Sasuke
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; however I do own Akemi, Yukiko, Zero and Rukia. And the Shīringu is mine and mine alone!
Summary: "When I died and came into the Naruto universe, I didn't think that I would be able to change much. I also thought that if I told anyone that they wouldn't believe me and I definitely didn't think that I could get a Kekkei Genkai either. But I was wrong on all accounts and I could not be happier." SEQUEL!
FYI there will be some strong language in this chapter.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Ever since we found out that Zero, someone from my world also knew about the future, all mission regarding the Akatsuki were put to one side. It only got worse after Asuma's death. No team was allowed to hunt for the Akatsuki due to the high risk. Due to this, my team seem to have been relaxing ever since. Of course Naruto and Sasuke have been training like crazy but I took the time to relax, it wasn't every day that I got to relax so I was taking advantage of the time while I could.
I, Naruto and Sasuke were in training ground seven, I was lounging in a tree while the two boys fought a few feet away from me. I was in stand-by in case they needed some healing, or I would fight the winner if I wanted to.
Even with my body relaxed, my mind certainly wasn't. Pain's invasion would be happening soon, I could feel it. Then after that it would be Madara and Obito. I wasn't looking forward to either, I was hoping it wasn't going to happen. It was definitely going to be a lot harder this time around with Zero on their side and giving them Intel on what's going to happen. We no longer have the advantage meaning that it was uncertain this time who was actually going to win.
I sigh and look up to the sky. The sky was clear with hardly any clouds in sight.
I hear footsteps approaching me, I turn my head to the noise and see who it is. It was Shikamaru, he was walking towards me with his hands in his pockets.
"Yo, Shika-kun." I greet him with a slight wave of my hand.
Shikamaru sombrely nods his head.
My brows furrow together. "What's up?" I ask him.
"Can we talk?" Shikamaru asks.
I send him a weird look. I look to the boys to see that they were still fighting. I look back to Shikamaru and shrug. The boys wouldn't notice if I slipped away for a few minutes anyway. "Sure." I jump down next to him. "What do you need?"
"Tsunade-sama told me that all missions against the Akatsuki are banned." Shikamaru says, almost in an accusing tone.
I arch and eyebrow. "And? What do you want me to do about it?"
"Change it." Shikamaru demands abruptly.
I almost took a step back in shock, I had never heard Shikamaru talk in that tone before, it unnerved me slightly. Coming out of my shock, I shake my head. "No can do."
"Why?" He asks glaring at me.
Sighing, I look to the genius. "Do you remember what Ibiki said to us three years ago?"
Shikamaru gives me a look, silently asking me why this is important.
"He said, 'When information is gathered and the enemy or a third party finds out about it, that information is no longer guaranteed to be correct.'" I recite remembering it perfectly. Ever since he said those words to us all those years ago, it had stuck with me. It was something that had replayed in my mind since finding out that Zero was out to destroy everything I've done.
Shikamaru looks annoyed. "What does that have to do with anything?"
I send him an exasperated look. "A third party also has the same information as me. We can't rely in my Intel anymore. It also means that no one can go after the Akatsuki because now they know everything about us, our weaknesses and strengths and they will use that." I explain to Shikamaru hoping that he would understand. I know that he wants revenge for Asuma's death but it was too dangerous.
Shikamaru dismisses this. "I'll be fine."
I shake my head. "No you won't. You're too emotionally unstable, your emotions are clouding your judgement."
Shikamaru clenches his fists and grits his teeth. I had hit a nerve that much I could tell.
"You will get your revenge, just not now." I tell him hoping that it would make him feel better.
It worked slightly, Shikamaru relaxes slightly.
"Just be patient." I pat his shoulder and walk over to the boys. Naruto and Sasuke were done fighting and now needed healing like always.
Shikamaru sighs and walks away with his hands in his pocket. He understood but that didn't mean he wanted to listen. He didn't like being told he was wrong, his father even warned him that he couldn't be irrational. Looking up to the sky, he closes his eyes for a moment and relaxes. After taking this moment to himself, he turns around and walks away, feeling much calmer.
After offering Naruto and Sasuke some ramen, we head straight over to the Ichiraku ramen stand. However, we didn't even get to eat ramen at all. The ramen stand was in sight, but we would never make it alas. An ANBU appeared in front of us and told us to report to Tsunade's office before the ANBU disappeared. Naruto was sulking the whole way. Sasuke was annoyed with Naruto sulking and I couldn't stop thinking about Jiraiya, wondering if he was okay.
Entering the office, Tsunade greeted us with a grim look. I didn't feel any better after seeing that look.
"You wanted to see us Obaa-san?" Naruto asks not noticing the tension in the room.
Tsunade glared at Naruto for calling her Obaa-san, but she sighs. "I'm calling you here for a mission concerning the Akatsuki."
"But I thought any missions concerning the Akatsuki were banned for now?" I ask confused. Tsunade was the one who made the rule and she was adamant that no one was going to change her mind.
Tsunade sighs. "I know but the Elders have decided that this isn't the case anymore. They believe that I am overreacting." Tsunade scowls at the end showing how much she appreciated their input.
Sasuke scoffs, the Elders definitely weren't his favourite people. They weren't many people's favourites, especially not mine or Itachi's.
"What's the mission then?" I ask.
Tsunade purses her lip. "We received a distress signal. The person's name was Yukimaru."
"He's the Third Tail." I say immediately.
Tsunade nods, confirming what I said.
