Chapter 2

Black water held me suspended in my own unconsciousness. Though it felt as though a hundred pounds of pressure pressed on my chest, somehow my lungs still drew breath where air seemed absent. Its great single eye appeared first, appearing as a cross between Sharingan and Rinnegan. I only saw its terrifying mass of head, wreathed in flame despite the black water. Two great horns curved in towards the massive maw like a ram's. Row upon row of jagged, razor teeth lined the demon's vast maw, each two feet long. The twisting, living wreaths of fire hiding the colossal mass of it's body hissed and spit like ten hundred infuriated cats. The one thing besides the eye none could miss were the ten, long whip-like tails that writhed and lashed the emptiness like a living thing.

Juubi…

The red, massive eye arrested my attention and a bone-chilling shiver racked my spine. Though being trapped in my body without its complete power, it could not kill me, its mere presence was terrifying enough.

"Keitara…" the ten tailed demon hissed. "Yes, you feel me don't you? You know its pointless, You'll only end up getting hurt when I make you kill that boy. So why not run, run from the pain that will destroy you?" it taunted.

In the creature's great eye, I saw the image of Itachi's mangled body, bloody and torn almost beyond recognition, by my own savage hands.

"NOO!"

My own cry woke me and I found myself alone in the cabin I stayed in. I shook like a leaf and my side burned. I curled into a clenched ball and wrapped myself in Itachi's cloak he'd left for me. I didn't know how long I stayed like that until I heard his voice.

"Keitara, are you awake yet? Sorry I'm late this morning, but I brought something special for breakfast today," he said, opening the door.

My fear blocked his words, I was only glad to see him….alive.

"Itachi-san!"I leaped from the futon and threw my arms around him.

He dropped the bag he carried out of surprise.

"Unh…Keitara what's wrong?" He put a hesitant but light hand on the top of my head.

"You're shaking so bad…what happened? Did the nightmares come back?" he asked.

Too scared to tell him the truth, I nodded, still unable to speak.

His other arm came around my trembling shoulders. "It's okay, Keitara. They're only dreams, they can't hurt you."

I sipped the cup of hot miso soup slowly and then took a nibble of the rolled omelet. This pattern repeated as he watched me carefully, concern buried in his obsidian gaze.

"Perhaps we shouldn't train today. I've never seen you so scared since that first night. We could do something else today."

I met his gaze. Those calm black eyes could soothe even fears of the demon's repressing power.

"Like what?" I asked.

He leaned back on his elbows. "There's lots of things. We could even just walk around if you want. There's lots of interesting places outside the village I could show you."

So it was decided. Itachi would show me places he knew of outside the village. I supposed he'd figured I wasn't yet ready to go into the village and at the time, he was right.

I stared in awe at the two massive statues carved into the side of the water fall, depicting a battle of great ninja frozen in time. My inner mind saw the statues move, the jet of fire shoot from the stone lips of the man on the left in the Uchihas' famous Dragon-fire Jutsu. And on the right the First Hokage's legendary Wood style Jutsu. Even from the distant land I came from and hardly remembered I had heard of his legend.

My curiosity wandered to Itachi, only just noticing resemblance in his face to the left statue. The obsidian eyes, like a moonless night showed most strongly. Only Itachi's looked like a starry night to me. Then the chiseled jaw line, not too hard but not too soft, though strong. And last the smooth midnight black hair. Though Itachi was obviously much younger than the man pictured, resemblance even existed subtly in the way he held himself, his wide shoulders, the toned muscles in his chest and torso.

"I can feel your eyes on me," Itachi said thoughtfully. "Will you tell me what you're thinking?"

I met his questioning dark eyes.

"You're an Uchiha too." I'd told it as a statement, though he nodded.

"The one on the left, Madara Uchiha, was my great great grandfather. Because of him, many Uchiha's have lost some pride in the name."

He saw the question in my eyes. "It's a long story, for another time, perhaps tonight. For now there's much more to see." He extended his hand, which I gladly took and let him lead the way.

Trickling water in the stream filled my ears and pushed out my worries for now. One almost heard its babbles of tales through the centuries it must have witnessed. A lilting breeze rustled the many trees scarlet and amber leaves of autumn.

I drew my cloak tighter about me as painted leaves danced about my sandaled feet in the just wilting grass. I tilted my face to the sky, taking in the sweet scents of autumn, filled with fading leaves, grass and small furry critters preparing for winter.

"It's so peaceful," I whispered, not wanting to disturb natures beautiful melodies.

Mother Nature's melodic silence let me hear, or think I heard, Itachi's nod.

"Come spring many of these trees will bloom pink. The Sakura are always magnificent here," he said.

"Though their beauty is withheld in autumn and winter, with a new resurrection every spring…" I trailed off, reaching out to catch a scarlet leaf the wind had claimed.

Though even in the calm, I got the sneaking suspicion of being watched though Itachi's eyes looked around the trees of the area.

"Keitara, get down!" he suddenly shouted.

