Hello everyone! Based on the reviews, I'm glad to see that the story is going over well so far; as for the silent readers out there, I hope you are enjoying it! Thank you to 10ShizukaYuukiMistress10, kiwsy, and xXFallenxBeautyxX for reviewing. I really appreciate your feedback, so keep it coming! Now, on to the story! Warning: This is some strong language in this chapter due to Hidan's colorful, but limited, vocabulary. Don't blame me; blame him.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, just those of my own design.
Chapter 8
Kikyuu sighed as she walked in between Kakuzu and Hidan with her black hood up. She was slowly growing agitated as their incessant quarreling began when they left Ame and hadn't let up.
"All I'm saying is, ya motherless bastard, is that there is a special place in hell reserved for you!" Hidan exclaimed.
Kakuzu rolled his eyes as he calmly replied, "And I'm sure that mouth of yours will land you right next to me."
"What did you say to me?" Hidan shouted as he pulled his scythe off of his back.
The kunoichi growled and unsheathed her katana, stopping in her tracks while placing it against Hidan's neck and then glaring at Kakuzu as he turned to look at her.
"What the fuck-" Hidan began before Kikyuu's eyes locked in on his as she spoke:
"Shut. It. I will not put up with this any longer. Shut your mouths, now."
Hidan blinked before slowly putting his scythe away while Kikyuu carefully sheathed her katana. She walked past both of them in a huff and pulled her mask up as they crossed in to the country that held Takigakure at its heart.
'I don't need patrolling Konoha ANBU recognizing me.'
Hidan nudged his partner as he spoke softly, "Psst. What crawled up her ass and died?"
Kakuzu shot him a look as he replied, "You seemed pretty scared when she glared at you; I wouldn't be talking shit."
Hidan narrowed his eyes at the taller man, "She gave the 'Uchiha' glare. Even you have to admit that it's scary."
The masked man scoffed and caught up to Kikyuu in three strides as Hidan shouted behind him:
"You fucker! Don't act like it didn't freak the shit out of you either!"
Finally, the three-person squad stood above Taki, looking down into the small village.
"Tch," Hidan scoffed, "shouldn't even need sweet cheeks over here to find that jinchuriki."
The kunoichi looked at the Jashinist, "My name is Kikyuu."
"That's what I said!" He retorted with a smirk.
The girl rolled her eyes before sitting down and forming a ram hand seal. Her golden eyes closed and she inhaled slowly before exhaling.
"Hey! Sweet cheeks! What are you doing?" Hidan exclaimed.
Her eyes snapped open before she looked at Hidan, "Concentrating. Something you fail at when you attempt it."
She looked away as a spew of curse words erupted from Hidan's foul mouth as Kakuzu restrained him, stating:
"Leader will kill you if you kill her."
"Fuck him! I could take him any day!"
Kikyuu ignored this as she quickly sifted through the chakra signatures in the town below. She knew that Taki's shinobi numbers hand been dwindling in the last few years, but she didn't realize it was as meager as it was. It didn't take her long to lock in on the seven-tails chakra and its container, Fu. The girl quickly stood after opening her eyes while thinking:
'They're not even hiding her… That took less than two minutes…'
She looked at Hidan and Kakuzu to find that Hidan was still cursing at her and she rolled her eyes again.
"Hey! If you two want to get this over with, then she's in that apartment complex with a blue roof and white shutters. Third floor, second room on the right," she stated with her thumb cocked towards the village below before leaping up into a tree to wait.
"Hey! What the fuck! She doesn't have to help us retrieve the jinchuriki?" Hidan stated, furious as usual.
Kikyuu smirked down at him, "Pein-sama said I was to help locate, not help capture. A nice little loophole, eh?"
Before Hidan could begin cursing again, Kakuzu pulled the immortal down into Taki to do their duty to the Akatsuki.
The young kunoichi watched them go before closing her eyes and leaning back against the tree while sitting down on the branch. She sighed as her thoughts began running wild:
'What am I supposed to do about Itachi? I know in my heart that I still love him… that I never stopped… but… how do I overlook what he did?"
The kunoichi's eyes opened as she felt familiar chakra approaching and smirked when she saw Kakuzu and Hidan landing on the ground below her with the girl tossed over the latter's shoulder like a ragdoll. Kikyuu stood and followed them as they began leaping through the trees.
"Where are we going?" She asked, looking at Kakuzu for Hidan was preoccupied with praying to the Jashin symbol around his neck a few yards behind them.
Kakuzu shot a look at Hidan, "Would you stop that for two seconds so we can get to where we're going without trouble?"