"So the Akatsuki are definitely going to be involved." Naruto comments in a thinking pose.
I step forward. "Tsunade, it's going to get to the point where Naruto-kun won't be allowed to leave the village, he himself is a target." Naruto frowns, an unhappy look on his face. He didn't like it, but I was right. He was a target and he knew the Akatsuki would come for him eventually.
Tsunade facial expression became graver. "I know."
"When do we leave?" Sasuke asks, a bored look on his face.
"Today, within the next three hours." Tsunade answers.
Before we left the office, I spared her a glance. The worried look in her brown eyes spoke volumes. She was also worried about Jiraya, I had informed Tsunade of Jiraya's fate but she never took me seriously. Now it was obvious that my words were resonating with her. But even she couldn't say no to the Elders, no matter how much she wanted to. They held quite a bit of power, more than Tsunade or I would have liked.
"You're worried, aren't you?" I say.
Tsunade lifts her lowered head. She had lowered head due to the banging headache that she had and it wasn't from booze this time. "I am." Tsunade visibly deflates, she would have argued with anyone else and said that she was fine.
I nod my head in understanding.
"Akemi," Tsunade says a low voice. "Will he come back alive?"
The question hung in the air heavily. The weight of this question hung heavily on Tsunade's shoulders. It also put weight on my shoulders and the back of my neck. She knew the answer to this question, but she was hoping that my answer had changed.
"I don't know." I answer her honestly.
Tsunade looks at me, her eyes holding sadness in them. Tsunade had seen many tragedies, wars, people dying, you name it and she probably would have seen it. She lost her younger brother, her fiancé, her teacher, and one of her teammates. Now she would lose her last teammate.
"It's all up to Jiraiya now." I say before walking away to get ready for the mission. Jiraiya knew this information himself, whether he chose to heed my warnings or not was up to him. I'd like to think that he would and he would come back, but I had this dreadful feeling that he wasn't.
Tsunade spins around in her chair and looks out the window. "Don't you dare die on me Jiraiya." Tsunade mumbles.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Within three hours, I, Naruto and Sasuke were packed. Kakashi would have come with us, but it was too short notice and he was busy with a mission of his own. We were headed for the Sound Village, which would take a while to get to. Hopefully we would get to Yukimaru before the Akatsuki did, and hopefully it wasn't a trap. However, there was a feeling in my gut that made me feel uneasy.
"I wonder what changed." Naruto wonders as we run.
Sasuke scowled. "The Elders changed it that's what."
I groaned. "If only they would retire."
Naruto laughed. "I don't think they would."
I grin. "Hey, imagine if Tsunade told them to retire, what do you recon they would do?"
Sasuke smirks. "I'd think they'd have a heart attack." We all share an amused look and laugh. Sasuke laughed slightly while I and Naruto laughed loudly.
We travelled in silence after that. All of us were focused on getting to Sound without a hitch. As we ran, the tenser we got, the Village Hidden in the Sound was still untrustworthy in Konoha's eyes. The new leader that had taken over didn't seem to like Konoha much and refused to make any negotiations. This is why the mission was so tense, Sound couldn't know that we had entered their village, it would more than likely cause more problems. There was a chance that we would be held hostage or we could get killed. It was risky, but it needed to be done.
I was pulled from my thoughts when someone grabbed my arm to stop me running. I stop and look, Sasuke was the one who had grabbed my arm and Naruto had also stopped. "What is it?" I ask.
"Someone is watching us." Sasuke says not letting go of my arm. His Sharingan was activated and he glaring all around him.
I look around, with my own Kekkei Genkai activated. I could sense five people, one of who I recognised.
Zero was here.
"Looks like we meet again." Zero says appearing in front of us.
My team jumps into action, Naruto makes his clones and Sasuke let go of me and has his sword out and really to use. His Sharingan was swirling around furiously as he looked at Zero with a deadly look. I had my Sais out, ready for an attack.
Zero waved this off. "Oh calm down you three. I'm not here to fight you."
"Then what are you here for?" Naruto asks glaring at Zero.
Zero smirked evilly. "I never said they weren't though." He waved his hand and four shadows appeared.
The first person was a male, he is lean-built with an average height, straight white hair with a light-blue tint to it. He had almond shaped purple eyes and he has pointed teeth. He's wearing a purple, sleeveless shirt with blue pants, sandals and a belt around his waist with water bottles attached to it. He also wears another belt strapped to his chest which he uses to carry a large sword that looked very familiar. It was Suigetsu Hōzuki and he had the Akatsuki cloak on him.
The second person that appeared was female. She has crimson eyes, fair skin, and red hair. Her hair is short and spiky on the right side, while longer and straight on the left side. She wears brown narrow glasses and her outfit consists of a lavender uniform that exposes her navel, short black shorts, and long black thigh high stockings with black sandals. It was Karin and she too was wearing the Akatsuki cloak.
The third person appeared right beside Karin and Suigetsu. The third was a male and is a tall, muscular young man who has spiky orange hair and red-orange eyes. This is Jugo and he was wearing the Akatsuki cloak with dark blue pants and black ninja sandals.
The last person was a woman. She was a relatively tall woman who had short, straight blue hair, amber eyes with lavender eye shadow, and a labret piercing. She was also wearing a large light blue paper flower in her hair. She wore the Akatsuki cloak and her Akatsuki ring on her right middle finger, the kanji on it meaning 'white'. She also wore orange nail polish. It was Konan and she was looking at us with an expressionless face.
