Chapter 7
Itachi waited for the shadowy figure of the Leader to speak.
"And are you sure she is… unbiased?" Itachi nodded.
"Yes. She heals whoever needs healing. Furthermore, her home is near the village. It is an ideal location for a rest." There was another moment of silence as the leader thought.
"Is she powerful?"
"I don't know. I could not feel the presence of any chakra. She may have been hiding it or she may not have any at all. I'm not a sensor." Itachi hesitated and then spoke again. "I'm not exactly sure if this is always the method, but she heals with her blood." He shook his head. "It's the strangest color. Gold. Dazzling gold."
The Leader thought for another minute. "Bring whoever's bored with you. As many as you can." Itachi's eyebrows rose. The Leader saw and chuckled drily. "We need a healer. I do not want her to escape. Trap her."
"I think if we ask, she will come."
"Nevertheless, trap her. I heard she approached Kisame without a shudder. I want to see if she fears."
Itachi nodded reluctantly and turned to go. Within an hour, the entire Akatsuki clan was on the way to Yani's house.
"I can't believe Leader made all of us go, un!" Diedara shook his head in annoyance as the bomb-maker's long blond hair, tied up in a ponytail like usual, got into his blue eyes. The mouths embedded in his hands clacked their teeth together in agreement.
"Is she hot, Itachi?" Hidan asked, his mouth curling up into a lecherous smile. Although his silver hair and beautiful features made him look like an angel, his naked torso, Jashin amulet, pinkish-purple eyes, and three-bladed scythe belied his innocence. Itachi remained silent. Instead, Kisame spoke up.
"Like you wouldn't believe." He grinned, his sharp teeth flashing in the sunlight.
"She has a mansion, huh?" Kakuzu voiced through his mask. The clink of money resounded in his voice. He flexed his arms, making his stitches squirm. "Rich bitch."
"Don't call her that." Kakuzu looked at Itachi, who looked steady back at him. "She's not like that. You'll understand when you see her."
"But she's blind, isn't she? Why did I have to go? She should be easy to take on, un!" There was a thwack as Hidan slapped him over the head.
"Stop complaining," he growled, "Or our Lord Jashin will strike you dead!"
"He's your god, un!"
"Lord Jashin reigns over all!"
"Your face reigns over all, yeah!"
"That wasn't even a diss!"
"As me if I care, hm!"
"We're here," Itachi said tersely, stopping the argument. The group stood behind some trees, effectively screening them from Yani, if she happened to look that way. She sat with her head on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. Once, she stiffened and raised her head, looking their way. But after they didn't move a muscle, she settled her head back on her knees again.
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion and where Yani had been sitting moments ago, a cloud of smoke rose into the sky.
"Idiot! You weren't supposed to blow her up! You were supposed to trap her!" Hidan screamed.
"There goes our money," Kakuzu mumbed. Diedara laughed.
"Look, un!" Yani was crouched a few feet to the right of the explosion, eyes wide. The place where she was standing exploded again and this time, the team saw her appear a few feet away.
"Stop exploding her! I didn't even get a good look at her!" Hidan yelled as Diedara kept launching explosions. Diedara laughed again, making more explosions.
"Come on! She's avoiding all of them, yeah!" It was true. Yani was easily jumping away from each explosion, with only a look of curiosity on her face. Kisame started the hand-signs for a justu.
"Water Prison!" he said and a bubble of water enclosed Yani. Instead of struggling, she pushed on the wall of the bubble, noticing it stretched. "She can't get out of that." Kisame grinned. However, his grin quickly evaporated when the bubble melted, leaving Yani dripping wet but smiling happily.
"Hi Kisame!" she shouted, waving with her entire arm. Hidan whistled.
"Damn, she's really hot." The entire team clearly thought so too as they examined the damp shirt and shorts that stuck to her slim frame. Even her wet hair, which had now become tousled because of the wind, only added to her innocent, gorgeous charm. Suddenly, the stitches on Kakuzu's arms shot out, entangling themselves around Yani. She yelped and then scowled.