Hidan looked up at the man and retorted, "Shut the fuck up! I don't bitch at you when you take hours to count your money!"
"Yes, you do," the man gruffly replied before looking back at Kikyuu ignoring his partner, "To a safe location to performing the sealing. You'll be in charge of feeding your chakra into the safety mechanism. You would be able to help, however, we don't have Orochimaru's ring as Leader-sama stated."
Kikyuu nodded before looking back at Hidan while speaking to Kakuzu, "How do you put up with that?"
The man smirked beneath his mask, "I don't. It is immensely satisfying when I slice off one of his arms or legs."
The white-haired girl's eyes widened as her head snapped up to look at Kakuzu, "W-What?"
Kakuzu quirked an eyebrow, "Leader-sama didn't tell you? The two of us are semi-immortal; Hidan much more than I. I can stab him in the heart and it doesn't matter."
The girl blinked before looking forward, "You're telling the truth… incredible… Next thing I know, you'll be saying Sasori is actually a puppet."
"About that…" Kakuzu muttered.
After three days, the sealing ceremony was complete and Kikyuu finally stood and stretched, her muscles screaming in pain from remaining so stiff for so long, but she didn't show it on her face.
'Pain is just weakness leaving the body….'
"Kikyuu."
She turned and caught Itachi's blood red eyes staring at her before the holographic image of him flickered out. After she sighed, she looked at the flickering image of Pein and asked:
"Yes?"
"We have finally uncovered information about the five-tails jinchuriki. He lives in Iwa. Since Itachi and Kisame are closest to that region, I will be sending you to join them. Get there, get the jinchuriki and then we'll focus on the others as the rest of the members search for information. They're in a small village outside of Iwa, called Iwaritoru," the man replied.
"I know that village. Also, as I'm sure you know, Gaara of Suna is the one-tails jinchuriki and is in line to be Kazekage," Kikyuu stated.
'I can't believe I just said that,' she mentally commented.
Pein nodded, "Yes, we are aware of that. Thank you, though. Now, leave immediately."
She bowed slightly before quickly leaving out of the entrance before it closed her in the massive cave.
After spending one day hiding from patrolling Konoha ANBU who were merely there on an effort of good will, although Taki seemed to not truly be missing their jinchuriki, and two days of travel, Kikyuu arrived in Iwaritoru. It had begun raining about two miles from the small town and it had turned into an all out downpour by the time she arrived. She noticed Kisame and Itachi standing outside of a small inn and she quickly strode over.
Taking down her mask and hood when she stepped under the awning, she stated:
"Hello, you two. Do we already have rooms?"
Itachi looked at her beneath the straw hat, "Not yet. We were waiting for you."
"Aww, how sweet," Kikyuu stated teasingly before smirking then opened the door to step inside.
The old man innkeeper quickly emerged from a back room as a small bell hanging above the door chimed and smiled at the girl:
"Hello miss. What can I do for you today?"
Kikyuu smiled in return, "I need two rooms."
"Two? But why-"
The innkeeper's question as answered when Itachi and Kisame entered. The older man paled at the sight of the cloaks with red clouds before quickly turning and taking the last two keys off of the board for storage.
"H-Here you go. L-Last two rooms we have. S-Sorry. They're only singles with full beds," the man stuttered before disappearing back into the room he emerged from.
Kikyuu sighed and placed what she hoped was proper compensation before reaching to take a key that was quickly taken instead by Kisame. He smirked and headed up the stairs to his room while stating:
"Have fun you two."
The girl glared at the man before noticing Itachi took the remaining key and began walking to the room. She quickly followed him.
The storm outside did not let up as Kikyuu sat in a chair in the room drying her hair. She had changed out of her soaked clothes and into a fitted, dark green shirt and a pair black pants. She turned her eyes from the window and noticed that Itachi was staring at her from his position on the bed.
"Yes?" She asked.
The Uchiha blinked a bit before replying, "You have… developed well…"
Kikyuu blushed as she pulled the towel from her hair, "You just had to make things more awkward the necessary, hm?"
Itachi sighed and looked away, not responding and letting the painfulness of the silence swell before, finally, Kikyuu stood after throwing her towel down and stating:
"Why are you still torturing me?"
The Uchiha looked at the woman across the room and asked:
"What on Earth do you mean?"