Seeing Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo made me feel nervous. Why were they here? They shouldn't have been included, Sasuke never went and got them.
Zero looks at his team. "Get them."
Konan sends him a look, I nearly missed this look but luckily I didn't. It looked like she didn't appreciate him ordering her about, to which I don't blame her. However, Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo happily obliged. They jumped at us, with Konan heading towards me, Suigetsu headed for Naruto and Jugo and Karin headed for Sasuke.
I jump out of the way in time, Konan sent paper bombs in my direction. As soon as they landed, they exploded. I jumped into the air to get away from the cloud of smoke and was met with Konan. She was in the air too with wings made out of paper. Looking at the wings, I couldn't help but stop and look at them in awe, they were beautiful but deadly. Snapping myself back into reality, I make the head seals.
"Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu!" I spat a powerful beam of boiling water from my mouth. This jutsu is strong enough to cut through wood and hot enough to scald flesh, something that Haku had showed me how to do. This attack shot towards Konan, she used her paper wings to cover herself, but the paper was quickly burnt through and dissolved.
Konan saw the damage done and brings herself to the ground.
"Why are you with him?" I ask her, just a few feet away from her.
Konan looks at me blankly.
"You don't even like him." I say.
"And how would you know that?" Konan asks, raising a delicate eyebrow at me.
"You think I didn't see that look when he told you to attack." I point out.
Konan was silent for a moment and studied me with a critical look. "What makes you so special?" She asks.
I blink a few times slowly. That came out of nowhere, so I felt kind of thrown off. "What do you mean?" I ask with furrowed brows. Surely she would know about me being from another world, she was very close with Pain after all. From what Sasori said, I could gather that Pain knows about me because of Zero, however she seems confused. Did Pain not tell her?
Konan didn't say anything more, she just threw more paper bombs at me. I jump out of the way and say. "Surely Pain would have told you."
Konan glares at me harshly and throws more bombs at me furiously. I had hit a nerve.
"He hasn't said a word to you." I say in shock as my eyes widen.
"Shut up." Konan says running after me and throwing more paper bombs at me. I run away from her, avoiding the bombs that she was throwing my way.
"Sasori said he just appeared out of nowhere, is that true?" I ask her.
Konan falters for a moment, but that was enough to tell me that Sasori was right. It had been nagging at me since Sasori had told me. Why would any of the Akatsuki members just accept a stranger joining their organisation? From Konan's reaction, this tells me that some don't agree with the decision for Zero to be let in.
"You wonder where he's come from, don't you." I say.
Konan stops were she is and so do I, we stand a few feet apart and just look at each other. The way Konan's eyes flickered to Zero, who was watching us with an unpleased look on his face, indicated her disgust in him. She didn't like him and she wasn't hiding that fact either.
"Pain's been acting different since he's arrived." Konan says.
I look at her. "Why are you telling me this?" Konan was quite reclusive unless it came to Pain, but I image that she would be feeling hurt about not being told and being kept in the dark.
Konan looks at me with a blank look. "Because I know it has to do with you and Zero. I'm not stupid."
"I never said you were." I spare a glance at my teammates. Suigetsu was still fighting Naruto and was losing, but I couldn't see Sasuke, Karin or Jugo anywhere and this made me feel uneasy. Looking at Zero only increased this feeling, Zero had a smirk on his face.
Something was wrong.
I look at Konan. "What's happening?" Panic was setting in, something was going to happen. I could feel it.
Konan stayed silent.
"Draw back!" Zero yells out.
My head shoots up, that smirk on his face was back. It was filled with smugness and arrogance that I wanted to wipe from his face. Konan silently makes her paper wings and flew back to Zero. Suigetsu stops fighting and also jumps back, but he wasn't uninjured, he looked like he had been through hell and back.
However, Karin nor Jugo made a reappearance. But Zero didn't seem to mind, the smirk on his face seemed to grow even bigger.
"It was nice seeing you Jane." Zero says looking to me before he disappeared along with his teammates.
I glare at him back until he was gone. When he was gone, I turn around and waited for Sasuke to make his appearance, but he never did. I look to Naruto. "Have you seen Sasuke?"
Naruto looks to me and shakes his head. "I haven't seen him."
Dread filled my very being. I didn't like this, not in the slightest. I felt uneasy when I saw Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo. Why where they here? They didn't appear until Sasuke got them and that's when they hunted for Itachi and then joined the Akatsuki. But they were wearing the Akatsuki robe, which means that they've joined them.
My heart clenched and butterflies fluttered in my stomach at realisation. "Sasuke!" I shout looking around for him frantically. I was hoping that he would just walk out of the woods and act like nothing had happened.
Naruto looks at me. "Why are you shouting?"
"I think they may have Sasuke." I whisper out. Saying out loud was completely different to speculating it. Zero was trying to pull the time line back, and the only way he could do that is if he gets Sasuke to join the Akatsuki now seeing as Orochimaru is dead. They used this ambush to separate us so they could kidnap Sasuke.
Naruto stills where he is, panic fills his eyes too. "Teme!" He shouts out as he scans the forest frantically.
I look throw the bit of forest I saw him, Jugo and Karin disappear into. Originally, I couldn't see anything, but that was because I was in a panic. I looked at the scene again, it was torn up. A serious fight had went on here. I spot something in the corner of my eye. Walking towards it I gasp.
It was Sasuke's Hitaiate discarded onto the floor.
Bending down, I gently pick it up. It was definitely Sasuke's, it still had his chakra signature on his. Looking at the scene once more, I could see that Sasuke must have put up a bloody good fight, but it was useless.