"Stop it!" she snarled, her eyes flashing dusky purple. The stitches started to slowly stop moving and then peeled back from her body, releasing her. When team looked at Kakuzu, he shrugged and retracted the stiches.
"My turn," Hidan said, throwing his scythe at her.
She caught it. She used both hands and slid back a couple of feet but nevertheless, she caught it.
"What do you want?" she asked slowly, letting the scythe fall to the dust. Without responding, Itachi formed hand-signs.
"Earthen Walls," Itachi murmured, while walls made out of stone closed around Yani.
"Well… that was—" Hidan cocked his head, leaving off from the rest of his sentence. They all heard it now; a high-pitched sound was coming from inside the stone box. Just when they realized it was screaming, the box crumbled and the full force of the screaming hit them.
B sharp, Itachi thought, realizing it was not screaming, but a very high note. The entire group winced and covered their ears. When Yani finally stopped, they shifted into attacking, more hostile positions. But what she did next completely surprised them all.
Yani collapsed on the ground and started to cry.
"W-why did you have to d-do that, Itach-chi," she sobbed, "I h-hate the dark. And I hate s-s-small spaces." Nobody could say anything. "I w-would have come if-f you asked m-me. You d-didn't h-h-have to…" At this point she pulled her knees up and started to cry in earnest, as if the darkness in that stone box had chilled her soul.
"…we forgot that she's still—"
"Young." Itachi finished Hidan's sentence. "…we forgot that she's still so young."
"Uhhh… Yani? It's okay. We won't put you into that box again, hm!" She continued to cry. Hidan dropped the chain he was holding, which was connected to the scythe that was on the ground beside her. Slowly he approached her and crouched in front of her. Gently using his thumb, he wiped away her tears, cradling her face with his hands.
"Shhh… don't cry." Immediately, her whimpers died down as she looked at him in fright, her eyes a rosy pink with light blue streaks. "We're not gonna hurt you, okay?" Tears started to well up as she fidgeted backwards. "I promise. It was our mistake this time. None of us are ever going to hurt you again." She looked at him and then looked at the ground, drawing her knees up again.
"My name's Hidan. That's Diedara, Kakuzu, and you know Itachi and Kisame." He pointed to each of them in turn. Diedara stuck out his tongue in a friendly way, Kakuzu half-lifted a hand in greeting, Itachi nodded, and Kisame flashed one of his shark grins. She was quiet for a moment, just watching him. She lifted her hand after a second and placed it on Hidan's face. Itachi had warned him about this so he just sat back, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Hi," she finally said, still subdued.
"Leader wants to see you. Can you come with us?" Yani nodded and then yawned involuntarily. Hidan smiled.
She's so cute, he thought, his eyes traveling over her long lashes, her eyebrows arched by his Lord Jashin, her gorgeous eyes, her thick, straight, long hair, her fragile figure…
"Are you tired?" Yani hesitated and then nodded again. Hooking one arm underneath her knees and one arm underneath her back, he lifted her up, making sure to stand up in an unhurried pace. "You can sleep. Don't worry. We promised, didn't we?"
She fell asleep almost immediately and when she did, Hidan walked back to the group.
"She's really light," he remarked mildly, as Kisame touched her nose gently, "like fifty pounds."
"Come on, let's go," Itachi said, running on the trail back to their base. They all took off after them.
When they had been traveling for about fifteen minutes, Kisame slowed down next to Hidan.
"I want to hold her now."
"Fine," Hidan said reluctantly, putting her into Kisame's arms. "But you have to run really smoothly or you'll wake her up."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kisame rolled his eyes and continued forward. Eventually, Diedara wanted to hold her, too. Kakuzu gave in an hour later and asked if he could hold her after Diedara. Finally, Itachi slowed down next to Kakuzu and without a word, took Yani into his arms.
And to him, it was the strangest feeling in the world. As soon as she passed over to his arms, she frowned slightly and then smiled faintly, snugging closer to his chest. He felt as if they fit together perfectly, as if he was meant to carry her for eternity. Nothing was uncomfortable or at sharp angles. Her head fit into the crook of his shoulder and his arm curved almost naturally around her back.
