Story: Kokai Saki Ni Tatazu
Author: Akane Arihyoshi
Disclaimer: You know what I see in the Mirror of Erised? I see myself owning Naruto. But alas, it is nothing but the deepest desire of my heart...
The Akatsuki hideout was nothing like Itachi had imagined it to be. The entire place was made of stone, set into the face of a mountain. Upon walking through the small entrance, he was taken back by the spacious area he had entered. The ceilings were far taller than any he has ever seen, giving the room a slightly gothic look. Light was provided by what looked to be old-fashioned lamps, which littered the room's walls. He barely managed to keep the surprise from reaching his face, but managed to suppress his initial shock.
The cloaked figure who had led the boy to the hideout looked back. His hat was still tilted so as to avoid showing his features until such was absolutely necessary, but that didn't prevent Itachi from sensing his leader's annoyance at being stopped. He quickly began moving again, and the man gave a small sound of displeasure before opening a small wooden door.
The second room the stepped into was much smaller than the first. Several more cloaked figures were seated around a small table, apparently in the middle of a heated discussion. Unlike Itachi's guide, these men weren't wearing hats, with the exception of a man who's mask covered everything but his eyes, and so the Uchiha could see every detail of their faces perfectly.
The conversation stopped abruptly as the men in the room quickly spotted the two new arrivals. The masked man lifted his hand in a sort of greeting, before turning to the man beside Itachi. "Leader, is this the new kid? Looks pretty young to me. How old are you kid, seven?" he said, turning to Itachi. He looked as if he was going to say something more, but he faltered under the intense Uchiha glare that the boy had him in.
"Kakuzu, are you really that fucking stupid?" another man said casually, throwing a look at the other. Kakuzu, grateful for an excuse to look away, turned instead to the man who had spoken. "Shut up Hidan, god damn immortal Jashin-loving freak." he spat out. Hidan barely looked miffed at the comment, but when he spoke again his voice had a touch of murderous intent laced in with it. "Never insult Jashin."
Leader swatted the side of Kakuzu's head, glaring at both of them in turn. "Shut up you two, I don't have the time." he said coldly. "We have important business to attend to."
Once again the focus in the room was on Itachi. All eyes in the room watched as Leader ordered the boy to remove his headband. Once he had done so, he was handed a kunai. The Uchiha couldn't help but notice the excitement in the room, and wondered vaguely whether he was going to have to cut off one of his own limbs, or even worse, cut his hair. This was not the case, however, as Leader soon explained.
"You are to score a line through your hitae-ate, in order to prove that you no longer have any ties to your home village. It also signifies your total alliance to the Akatsuki." he said coolly. So that was all. Scratch a line through his headband. Seemed easy enough.
Itachi held the hitae-ate in his left hand, the kunai in his right. He stared at the headband for a moment, before bringing the knife down to the metal plate. There was a sharp screech in the air as the two metals clashed, but the sound went as quickly as it had come. The boy tied the defaced headband back around his forehead, and returned the kunai.
There was silence for a moment. "Kisame, he's your responsibility." Leader said, before disappearing into thin air. The occupants of the room turned, one by one, to face a man who had, until now, been hiding somewhat in the shadows.
Itachi's first impression was of a shark that had somehow found its way out of water, and he quickly realized that his initial deduction had not been too far off. The man had dark blue hair and blue skin, with what looked oddly to be like gills on either side of his face. He too was wearing what Itachi had come to recognize as the Akatsuki's standard uniform, but a large sword was visible, strapped to his back.
When he spoke, it was with a deep, intimidating voice, cementing the image of a hungry shark in Itachi's mind. "Follow me." he said, sounding annoyed. The man then walked through another wooden door, and the Uchiha followed.
They walked through a small hallway, Itachi noting every detail. At last they reached another door, and went through it. Two beds were placed on either side of the room, along with a small bedside table and a chest of drawers at the foot of each bed. A door in the middle of the room opened into a small bathroom.
"Welcome home, kid." Kisame said, gesturing at the room. He pointed to the bed at the far end. "That's yours. Let's see...it looks like your clothes are already on the bed. Those clothes are to be worn during missions, no exceptions. Needless to say, this is where we stay in between missions. I'm sure you can get someone to tell you what our objectives are in the Akatsuki, but I'm not that person, so don't ask. There's only one rule in this room. No fish. None. I see one fish in here, and it's gone. Got it? Good." and with that, the shark-man promptly turned on his heel and left.
Itachi walked over to his bed. His clothing consisted of a fishnet shirt, pants, sandals, and the standard Akatsuki cloak and hat. He stared at them for a moment before putting them away in one of the empty drawers. The Uchiha turned to leave, but spotted something still laying on his bed. He picked it up.
It was a ring, a small stone set into a gold band. Written in kanji on the ring was the word for 'red'. Indeed, the rock itself was red, as red as blood.
The door to the room opened, and the masked man from earlier, Kakuzu, stepped through the doorway. He eyed the ring in Itachi's hand. "It's the red sparrow."(1) he commented offhandedly, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "You wear that on your right hand's ring finger. It signifies your part in the Akatsuki..."
Itachi looked at the ring with renewed interest, before placing it on the specified finger. Supposing that each member of the Akatsuki had one, and that there were ten in all, one for each finger, the Akatsuki was obviously searching for more members. He had counted the members in the room before, and they, including himself, made a total of nine. That meant that the Akatsuki was still searching for that one last member...
"One more to go..." he said quietly. Kakuzu merely stared at him. "One more until the Akatsuki is complete...isn't that right, Kakuzu?"
"...yeah, I guess that's right. Did leader tell you?" he replied, slightly shocked.
"Hn. No." The Uchiha suddenly rounded his gaze onto the masked man, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you here?"
"How old are you, kid?" asked Kakuzu, carefully avoiding Itachi's eyes.
"Does it matter?" Itachi asked. "Shinobi are shinobi, are they not, regardless of age? Since it is obvious what your next question is, I will answer that also, by saying that it is my own business into what things I contribute my time. Am I clear in saying this?"
Kakuzu, who had indeed been wondering about Itachi's reasons for joining, remained silent. Being partnered with Hidan had already taught the man about the benefits of being silent when in the presence of an angry shinobi. Instead of replying, he quickly left the room, leaving the Uchiha in peace.
(1) The Red Sparrow, also know as the Vermillion Bird, is a mythological creature that stands for the element of fire, and the direction of south. Don't ask me why this is Itachi's ring, I don't know. The kanji on his ring is 'red', short for 'red sparrow', which is what vermillion bird translates into in Japanese. Another interesting fact : According to my martial arts teacher, the Chinese don't actually use a word for blood. Instead, they use the word 'red' to describe it. So technically, you could interpret Itachi's ring as 'blood'. Fits him, huh?
A/N: I like this chapter. I think it's poorly written, but I like it. I got to put some new characters in, which I always love. Sorry about Hidan's swearing but...he's just not Hidan without it. Seriously. Hidan No Swearing BRAIN SPLAT.
I found out recently that I've got all the facts wrong for this fic. Technically, Itachi kept Sasuke alive for an entirely different reason, which completely messes up the storyline. So...what do you think? Should I make a more accurate one, but still keep writing this, or should I just write this one? It's up to all of you.
Akane