"Naruto-kun!" I shout out.
Naruto was by my side in seconds. "Did you find him?!"
I shake my head, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. I show him the Hitaiate, my lip trembling as I try to hold back the tears.
Naruto's eyes appear dull. "…No…"
I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. "He's gone." I whisper.
"No." Naruto mumbles in shock.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
The run back to Konoha was tense. Both I and Naruto seemed to be in a trance so deep that we didn't utter a word. We hadn't even realised we had even made it back home until we nearly ran into a wall. Walking around Konoha only seemed to make it worse, everything reminded me of Sasuke. We head to Tsunade's office, we needed to tell her. Knocking on the door lightly, we hear Tsunade tell us to come in. Opening the door, I see Haku and Itachi along with Tsunade in the room.
"We have some bad news." Tsunade tells us as soon as Naruto closes the door behind us.
"We have some worse news." I tell her with a sigh in my voice.
Itachi looks at us, "Where's Sasuke?" His eyes scan us, curiosity on his face.
I don't say anything and neither does Naruto.
"Imouto?" Haku says gently when I don't say anything.
Naruto was the one who spoke. "H-he's gone." Naruto looks to the ground with a blank look into his eyes.
Itachi's eyes flash red. "What do you mean he's gone?"
"It was an ambush." I answer slowly. "He got separated from us… and we couldn't find him, we found this."
Itachi looks at Sasuke's Hitaiate in my hand.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow I ended up being shoved into the wall with Itachi standing in front of me. His Sharingan was activated fully and was swirling around murderously. His hand was twitching, either to strangle or to stab me I don't know.
"Itachi!" Haku yells out, he pulls Itachi away from me and stands in front of me.
"You left him." Itachi growls lowly.
"Leave her alone!" Haku shouts back with a dangerous look on his face.
Itachi glares at him. "Get out of the way Haku."
Naruto steps in beside Haku and argues with Itachi. "We didn't know until it was too late. Like we said we were ambushed, it wasn't her fault!"
"She should have-!"
"ENOUGH!" Tsunade shouts slamming her fists onto the desk, nearly breaking it.
Everyone stops and looks to her.
"It was a trap." Tsunade says standing. "We received intel recently that Yukimaru has already been taken by the Akatsuki. We tried sending people after you, but they never made it."
"They knew that Sasuke would be on the team." I say in a low tone. In the anime, Team Kakashi was sent on this mission, minus myself and Sasuke. Instead Sakura and Sai went on the mission, however they knew that the mission would be given to us, and if not it was a lucky guess that we would be sent. But how could they have known that we were going?
Itachi glares at me. "What will happen now?"
I look to the floor. "Zero's trying to restore the original time line, and he's nearly succeeded." I tell them, a hollow look on my face. "He's going to use Sasuke to get the Eight Tails, and he'll be coming for you soon." I raise my head and look at Itachi in the eyes, which were now back to their original black colour. It was a dangerous move, since I knew he could seriously hurt me if I did, but I didn't care by this point.
Itachi exhales roughly and runs a hand through his hair.
Just then, a Chunin comes bursting through the door. "What is the meaning of this?!" Tsunade shouts looking at the poor Chunin in anger.
"T-there is someone at the gate demanding your attention." The Chunin spits out quickly looking at Tsunade in fear.
Tsunade dismisses him. "Tell them to leave."
The Chunin looks uneasy. "They said if you don't come then Sasuke-san will not live to see tomorrow."
My head shoots up, the only person who could make that threat was Zero. He was the only one who actually had Sasuke in their hands.
"Well what are waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto exclaims.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Waiting for us at the front gate was Zero himself. He stood there with a smug look on his face which I very much detested at this point. I wanted so much to take my Sais and stab him in the eyes. Itachi didn't look too far behind me on that, he looked murderous as soon as he saw Zero, his Sharingan activated once more and swirling around dangerously.
My attention was however stolen when I saw who was standing behind Zero, it was Sasuke. A gasp nearly tore its way through my throat when I saw him. There wasn't anything physically wrong with him, but it was his eyes. They were hollow, like there was no one there. There also seemed to be a red ring around his eyes, and it wasn't due to his Sharingan.
But he looked lifeless.
"Oh don't worry, he's very much alive." Zero says seeing my expression and revelling in my horror.
"What have you done to him?" Itachi demands in a hiss.
Zero smirks. "He's under my Genjutsu, one that he will not get out of easily."
Naruto lets out a breath and looks at Sasuke with a heart breaking expression.
Zero looks to Itachi. "Looks like you gave him more protection dead than alive eh?"
Itachi was trying to calm himself down, but he found it very hard to do with Zero egging him on and seeing his brother in such a state.
"What is it that you want?" Tsunade demands in an authoritative tone.
Zero turns serious. "I want those two to leave dear Sasuke-kun alone." Zero says pointing to me and Itachi.
"Why?" Haku demands glaring at Zero.
Zero rolls his eyes. "Because this Genjustu is nearly perfect. I don't want those two breaking that, and if they do…" Zero made the gesture of slitting his throat and then pointed to Sasuke.
"Anything else?" Tsunade asks with a look of indifference.
I close my eyes and wait for it. He was going to ask for me and Haku to be killed, or just me. If he did we would have no choice but to obey.
Zero thinks for a moment. "Yeah, he is not allowed in any missions and he will retire as ANBU captain." Zero points to Itachi.