"Itachi, you have to wake her up. We're almost at the base. She might freak out if she woke up in the dark." Hidan slowed down and then stopped in front of the opening of an abandoned temple.
"Yani?" he murmured, his eyes on her face. "Yani, we're here."
"Come on, little guppy, time to get up."
"WHAT! You're pet name for her is guppy? No! How about… ticker! Because ticker bombs are the smallest, yeah!"
"Just call her little coin."
"No! By the grace of my Lord Jashin, we got her to come here so we can call her Jashin's Gift!"
By this time Yani had woken up. She slid out of Itachi's arms and into the grass, where she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Hidan crouched in front of her for a second time.
"Yani, we have to go into our base, okay? It's dark in there, but it's not closed in. It's really big." Hidan scooped her up easily and set her on her feet. When she leaned against him in an effort to go to sleep, they noted that she didn't even reach Hidan's chin. Smiling, Hidan wound his arms around her waist, hugging her. Then, he pulled away, pulling her hand, and walking into the entrance of the temple.
As the group got farther and farther away from the entrance, it became darker. Finally, they noticed her glowing skin.
"Yani, you're… glowing…" Kisame passed a hand down her arm.
"I know…" she whispered, still quiet, clutching on to Hidan's hand. Her hand had become cold. After a five-minute walk through silent hallways, they reached a vast room with Leader standing in the center.
"Is this the girl you were talking about?" Leader's voice rang in the empty room.
"Yeah! And she's really cute, hm!" There was a dull thud as Hidan slapped Diedara over the head. Yani took one step at a time, shyly, getting closer to Leader until she stood directly in front of him.
"What's your name?"
"Yani." She fidgeted under his gaze.
"How old are you." Suddenly, she scowled.
"You don't have to know." Ringing laughter resounded from Leader's mouth.
"Who's your favorite member, from those you met so far?" She scowled again, this time more vehemently.
"Does it matter?" Leader smiled.
"It chooses who you're going to spend the night with."
"You can choose."
"Very well. Spend the night with Kisame and Itachi. They share a room so you can always go to the other if you don't like one." Yani nodded, twisting her fingers. "I heard you don't like the dark. Is this why you're so fidgety?" She nodded again. "Well, Itachi's and Kisame's room has a big window in it." The Leader patted her head. "We'll talk more in the morning. You may go." Quickly bowing, she ran back to Kisame, who scooped her up and went to his room, followed by Itachi.
Yani fell asleep on Kisame's heated mat as soon as he laid her down in it. Chuckling, he and Itachi changed into their sleeping clothes and slid into their respective mats. Later in the night, after everybody had fallen asleep, Itachi woke up into one of his coughing fit. But even before he coughed twice, Yani was right next to him, humming the same melody she had before to stop the coughing.
"Thank you," he said softly, making sure not to wake up Kisame, although he snored loudly. Yani's eyes were the same light blue he had seen before.
"Light blue means sad, right?" Itachi tapped under her eye. She smiled despondently and drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.
"I wouldn't know. I've never seen the color of my eyes. I didn't know they changed until someone told me a long time ago." They were silent.
"Well, they are light blue when you are sad. The same color they were when you were talking about Sasuke." He tried not to let any emotion into his voice when he said 'Sasuke'. Yani sighed.
"Sasuke chose wrong at the crossroads. He chose to go to Orochimaru and forsake his friendship with one of his closest friends."
"What did you mean back then when you said a brother's love is strong?" Yani fidgeted and then settled again.
"I meant that I don't think sparing Sasuke's life was an act of hatred or pity. I think it was an act of love. A love so strong, that although the brother killed the entire clan, he could not kill his brother."
"You don't think his brother was evil?"
"Again with this stupid good and evil stuff. No, I don't. I think he was pure, the purest anyone can be. And I bet he still watches over his brother. Like a guardian angel."
"How… could you think that way? He killed his entire family and gave his brother nightmares for years!"
"Nightmares help you appreciate good dreams."
"Yani." Itachi could feel himself straining to breathe. "Yani… I'm… Sasuke's brother."
And without hesitation, Yani replied quietly.
