowered to the ground, aware of the impending battle. "You've gone insane."

A large grin appeared on Shisui's face, "Maybe."

Light flooded his eyes as a rush of foreign chakra awoke him from his dream. He looked up into the cold yet beautiful face of Kusabana.

"Itachi? I didn't think it was possible for you to get caught in a genjutsu. Did someone attack you?"

"The threat has been dispelled." Many years ago, in fact….

"Ah." Turning she began to walk back into the stone fortress.

"Kusabana, don't tell anyone what you've seen. I'd hate to have to kill you."

She turned around, a smirk lighting her face, "Of course."

How many years had it been since I stood on the ground of my homeland? Mitsukai pondered as she observed the small port village. Children played in the streets; men and women bustled here and there, trying not to be late though not hesitating to stop and chat.

Funny how they reminded her so much of Konoha, though the village was different in many ways. How would the react, if she returned to her home? Would those that remembered her welcome her back with open arms, or would they reject her as a traitor? These questions and many others raced through her mind. Suddenly, she was bombarded with searing memories of her past, all of them to painful to purposefully remember. Holding her head, she tried desperately to quell the boiling emotions and thoughts. She stumbled blindly down the street; until she ran into someone, knocking them both to the ground.

Opening her haze filled eyes she met the green eyes that belonged to the person she had so carelessly hit.

"Are you okay?" the young woman asked, concern prominent in her voice.

Trying to recover her senses, Mitsukai carefully observed the kind girl. She was obviously beautiful with her pink hair that caused those green eyes to stand out even more. But, her stomach churned when she saw the girls headband engraved with Konoha's leaf.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Mitsukai pushed herself off the dirt road. The she laughed, attempting to assure the girl that she was fine, "Still need to re-adjust to walking on land, I suppose."

The pink haired shinobi frowned at the statement, "You look rather pale, come on there's a few rooms left at the inn I'm staying at. You need rest," She said sternly. But, her face soon broken into an honest smile, and she held out her hand, "I'm Sakura Haruno."

Mitsukai stared skeptically at the hand for a moment. But, realized Sakura was probably too young to know her name. So she carefully reached out with her own hand and shook it.

"Mitsukai Nelumbo, it's a pleasure."

"Mitsukai?" Sakura shook the woman's shoulder gently trying to wake her.

"Sakura-chan, do we really have to take her with us? How do you even know she's hungry!" came a whiny voice that Mitsukai didn't recognize.

"Though, I don't understand Sakura-chan's reasoning; I am certain that she is relying on some sort of foreign emotion."

"N-Naruto-kun…she's prob.. probably hungry…"

"Itachi…" Mitsukai mumbled

"Mitsukai, did you say something? Are you awake?" Sakura asked.

She let out a small moan as she pulled the blanket over her head, "Unfortunately."

"Come on, you need to eat something. It will make you feel better I promise."

Mitsukai sat up in bed, and looked around at the people standing throughout her room. There was a blushing Hyuga clan; a handsome boy with a pale complexion with dark hair and dark eyes; Sakura stood by her bed; and another boy with blonde hair and blue eyes stood off to the side holding her sword.

Her eyes narrowed at the fair haired boy, "Put that down. And, don't you have a mission of some sort to attend to? Certainly you have more important things to do than help a complete stranger."

A guilty blush crept over the boys features as he gentle set the sword back down on the floor. The Hyuga looked down at the floor in embarrassment, Sakura scowled at him, and the third boy stood back indifferently.

"Forgive the intrusion; we have the day off while our comrades continue the mission. We thought, you might enjoy the company. This is Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki is the fool that has to touch everything, and that's Sai."

She couldn't deny her hunger or her curiosity any longer, "I would be honored to join you for dinner." Though she began to wonder how she had slept the entire day away.

They took a small treck to the other side of the village and to the restaurant that Naruto claimed had the best ramen in town. Mitsukai realized that although they appeared carefree; all of the young shinobi's eyes darted around them, searching for a possible enemy.

"Mitsukai" she looked to her left to see Naruto suddenly beside of her, "where exactly are you from?"

Where was she from? For some it may have been a simple answer, but, to be honest she no longer knew what to say. She didn't feel connected to Konoha and saying the truth would bring too many unnecessary questions.

"No where particular, I'm a mercenary that tends to move from place to place rather quickly. Though, for the past couple of years I've lived in the Land of Water. I suppose I consider that my home, as much as anywhere else."

"Oh," he sounded a little downcast at this news, "so I guess you wouldn't know anything about the man we're looking for."

For some reason, Mitsukai couldn't help but feel guilty for letting him down. She had to be helpful, if it was at all possible.

"Maybe I have, can you tell me his name?"

"Itachi," Naruto spat the name like poison.

"Itachi Uchiha," she said softly biting her thumb in thought.

As soon as she said the last name she realized it was mistake. Suddenly all the attention was on her. Her companions had stopped moving and were now waiting for her to go more in depth into how she knew that name.

"My line of work, once placed me in Konoha," she carefully began, "I was very young, very talented and still had many things to learn about life. Though, I was a couple years older than the Uchiha genius, I remember being impressed by his skill. At such a young age he had already attained the rank of ANBU captain."

"Mitsukai, you speak as though you are ancient," Sakura said softly.

"Sometimes I feel as though I am," titling her head back to laugh, "I have already seen many things that I've forgotten and many other things that I wish I could forget. May fate be kinder to all of you."

"Ha-has life truly be-been so hard for you?" Hinata asked."

"Fate has been cruel to me, though life has been rather kind at times."

She smiled sadly as she remembered her life in Konoha, filled with its joys, sorrows and triumphs. Silence engulfed the group as they were all at a lost for words. All of them, save for one, awkwardly looked at the ground, the sky and the village in an attempt to ignore the sudden lack of conversation. Sai, who had remained quiet since meeting Mitsukai, studied her carefully; his eyes narrowed in speculation.