Zero looked at me and smirked. I was expecting him to have someone kill me, or Haku, but he didn't. This was Zero's chance, he could ask for anything he wanted and we would have more than likely granted it, yet he's only made two commands.
"Deal." Itachi says instantly.
Zero nods satisfied, he looks to me and sees my confused look. "Don't worry Jane, I have big plans for you, but they're for later." Zero says, a smirk crawling back onto his face.
Haku's glare intensifies at his words, his hands inching towards his kunai to hurt him. Tsunade sends Haku a look, telling him not to even dare. Haku ignores her look and throws a kunai at Zero.
We were all expecting Zero to catch it effortlessly, but there was a slight panic in his eyes and in a flash, Sasuke appears in front of him. Sasuke catches the kunai flawlessly and throws it right back at Haku.
Haku caught it and looked at Sasuke in shock, as we all were.
Zero smirks cockily.
I look at Zero, "What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?" I don't understand, what did I ever do to make him hate me? I don't even know the guy yet he's making it his life goal to make sure that I and everyone that I love suffer.
The cockiness on his face disappeared and rage soon took its place. "Don't lie!"
I return his look of rage with confusion. "But I don't know."
Zero sighs roughly. "It doesn't matter for now. Just keep your end of the bargain. If you don't I will know." With that, he and Sasuke disappear.
Tsunade's face contorted with rage, now that Zero was gone she could drop her cool façade. She storms back off to her office with Naruto following behind her to make sure she was okay. Haku looks to me to make sure I was okay, I smile and nod at him. Seeing that I was alright, Haku runs after Tsunade and Naruto.
I was going to go back to mine and Haku's apartment when something stops me. A hand had grabbed my arm and was stopping me from leaving. I look to Itachi, "What is it?"
"We need to talk." Itachi answers me with a serious look.
"Listen I said I was sorry-"
"It's not that." Itachi cuts in.
I send him a curious look. "Then what is it?"
Itachi looks around cautiously. "We need to speak in private."
I nod my head in understanding. Speaking out in the open wasn't the best things to do, especially when Zero had just paid us a visit. I and Itachi make it to mine and Haku's apartment fairly quickly. Once the door was shut and all the windows closed, I turn to Itachi who sat on the couch. "What is it?"
Itachi sighs deeply. "Even this isn't safe anymore."
"Why don't you just use a silencing jutsu?" I suggest sitting down on the couch opposite the weasel.
Itachi looks me directly in the eyes. "Because even that jutsu isn't safe to use anymore."
My eyes widen in surprise, what does he mean by that?
"I'll use my Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi announces.
"You can't!" I protest. Itachi had done so much damage to his eyes while in the Akatsuki. He didn't give his eyes a chance to rest since he had them activated all the time. I guess that was the curse of having a Kekkei Genkai that revolved around the eyes. It was lucky that Tsunade was able to help him, without her then he would have surely went blind. With his eyes in Tsunade's care, his eyes have improved massively. However, he was under strict instructions to only use his Mangekyou Sharingan for emergency situations. Sasuke's eyes were also being carefully monitored so he doesn't go blind, which was being personally monitored by Tsunade herself.
Itachi ignored my protests and activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. I sigh and look into his eyes, there was no point in arguing with him.
The next time I blinked, I was in Itachi's world. We were in a grassy field, with the red moon and sky looming over us. Itachi stood opposite me, looking as serious as ever.
"What is it then?" I ask him.
"We have a spy." Itachi say bluntly.
At his words my legs nearly gave out. A spy? He couldn't be implying that he thinks someone who we know is giving away information to the Akatsuki could he? There is a very select amount of people who know about me and any plans being made, it's all very top secret. Only the most trusted of people would know and he's implying that someone is betraying us.
"W-what makes you suspect this?" I ask after a few moments of silence. Itachi had been giving me a moment to take in his words to which I was very thankful for.
"It's what Zero said, that he would know if we didn't go along with what we agreed." Itachi answers me.
I nod my head slowly. I could see the logic of what he was saying, after all how would Zero know if we didn't listen to his conditions?
Itachi begins to talk again. "Information that only a few people who know has been leaked. There were very few people who knew about your team being sent on this mission today. And I for one don't believe in coincidences."
"Has there been anything else?" I ask.
Itachi wet his lips. "The Akatsuki seemed to know about the number of guards around Gaara slowly decreasing."
"What?!" I shout.
Itachi didn't flinch, he just crosses his arms. "He wasn't seen as a high risk any more, and the Elders ordered a decrease in guards there." He didn't look any happier than I did, all the effort done to save Gaara was just a waste.
"Anything else?" I ask.
Itachi nods his head. "The fact that someone must have found out about the decrease in numbers of Nara Clan members guarding Hidan's head." A mistake had been made somewhere and for some reason or another there were less guards that day guarding the head of the mouthy Akatsuki member.
"But who could it be then?" I ask, I cross my own arms and think. Who would betray us? Who would side with the Akatsuki?
"That is where I draw a blank." Itachi answers me honestly letting his arms fall by his side.
I shook my own head, I couldn't even fathom that someone would betray us. They gave this information away to Zero or whoever in the Akatsuki and then acted like nothing had happened. But the more I thought about it, it made sense. There were too many coincidences that didn't add up and then what Zero said just confirmed it for Itachi.
"How long do you recon this has been going on for?" I ask.
Itachi shrugs. "I don't know. Weeks, months or even years."
"Does anyone else know?" I inquire tilting me head to the side.