"I know." With that, she snuggled closer to him on the electric mat and went to sleep.
When he woke up, Yani was gone and Kisame's mat was also empty. But when he saw the sunlight streaming in from the window, he sighed.
I overslept again, he thought.
As he changed out of his sleeping clothes into his regular clothes, Kisame walked into the room carrying tea.
"Here," he said gruffly and put it on the table. There was no need for words as Itachi smiled on the inside, still dressing. He knew Kisame worried about his health and they were as good as friends as they could be in a notorious crime organization.
After Yani had fallen asleep, Itachi had studied her for the longest time. Even with the pale moonlight that had been spilling over her face, she still had looked so vibrant and… alive. Her face had flickered with emotions that he never showed in his face, particularly the sadness that had seemed to capture her entire being. And when he had gently trailed his finger across the bridge of her nose, she had smiled as brilliantly as the sun and leaned closer to the warmth of his body.
"Leader said we have to escort Yani back as soon as he's done talking to her." Kisame grinned. "Just us. Back to the village."
"I'm not sure why you're smiling," Itachi deadpanned putting on his black and red jacket. Kisame chuckled.
"Hidan, Diedara, and Kakuzu threw a fit when they heard that." Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"Kakuzu?" Kisame grinned more widely.
"In his own way." Nodding Itachi wrapped his hands around the cup of tea, sipping it slowly.
It's so cold. Always so cold, he thought, tasting what he felt like was death.
"Come on," Kisame said, "Let's wait outside the room for her." However, when they walked outside, they heard a gigantic explosion and Hidan's scream.
"LORD JASHIN WILL KILL YOU. WE WILL RIP OUT YOUR ORGANS AND YOUR PAIN WILL BE SACRIFICE TO HIM!" Kisame and Itachi walked into the room to find Kakuzu restraining a screaming Hidan with his stitches as Diedara sulked in a corner.
"It's your fault, un! You said my bombs aren't art, so I showed you, yeah!"
"THE ONLY ART WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU WILL BE YOUR DEAD BODY STRUNG AGAIST A WALL FOR LORD JASHIN'S SACRIFICE!" Hidan was in pretty bad condition. He had millions of cuts everywhere, all streaming blood and one of his arms hung at his side, useless.
"But you're immortal, hm!"
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T FEEL PAIN YOU SON OF A—"
"But you like pain, yeah!"
"ONLY IF MY VICTIMS ARE SUFFERING WITH ME!" Diedara continued to sulk, even when Leader walked in with Yani at his side.
As soon as Yani smelled the blood in the air, her eyes widened. In a matter of seconds, she was by Hidan and searching the ground frantically. Once her eyes traveled to Hidan's torso, she darted over to Itachi and grabbed a kunai from his pouch. Then, in one smooth motion, she cut her wrist and held her wrist to Hidan's mouth.
"Drink it!" she said fiercely. Hidan, who already drank blood in his rituals, was not surprised as he held her wrist closer and started to lap up the golden blood. Once the golden flow ceased, she put both hands flat on his bare chest and sang a complicated melody about ocean waves tumbling the sands clean. Nobody could concentrate on her words because her voice was absolutely enthralling. It pulled them in with promises of wonderful things and yet, paralyzed them to the point where they could not move. A sapphire glow surrounded Hidan as his cuts healed and his arm started to reknit into the body. A moment later, he was completely healed, cautiously flexing his arm with a look of wonder on his face.
"Well, that's useful," Leader finally stated, breaking everybody out of a staring trance.
"Useful does not cover it," Kakuzu said, ideas clinking in his head like golden coins. Kisame laughed and threw Yani over his shoulder.
"Bye guys," she sang, laughing, "visit soon!"
"Bye Yani," they Hidan and Diedara cried out while Kakuzu waved.
As soon as they were outside, Kisame smacked his head in annoyance.
"Ugh, I forgot something. I'll be right back." He walked back into the temple, leaving Itachi and Yani alone. Yani was staring at the sky when she felt Itachi's warm body press against her back. He gently took the arm that was cut and bandaged it, his chin on top of Yani's head the entire time. When it was done, he moved back still holding on the Yani's wrist to inspect it.