Kikyuu, frustrated, sighed, "I only ever cared for about four people in that entire clan of yours. You, Sasuke, Shisui, and your mother. I don't forget an act of kindness. I tried to move on after you left. I, first, thought that if I helped Sasuke then he would be able to lead some semblance of a normal life, but every time I trained with him, I saw flashes of the sharingan, though he didn't realize it. Suddenly, I wasn't facing him anymore, I was facing you, and it was too painful. So, when that child needed an understanding friend the most, he didn't have it. Then, I thought that friends would help, but every time we laughed together or went to some place in the village, I was reminded of something that we did together. Additionally, forget training! Because everything I knew, you taught me! Fortunately, Grandfather taught me water style so I could do something without going insane! And finally, ANBU," she pointed at the tattoo on her pale skin, "I tried to erase myself completely. Become lost in the world of assassins and powerful shinobi, but I soon found that their faces not only haunted my dreams; the dead filled the streets of Konoha along with your memory. I became trapped in that place and it was because of you; because your memory could never allow me to mourn the loss of Shisui and Mikoto! I had to be an adult for Sasuke and I had to hate you; no mourning there either! And now, here we are with the chance to heal open wounds that have been open for too long and you're more mysterious than ever!"
"Then what do you want?" he asked, calm on the exterior but alarmed inside that she was so emotional, something that even he had rarely seen.
"Just tell me why. Why did you do it? Why did you massacre your clan?" She asked weakly as she stood a few feet from the still seated young man.
Itachi sighed, "If the Uchiha had lived, I would have been forced into an arranged marriage… I knew what was coming however, and knew we couldn't be together for I would become a criminal and you, in my mind, would've remained in the village."
She chuckled, "A politician's answer. It sounded like you answered my question, but you didn't. Tell me, why."
"I cannot tell you the reasons for massacring my clan," he stated.
"Why?" Kikyuu asked forcefully, stepping forward slightly.
"That would only lead to more questions," Itachi responded.
The kunoichi growled in frustration, "I may not be the first person to deserve answers, but I still do. So, start-"
"Why do you drink?" Itachi asked, interrupting her.
Kikyuu, stunned, blinked then asked, "What?'
Itachi stood, standing only a few inches taller than her and repeated, "Why do you drink?"
The kunoichi smirked, "That should be obvious after my tirade and it was real after all, what you did last night. Shall we talk about that for a moment since I believe I've already explained myself on that matter that interests you?"
Itachi sighed, "I heard you blubbering in the kitchen and knew that if I didn't help you, someone else would've 'helped' you. Trust me, these men are brutal when it comes to women. Better I than someone else. When you began crying, I knew what you wanted to hear; after all, I am a master of manipulation," he stated flatly.
Kikyuu chuckled, "Oh, Itachi. Try to suppress chakra fluctuations all you want, I can still tell you are lying. You did that because you still care for me. Why can't you just admit it?"
"You are putting words and thoughts into my head. These thoughts, stemming from your own mind, need to cease. Caring for me will only lead to more pain," the dark-haired young man replied.
The girl rolled her eyes, "You say that after I know you still have feelings for me… and after you know that I still care for you."
"It is the truth and something you must do."
Kikyuu stepped closer to Itachi and replied furiously, "Weren't you listening before? I tried. It didn't work!"
The Uchiha glared down at his only remaining childhood friend, "And don't you understand the fate I am condemned to? I must die by Sasuke's hands and the crimes I've committed do not permit me any happiness. I must live the rest of my days alone… in silent suffering… but I must die with a smile on my face, for when I die, it will be at an Uchiha's hands. Hands that have judged me for my crimes and sentenced me to death."
A tear slipped out of her eye and she wiped away the horrid moisture while shaking her head, "Don't you understand, Itachi? Happiness must be taken when given and of all the people that need something to brighten the darkness around them, it's you."
The Uchiha deactivated his sharingan and placed a finger beneath her chin before gently tiling her head up to look at her. As he stared into her gold eyes, he thought he saw a flash of love, forgiveness, and desire before he kissed her suddenly. Kikyuu blinked for several moments before unthinkingly kissing him in return. Their kiss was filled with longing and the pain of separation. The kunoichi's chest shuddered and she pulled back, more tears slipping from her eyes. Itachi blinked at the loss of warmth against him before sighing:
"I apologize. I don't know what came over me."
Kikyuu nodded, "It's my fault. I'm an idiot for trying to convince you to care more deeply for me than you ever did in order to heal my own heart... I should be listening to you."
The Uchiha sighed before walking past her, unable to find a counter to her argument, for once, before curling up in the chair to the best of his ability, "Take the bed."
The kunoichi blinked at him before crawling into the bed and turning out the lights; the silence heavily pregnant with unsaid words and unexpressed emotions.
Also, in case anyone had been wondering "Betsu no jinsei" means "Another Life" in Japanese; a connection that is important later on.