"Tsunade does." Itachi replies, "other than that no. Tsunade told me that it would be best if a limited amount of people know about this."
I nod, "So that rules you and Tsunade from the list of suspects then."
Itachi arches an eyebrow at me. "You shouldn't just assume that."
"Have you got something to hide?" I challenge him.
Amusement flashes in his eyes, but that quickly disappears.
"So what are we going to do?" I ask him.
"We do nothing." Itachi tells me.
I send him an incredulous look, but I understand. We needed to play the spy's game, if we outright said that there was a spy then it would turn ugly, it would cause everyone to turn chaotic and not trust anyone. However, if the matter was kept quiet then the spy wouldn't know and there's a chance that they may let their guard down.
"It's going to be hard though." I sigh. It was going to be hard to not suspect everyone, to not look at everyone with contempt and suspicion. I was going to have to act like nothing had happened, but it's because of that spy that Sasuke got taken.
I close my eyes to calm myself, thinking of Sasuke in Zero's control enraged me. I open my eyes when I was calm enough. "Is there anything that I need to know now?"
"Naruto will be leaving." Itachi tells me.
So he was leaving now, it was time for him to go to Mount Myoboku for training in Sage Mode. Fukasaku was meant to take him, Fukasaku was an Elder Toad and he was meant to help Naruto.
"How is he getting there?" I inquire. I was asking all my questions now because I have the feeling no one will be explaining anything after we get out of here. With a spy on the loose, everyone is a suspect.
"Jiraya seemed prepared before he left, he left the summoning scroll for Tsunade. She would then summon Fukasaku so he can bring Naruto there." Itachi tells me.
I nod my head slowly. That's why Tsunade was so scared for Jiraya, he had made so many preparations for in case he did die. It almost seemed like he planned this out. He must have felt no need to send his message by Fukasaku since I already know that Pain is not as he seems, he just needs to make sure Naruto gets his training for the Sage Mode.
However, something could happen to Naruto on the trip there. I've already lost Sasuke, though I know it's temporarily, I can't lose Naruto either.
As if sensing my distress, Itachi tells me. "Naruto will be under disguise, he will be under the protection of ANBU who we are sure aren't the spy."
I sigh in relief. "Thank you."
Itachi nods his head. "We've spent enough time here."
The next time I opened my eyes, I was back in my living room. Itachi was already stood up, his normal onyx eyes back in their place. Itachi walks over to the door and goes to leave, but I stop him.
"Itachi," I call out for him, hoping that he would stop.
The Uchiha stops to my relief, his back was facing me and his arm outstretched for the door knob.
"I thought you hated me," I tell him and I was being honest. I thought that he wouldn't want to be anywhere near me, it was partially my fault that Sasuke was taken.
Itachi doesn't say anything initially, I thought he was going to walk out the apartment and not answer me, but he eventually does. "Sasuke trusts you, he would have wanted you to know." He tells me.
"I'm sorry for what happened." I tell him earnestly.
"I know." Itachi say, opening the door and leaving, shutting the door behind him.
Sighing, I lie down on the couch. I didn't get to stay like this long though because the door opened. I lift my head up from the couch and see Naruto standing there, looking at me with a sad look. On his back was his backpack.
"You're going, aren't you?" I ask him.
Naruto nods his head slowly.
I get up from the couch and walk over to him. "I'll miss you." I whisper hugging Naruto. Naruto hugs me back tightly and rests his head on top of mine.
"I won't be long, I promise." Naruto mumbles into my hair.
I smile sadly. In the anime, he came back in the middle of battle with Pain. Since he was going early now I don't know when he'll come back. We just have to make sure he made it there safely and with him under disguise he will be safe.
"We'll bring him back." Naruto says.
I separate myself from Naruto and look at him. Determination was shining in his eyes which reminded me on the anime, of how determined he was to bring Sasuke back for Sakura. My eyes widen, was I acting like Sakura?
Mentally shaking my head and slapping myself, I smile back at Naruto. "Of course we're going to bring him back."
An ANBU appeared beside myself and Naruto, he doesn't say anything just stands there. Naruto sighs when he sees him. "I have to go now." He says sadly.
I pat his head, having to stand on my tiptoes. "Behave Naruto-kun."
Naruto grins at me cheekily. "When do I not?"
"How about every day of your life?" I laugh making Naruto pout at me.
With that, he leaves with the ANBU. Only when I couldn't see them anymore did I sit down on the couch again. I felt like everyone was leaving, Sasuke was gone, Naruto has gone to train and Jiraya could be dead for all I knew. Itachi was no longer the ANBU captain and allowed nowhere near us to help plan. Everything just seemed to be going wrong.
One thing was certain though, Zero would pay.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Sasuke had been gone three days now and news about him was pouring in. Apparently, he had already captured the Eight Tails which only made me more and more anxious. I didn't get anxious often, but when I did it hit me hard. Training sometimes took my mind off it, but I usually trained with either Naruto or Sasuke and unfortunately neither were here at the moment. Itachi had locked himself away, he didn't want to risk getting involved with anything in case Zero did something to Sasuke so I hadn't seen him. Haku was busy planning with Tsunade, he too had been informed about the spy, he was just as mortified as I was.
For some reason, it was cleaning that took my mind away from anxiety. I didn't mean a light clean either, I mean a hard core clean of the house from top to bottom. I could use my clones to help me around the house, but that would mean it would be done quicker and I didn't want that. Usually by the time I finish cleaning it would be night time and Haku would come back and send me to bed.