"Don't do that unless you have to," he finally murmured, looking up to find Yani's shocked eyes a beautiful hazel color.
"Why?" she said, not taking the wrist away from his hand.
"Because you scared me." He raised the wrist to his mouth, and kissed it, just as Yani had kissed his palm.
"Here we are," Kisame said as they neared towards the outskirts of the village. The lake that they were standing near rippled in the slight breeze. The entire world seemed peaceful. Motioning for them to wait, she walked over to the lake and dipped her hands into the water. When she drew them back, she had two of the iced light flowers.
"If you ever need me, put these in water, even a teardrop. I'll come." Itachi and Kisame each took a flower and put it in their pockets. Kisame reached out and bear hugged Yani, receiving giggles. When she was dropped on the ground again, she turned to Itachi, who tapped under her eye lightly and smiled. She reached up to her face and gently touched Itachi's hand, which folded over hers. "Promise you'll come and visit?"
"As soon as possible." Yani was about to say something when Itachi's eyes widened and heard Kisame's sharp intake of breath.
A kunai, bearing an explosive tag, lodged into the ground beneath them and exploded, scattering chunks of rock and dust everywhere.
Itachi tucked Yani to his front and buried his face in her hair, shielding her from the explosion. In spite of the dire situations, his heart skipped a beat when he realized he was holding Yani.
I must have a cold, he idly wondered and scolded his heart for acting so irregularly, too scared to admit the other alternative. He scooped up Yani and jumped clear of the obscurity of the dust, onto the lake. Quickly, he ran out to the middle of the lake and nodded to Kisame, who was waiting there for him. In one smooth movement, she twisted out of Itachi's arms and landed on her feet, like a cat, facing the clearing explosion. When the debris cleared, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi were standing opposite of them. A snarl ripped out of Kakashi's throat, surprising even Guy.
"If you bastards touch her, you die!" Kisame smirked.
"A fight? Finally." Just as he was about to unwrap his sword, Yani stepped forward and cocked her head, as if listening to something. Even Asuma, who had the worst hearing of them all, heard the whisperings from below them, from deep within the ground. Kakashi paled as he listened and Itachi's eyes widened as understanding clicked inside his head. Yani nodded curtly.
"This fight is not to happen." Yani said, taking another step forward, her voice oddly business-like. "I am the Alpha Female, founder of the true Justice of the Wild. The gods, especially my dark lord, do not care for it. My guests are to return to their stronghold, unharmed. If you persist, I shall mete out what punishment I believe you deserve." Itachi put a hand on his partners elbow when he realized Kisame was about to attack anyway.
"She's serious, Kisame," he murmured, "can't you feel her chakra?" He was right. It was starting to leak out of her control, the barest amount. But even that tiny trickle was enough to start steaming the water around Yani, blurring her figure slightly.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Guy burst out. In the next second, he, Asuma, and Kurenai had all jumped to attack Itachi and Kisame.
"No!" Kakashi cried out, "Guy!" There was a brilliant flash of light as half of Yani's chakra unleashed from its bindings. Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy were blasted back and as the light and as Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame got used to the light, they stared, not comprehending what they were seeing.
Yani's chakra had compressed to almost a solid shape, a pair of angel wings, almost as tall as she was.
The power was enormous. Around her, the water was boiling and steaming. Even though it was still in the afternoon, the moon was shining alongside the sun, sweeping the clouds out of the sky. The trees around the lake burst into bloom, a week earlier than they were supposed to. Kakashi rushed over to help his companions up.
"We have to leave now!" he said frantically, giving Kurenai a hand.
"What do you mean? Just talk to her! I'm sure—"
"Don't you remember what I said?" Kakashi interrupted, making Guy close his mouth with a snap, "If we don't leave before she utters the first command, we're going to die! She doesn't have control over her actions anymore; she's not Yani! —"
"Leave now or face your punishment."
"Those are Akatsuki members! You want us to retreat instead of fight? This isn't you Kakashi!"
"This won't be a fight! It will be a bloodbath!"
"Kneel."
