Someone asked me to make a bond between Itachi and Karasu. Not like a romantic bond, that's too weird, but like a brother-sister bond.
"Itachi-san, have you ever seen war?" Karasu gazed at her mentor curiously.
Itachi took a moment to respond. "Yes, I have. I witnessed the Third Shinobi World War when I was four years old."
"That must have been terrible."
"It was something that should not have been seen at such a young age."
"Why is Orochimaru making such a fuss over the rejection of a single jutsu? Each ninja has its own preferences."
"Perhaps that is why he is making such a fuss. Besides…" Itachi lowered his voice, "…he hates me especially."
Karasu turned to stare into Itachi's eyes. "How come?"
"He tried to take my body and failed."
"He what?" Karasu nearly fell off the railing in shock. Itachi grabbed her by the wrist and helped her regain balance. "He tried to take your body?"
"Orochimaru tries to prolong his life by stealing the bodies of younger shinobi."
"So he tried to take your body?"
"Orochimaru has always been ruthless with his actions, and he wanted my Sharingan."
"If he failed to take your body, would he try to take mine? He doesn't care about gender, right?"
"And that is why you need to be more careful."
"I am careful."
Itachi reached over and patted Karasu on the head, which was a rare gesture of affection.
Karasu walked down the dark corridor, intent on finding Ningyou.
Fumetsu's voice came out of the darkness. "Leader wants us to keep lookout in the Forest of Death."
Karasu turned to face her fellow clone. "The Forest of Death?"
"That's what I said."
"Very well." Karasu changed direction and headed for the exit.
The two walked in silence in the forest, occasionally stopping to examine the ground or listen for danger. Soon, they came to a large clearing. An old building stood in the middle. The roof had caved in so it was basically a structure that had four walls enclosing an area.
Suddenly, Fumetsu whipped her head around. "What was that?"
Karasu glanced at her. "What?"
"I think I saw something in the trees." Fumetsu reached for her scythe.
Karasu walked towards the ancient structure. "It's probably nothing."
"I'm going to check anyway."
"Fine."
Fumetsu disappeared into the forest again. Karasu stood in the area the structure surrounded, gazing up at the walls.
Suddenly, a flock of birds flew up from the trees nearby, calling loudly. Karasu narrowed her eyes; something must have disturbed the birds. Something big. She activated her Sharingan just in time to dodge an arrow fired at her.
"You're Uchiha Itachi's clone, right?" Karasu looked up to see the man with six arms grinning down at her. He carried a bow, suggesting that he was the one who shot the arrow.
"And you are…?" Karasu questioned as she prepared to defend herself.
"Name's Kidomaru. I am one of the Sound Ninja Four," he sneered.
"And what would Orochimaru want with me?"
"You're smart, and I like that," Kidomaru spun another arrow from the spider web gunk that came from his mouth, "I'll get straight to the point. Orochimaru-san says that he is going to give you a choice. You can either join him to defeat the Akatsuki…" he fitted the arrow into the bow and pointed it at Karasu's heart, "…or die here."
Karasu nearly laughed out loud. "That doesn't even need consideration."
"Then give me your answer." Kidomaru tightened the bow string, ready to shoot.
"There's no way I'd join him. I am not a traitor." Clang! Karasu easily deflected Kidomaru's arrow with a kunai.
Kidomaru still wore his sick smile. "Speaking of traitors, do you know that one of your numbers has already betrayed you? Yes," he relished at Karasu's shock, "In fact, the traitor led you here."
"Fumetsu…" Karasu snarled.
"Ah, yes. That's her name. By the way…" Kidomaru's smile grew wider, "…she has gone to take care of another one while I deal with you."
Karasu spun on her heels and headed in the direction of the base. She had barely walked ten steps when a giant spider web fell over the old ruin, blocking all escape routes.
"Where are you going?" Kidomaru taunted from outside of the web. "The game has barely begun. I've waited so long to challenge you. Do you not want to fight me?"
"Do not waste my time," Karasu snapped.
"Oh, don't worry. This game will end quickly." A mass of sound ninjas appeared beside Kidomaru. They positioned themselves on the walls of the ruin; all of them were armed with kunais.
This is going to be bad. For the first time, Karasu feared that she would not get out of this alive.
"I hope you said goodbye to your friends before coming here."
How many of you thought Fumetsu was the traitor? If you did, I applaud you. Good guessing!
Reviews are appreciated, and stay tuned for the next chapter!