Haku was just as anxious as me, and so was half the village. One of their own had been taken, they didn't have an ANBU Captain and Naruto was gone. No one seemed happy in the village anymore, without Naruto and Sasuke squabbling the village seemed slightly quieter. Konohamaru tried to brighten people up, but nothing worked.
Sighing, I look over mine and Haku's apartment. It was spotless. The floors were gleaming and the tiles on the walls were shining. The counters in the kitchen were clean, and the table immaculate. All the furniture was straightened up, all the rooms were clean and hoovered. Every bowl and dish in the house was spotless and yet I wasn't happy, I still felt anxious.
Wiping my forehead of the sweat, I go and get a shower hoping that it may soothe me. But it doesn't work. Getting redressed and dried seemed like a drag.
Oh god, I'm turning into Shikamaru.
Suddenly feeling suffocated, I ran out the door, locking it behind me. I run across the roof tops aimlessly, I didn't have a destination in mind. I just needed to get away from that apartment.
Since I had been cleaning for a while the sun had set making the sky look like it was on fire. I would have stood there and marvelled at it if it wasn't for my anxiety. It felt like there was a hollow feeling in my chest whenever I thought of Sasuke. Was Zero treating him okay? Was he fine? What had that Genjutsu done to him?
I had been so consumed into my thoughts that I hadn't notice an ANBU appear beside me.
"Nakahara-san." The ANBU says.
I jump and throw a kunai at the person.
Luckily the ANBU caught the kunai before it hit him. I grin at him sheepishly, "Oops?"
The ANBU wordlessly hands me back my kunai. "The Hokage wishes to see you." He tells me with no emotion in his voice.
"Thank you." I say turning serious.
With the ANBU's mission done, he disappears with the blink of an eye.
Sighing once more, I dart over to the Hokage's office. Once I arrived, I knocked on the door and waited for permission to come in. But that didn't happen. The door opened revealing Haku, who had a worried look on his face.
I look at him with furrowed brows. "What's the matter Onii-chan?"
Haku opened his mouth to answer, but someone cut him off.
"Is it that the bitch? Tell her to fuck off!"
I look at Haku, the smile gone from my face leaving a blank look. I knew that voice from anywhere, it was the same one that was shouting at me when I tried to save Asuma's life.
Hidan.
And sure enough, it was him. Haku had stepped aside and let me look into the office. Tsunade was sat behind her desk as usual with Shizune behind her. Yukiko stood in the corner of the room and in the middle of the room was a stool. The stool had Hidan's head on it, his body discarded onto the other side of the room along with his three bladed scythe.
Hidan's purple eyes land on me. "Didn't I tell you to fuck off?! Are you deaf you fuckin' bitch?!"
I lunge at him, intending to throttle him. He had killed Asuma, he was on the same side as Zero and his potty mouth was grating on my last nerves. However, I never reached him, Haku grabbed my waist and my arms and stopped me from moving.
"Please imouto." Haku pleads in my ear.
"Let me at him!" I yell in protest trying to squirm from Haku's tight grip.
Hidan cackled as I struggled, agitating me even more.
"Akemi." Tsunade says.
I stop struggling and look at Tsunade.
"I brought you here to seal his head away not to fight with him." Tsunade tells me, a warning in her eyes telling me to behave.
Sighing deeply, I stop struggling and relax. Tsunade nods her head at Haku, who lets me go. Haku stays near me just in case and I don't blame him. Given the chance I would attack Hidan again and I definitely wouldn't hold back.
"But first," Tsunade says, "we're interrogating him."
"Then wouldn't having Ibiki here be beneficial." I say glaring at Hidan the whole time, who was looking pretty cocky at the moment.
"We're keeping this information private." Tsunade tells me. There was another meaning to this though, it was the spy could be anyone.
I nod my head, understanding the underlying meaning of her words.
"Well? Shouldn't we get on with this?" Yukiko says.
Hidan laughs loudly, "I fuckin' won't tell you jack shit!"
And he was right. Over the next hour, Tsunade tried getting information out of him and failed. Not even with her strength would he tell her anything. He just laughed and swore some more. We ended up having to hold Tsunade back because Hidan called her and 'bat-shit ugly old woman' which sent Tsunade into a frenzy. Haku tried and yet nothing, he just got insulted the whole time by Hidan saying how he looked like a 'lady boy'. Shizune tried and came out with zilch, again she was insulted and called Tsunade's bitch. Yukiko got the closets, but in the end it was still unsuccessful.
Tsunade made a noise of frustration. "Akemi, seal him away." They had gotten nowhere and were just left frustrated. They saw no point in continuing this interrogation.
An idea popped into my head. "May I have a go?"
Haku looks unsure, along with everyone else in the room. Tsunade sighs and waves her hand, "Why not."
Grinning, I walk up to the stool that Hidan's head sat. I stood in front of him when Hidan looked at me. "What do you fuckin' want cunt?"
I smile sweetly at him. "How did you get here?"
"Like I'd tell you bitch!" Hidan shouts at me.
I look to Tsunade, and she shrugged. She didn't know why he was here either.
Biting my lip, an idea enters my head. "You're no longer needed are you?" That would explain why he was here, Zero didn't need him anymore. I'm a bit surprised that Zero kept him this long considering he was trying to 'restore the time line'.
Hidan gave nothing away, but there was a flash of something in his eyes. It went too quickly to identify, but I knew I was right.
"What's he planning?" I ask getting down to business.