The very word was as searing as fire, and their blood blistered as soon as it was spoken. They all slammed down to their knees, not of their own volition, but because of the power riding in her voice. All of them struggled as hard as they could, but in vain. They could not move their bodies. All of them, that is, except Itachi. He was very still, staring at Yani's slim form and sleek wings.
Around her, the dark mist from her clothes started to rise, leaving them dull, and curled around her like a snake. On the near shore, a pack of wolves trotted out, tongues hanging out of their smiling mouths as they panted in eagerness. She took several steps to them and the entire pack broke out into a howl, making her mouth curve in the slightest smirk.
"Kakashi! Is there anyway to stop her?" Kakashi turned to Guy.
"No, we're screwed."
"There has to be someone who can stop her!" Kurenai burst out. Kakashi shook his head.
"There is one, I think, but nobody here can, I'm pretty sure."
"What do you mean, 'pretty sure'? Who can stop her?" Kakashi hesitated before speaking.
"I'm not sure if this is true, but I think her designated soul mate can stop her, or at least someone who is a potential soul mate." There was a stunned silence before Guy spoke again.
"Her… soul mate? Did she tell you this?" Kakashi shook his head again.
"No, she knows as little as I do. But her soul mate is her other half. I'm guessing he would be able to at least restrain her." There was another shocked silence. "In other words, we're screwed."
By this time, the wolves had stopped howling and were anxiously waiting for Yani's first move. She turned to Kakashi's group and smiled.
"You should have left, humans." She smiled even wider. "I would let you go, but the Alpha Female must feed her pack, and I promised them their dinner." Suddenly, she raised her hand and the dark mist unwound from her body, forming into a deadly looking spear. "Well then, tell my dark lord I send my greetings when you get to the Underworld."
She flicked her wrist, waiting for the blood to splatter.
A crimson drop landed on her nose and her eyes widened in absolute shock, changing from a red color to a hazel. Once again, Itachi's warm body was pressed against hers. But this time, his right arm was taut from the strain of holding the end of the spear, his hand and forearm running with his blood.
"Yani," he murmured, his voice low, "snap out of it. It's time to come back." The spear turned back to mist in his hand and settled into Yani's clothes. With his clean hand, he gently wiped the drop of blood of Yani's nose. "There we go. That wasn't so bad, was it?" The chakra wings silently folded back into her body, making the water stop boiling and steaming. "Okay, time to let go of everybody else. Go on, Yani, set them free." Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Kisame all stumbled to their feet. "There's a good girl."
It seemed like she had returned, except her eyes were still wide open and staring down into the water, as pitch-black as tar. Itachi bent down to look into her eyes. "Yani, time to come back. Come on, I'll make you some tea when we get back to your house. Then, we—" He started to cough, blood coating the sleeve that he had covered his mouth with. It was only then did Yani's eyes look up. She raised her hand to his throat, covering it lightly and hummed the same melody she had before to stop the coughing. Suddenly, her head snapped back and she started to hyperventilate.
"What did I— what— I—"
Itachi wound one arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He shivered inwardly, getting the same feeling he had before, of her fitting perfectly together with him.
"Breathe," he purred in her ear, her head nestled at the base of his throat. She calmed, breathing in his scent.
Burnt coffee, she thought, staring to breathe normally again, and snow. And abruptly, she was exhausted.
"Go ahead." She looked up, confused. Itachi looked calmly back. "I know you're tired. Go to sleep. I'll take care of this. And I won't leave you alone. You won't wake up by yourself in the dark."
She simply collapsed. By the time Itachi scooped her up, carrying her the way he had first carried her, she was asleep.
He barely had time to hold up a kunai before Kakashi collided with him, a kunai of his own in his hand.
"Take her away," he whispered fiercely, "and don't come back. She helped you to escape, so she'll be classified as an outlaw, even if I vouch for her." Itachi nodded. "And please—" his voice broke, "Please take care of her. You stood when she told us to kneel. Only her soul… only someone very special can do that. Defend her with your life. Please." With that, he leaped away with a clash of steel.
Itachi wasted no time, but turned heels and ran.