One hundred twenty pounds of force knocked me to the ground as Itachi tried to protect me, but the demon's power reacted first to the threat the second my eye caught the glint of kunai. A shield of fire erupted around us instantly incapacitating the weapon. Trembles took over me as I stared in fear at the flames.

"Keitara, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

I hardly heard him, the grating growl in my head blocked anything else. Itachi could be killed in seconds if I lost control. I had to get him away from here.

He turned to the thrower of the kunai, who now stared in shock and terror at the flames, seeing the essence of the Juubi within.

"Poor pathetic Keitara, what now will you do?" the Juubi's grating voice mocked.

"Itachi listen to me. You have to go. It's no longer safe here. I can't control what happens next. Go!"

He grabbed hold of my arm and it took all my will to hold back the Juubi's raging power.

"I won't leave you, Keitara."

"Don't worry about me right now. Go! Please! I can't let you get hurt!" The trembling got worse as the fiery vengeful heat spread through my body like a poison. The red began to enter my vision as the beast's hateful snarls reached a climax.

"You're not strong enough, girl, why waste your energy? You can never stop me! Give in and hide in your pathetic mind!"

"Itachi GO!" I screamed in a last effort as the flames began to cloak me in the form of the beast. Four of the ten long whip-like rose from the flame chakra cocooning my body.

Either he saw the tails and realized what was happening or saw the realization in my now red eyes, but at last Itachi backed off with the words "Come back, Keitara."

Seeing his tall figure disappear into the trees was the last I remember before I lost control to the Juubi.

Itachi

Such incredible deadly power; he never would've guessed Keitara carried the burden of such lethal power, the power of a jinchuuriki. That red fiery chakra that cocooned her, becoming darker and thicker…Her screams of pain and effort to resist mixed with snarls and growls from the beast she hosted. He wanted to help her but it would be useless, this was her fight now. The chakra darkened and coalesced around her body, forming another shape. Two ram like horns curled at each side of its head and four long thin fiery whip-like tails rose from behind lashing the air without control. The eye was now glowing hot coals and a mouth of hot, scorching fire lined with jagged shadowed teeth.

Even Itachi stepped back at this. He had only ever seen the image once before in a book. This tailed demon was supposed to be gone…the ten tailed Juubi.

How was it possible?

A menacing, sky-splitting roar erupted from the mini Juubi. If Keitara imprisoned such unchecked power as the Juubi then she would never force it's power back on her own. It was simply too strong, Itachi would have to intercede before the worst happened.

Using the intensive gifts of the Sharingan, Itachi saw face to face with the colossal beast. Thirty times bigger than the exterior, flames writhed and twisted around most of its body. Its massive head with the two ram-like horns and those lashing enflamed whips as tails…this and its sheer size made Itachi want to cower and run, but he wouldn't, not when Keitara was in danger.

"Uchiha…spitting image of that Madara. Yet you are weak, not like him, who tamed Kyuubi."

Its awful voice sounded similar to that of several rocks and chunks of steel would sound ground together.

"Release your hold on the girl! I demand you!" Itachi shouted.

The beast's reaction proved Itachi's guess. Another thunderous roar split the space and the tails began to writhe and thrash much like cobras frenzied by food. "You are unworthy to command me! I should kill you now to save anyone else the trouble. The girl is mine!"

He spotted her then, just under Juubi's massive shoulder, her conscious form suspended in air by some unseen force. Keitara…

"You are stronger than this Juubi, better than to use this petty way of getting what you want. You cannot seriously think this will allow you freedom. You must learn to negotiate." Itachi figured appealing to the beast's greed and arrogance was the best plan for now.

The tails stopped their crazed thrashing and it seemed to think for a moment, providing it even could.

"And what would you know of this, weakling?"

"In order to gain something, something of equal value must be given. It is very simple."

"And what would be of equal value to freedom?"

Itachi's eyes widened at this, emphasizing the word.

"Freedom…release your hold on the girl and let her be free to negotiate your freedom," he lied. Unfortunately, lately he'd gotten very good at lying.

"Freedom for freedom…but how do I know to trust you, Uchiha? You care for the girl."

He nodded. "I cannot deny that I do, but as you are a part of her, I also care for you." Of course it was a lie. Itachi cared nothing for the beast that haunted and tortured Keitara so, but it wasn't the sharpest of creatures so could be fooled.

It seemed to think for a moment. "And if I should refuse?"

"Then I will fight you."

The creature burst into deep thundering laughter. "You are more fool than I thought, Uchiha! You would challenge a demon of my caliber! You are hardly even worth wasting energy on. So to save energy, I agree to your terms, but if you should betray me, I will kill the girl."

Juubi stepped back from Keitara so Itachi could go to her. She looked as if sleeping, but Itachi knew the darkness that enveloped her was not kind, but filled with nightmares.

"I would go if I were you,, before I change my mind," the Juubi warned.

Itachi took heed to this. He would take no chances with Keitara. Swiftly, he took her from her own prison.