Hidan smirks tauntingly. "Who?"
"Zero." I answer him.
Hidan scowls darkly. "He isn't planning anything."
"Oh yes he is." I say, the grin on my face getting bigger by the minute. "He's giving his orders through Pain, who is the leader of the Akatsuki." Madara was the real leader though, along with Obito, but Hidan doesn't know that.
Hidan's head stills on the stool.
I kneel down to Hidan's level. "You don't like Zero do you?"
Hidan growls at me and glares.
"No one in the Akatsuki seems to like him though," I say with thought. Konan seemed to really detest him and Sasori didn't seem any better with him. I never got to question Deidara or Kakuzu so I don't know how they felt about Zero being there.
Still Hidan said nothing.
"Akemi, I don't think he's going to talk." Shizune says with a look of disappointment.
I look at Tsunade, an evil grin on my face, I was asking her for permission. Tsunade arched an eyebrow and nods her head silently giving me permission.
I stand up, "This is your last chance."
Hidan scoffed, "Before what? Biscuits and fuckin' tea?"
I glare at him and reach for his hair. I grabbed his hair and yanked him up into the air. Hidan immediately cried out in pain. "That fuckin' hurts! Bitch put me the fuck down!"
"Tell me what they are planning then." I demand.
"Fuck off!"
I swing Hidan's head over to the wall, slamming his face a few times for measure. Each time Hidan howled in pain, but I relished in it, especially when I heard the crack of his nose. After letting his face get well acquainted with the wall, I stop and place his head back on the stool. His face looked bruised to high heavens and his nose was bent in several places.
"Loosen your mouth up at all?" I ask with a grin.
"Fuckin' bitch." Hidan swore under his breathe.
Kneeling down to his level again, I grip onto his hair and pulled. Hidan yelped as I pulled tighter, "That fuckin' hurts!"
"Good." I say.
Hidan sneers and tries to bite my nose. I managed to pull my face away and slam his face into the floor a few times before placing his head back on the stool.
"Listen to me and listen well." I hiss dangerously low, with my tone alone I had Hidan's attention. "If you don't tell me what they're planning I swear to Jashin that I will find a way to kill you. In between then though I will be torturing you every day of your miserable life. I will make you scream in pain and I won't hold back, and when I do find a way I will make sure I kill you slowly and painfully." By the end of it I was panting, the rage was slowly seeping into my tone and my hand that as holding onto Hidan's hair tightened.
"Akemi…" Haku whispers in shock, he had never heard me like this before. Yukiko looked just as shocked, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.
I close my eyes and let go of Hidan's hair. I breathe slowly calming myself down, I had never let myself go to my dark place before. I usually stayed away from that place, but not this time.
"That… was fuckin' amazing…"
I look down at Hidan and see he was looking at me in awe. There was a glint of excitement in his eyes and a grin on his face.
"It was?" Shizune asks in a confused tone.
"It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard." Hidan says, for once without swearing.
I send him an odd look. "Will you tell me what they are planning?" I ask him. I kind of forgot that he could be a bit of a pervert.
Hidan grins. "Only if you speak to me that again bitch."
Haku glares at Hidan's head from behind me.
"What are they planning?" I ask again, maybe this time he would actually give me a real answer.
Hidan groaned. "Fuckin' hell, fine. They're planning to attack in a week."
I think everyone's reactions were the same. We were all shocked to say the least, Tsunade looked like her soul had left her body and Shizune's legs looked like they were going to buckle from under her. Haku took in a sharp breathe of air and my eyes were wide in shock. Yukiko's eyes nearly pop out from her skull and her mouth dropped open.
"A-a week?!" I stutter.
Hidan makes sound, indicating 'yes'.
Yukiko was the first to recover from the shock. "And how can we trust you?" Yukiko asks looking at Hidan with suspicion.
Tsunade snaps out of her state of shell shock. "She's right. This could be a trap."
Hidan groaned loudly. "They didn't know that I knew. I fuckin' wouldn't have been thrown away like a bitch if they did know that I know."
"Zero could be trying to hit us by surprise." I say calming down, I needed to keep a clear mind as of right now. Pain's attack was coming, I knew it was going to be inevitable.
"Or it could be a trap." Haku comments.
Tsunade sits and ponders. After a few moments, she stands. "Make preparations for an invasion immediately. Have Jonin and ANBU stationed at every entrance watching. NOW!" Tsunade commands Shizune.
"Hai!" Shizune responds running out the room to alert the people.
Tsunade looks at Hidan's head. "And get rid of him."
Hidan's eyes widen. "Hang on one fuckin' min-!" He didn't get to finish. I had taken out the sealing scroll and had put his head in there along with his body. Now Hidan was sealed away and I was making sure no one was getting it.
With Hidan gone, the thoughts of there being a spy came back to mind. Someone was betraying us. I look around the room as preparations were being made. Yukiko couldn't be the spy, so she was being ruled out straight away and I trust Shizune to suspect her. If Tsunade thought Yukiko and Shizune were safe then so will I.
Tsunade looks to me. "You are dismissed."
Usually I would have been pissed if anyone else did this to me, but I just nodded my head and left with another thought. We needed to be prepared for an invasion, it was going to be one hell of a night. Tsunade was going busy planning for the invasion. When you look at it, a week isn't long to prepare for an invasion.
I just hope we're ready.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
How did you like that then? Now I have a little challenge for you my lovely readers, I want you to guess who the spy is. Whoever gets is right will get a shout out when I reveal the identity of the spy