***Chapter 4: Akatsuki Playground***
As you can imagine from the title, this is expected to be another lighthearted chapter. For Hidan and Kisame lovers, today is your lucky day. Konan will not be in this story so don't look for her, and don't ask me where she is *pout*. I noticed that some people did not understand Yachiru's abilities, and let me just say that they are from Avatar: The Last Airbender, so you can check out elemental bending. I will still try to explain it a bit in this chapter for those that don't watch Avatar:TLA, but I am not gonna go into any long winded explanation. I didn't make this story a Naruto/Avatar:TLA crossover because none of the Avatar:TLA characters will be in this story. Shout out to Psuedobeast, MissMeep – thank you for the reviews! Without further ado…..
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! (T_T) !
Flashback is written in italics.
'Thoughts in italics and enclosed in quotes'
Normal writing is in normal text.
"Dialogue is in normal text enclosed in open and closed quotations."
'Black Zetsu and Kyuubi speak in bold italics enclosed in quotations.'
Previously on Left to the Elements:
Stopping at the small of her back, Yachiru's hair was pure white, long silky-looking straight strands that seemed to dance once there was the presence of wind. It was cut in shorter bangs which framed her face, and currently was clinging to her forehead because of her perspiration.
Yes, Kurokka Yachiru was someone to watch out for, alright, and Itachi wasn't only thinking of her abilities. He was about to turn and head back to the base as well, when he heard a distinct voice.
"Who are you?" Kisame had arrived.
oooOooo
Yachiru's eyes widened only slightly at the latest member. Who was this? Standing at about the same height as Kakuzu, this man was powerfully muscled – it was obvious even though he was wearing his Akatsuki cloak – and had a bluish tint to his skin. His colour was not the only surprising thing about him, for he had what looked to be gills on his cheeks and small round eyes. 'Sh-sh-shark desu!' was all Yachiru could think when he grinned and revealed sharp, jagged teeth. His bluish-grey hair, styled like a shark fin only added to his shark-like appearance. With a start, Yachiru realized the shark-man was laughing. Wait, had she said what she thought ALOUD? The shark-man dragged a large cloth bound item, with what looked to be a sword hilt at the end, from his back and pointed it at her.
"She's funny," he chuckled in a husky tone, directing his comment at Hidan.
"She just beat Hidan-senpai!" Tobi chimed in from the now somewhat mutilated field. Hidan growled.
"Tobi-teme! Shut your fucking orange hole, ano baka!" He began ranting and raving with his usual barrage of expletives, and Tobi apologized profusely and cowered. Yachiru sweat-dropped.
"So, who are you?" Kisame repeated.
"Kurokka Yachiru. Who are you?" Kisame grinned again at her direct reply. He looked her over. She had no chakra, but she had just beat Hidan in a spar. What was this girl, or what was going on with Hidan? "If you don't reply, I'm gonna call you 'sharky'," the girl continued, the smile on her face signaling that she wasn't trying to be insulting.
"I'm Hoshigaki Kisame." He shoved his wrapped weapon in her face. "And this is Samehada." Yachiru smiled.
oooOooo
Itachi stared at the remaining water in his cup. He frowned at the paltry amount.
"Hn," he grunted, meaning 'Hey, who the hell drank out some of my water?'. Assuming for a moment that maybe he had unconsciously been sipping his water while thinking, Itachi put the thought that his water was less than he had left it out of his mind. Only a few of the Akatsuki members were currently at the base – Pein, Zestu, Tobi and Deidara were out on missions, and Kakuzu had gone to collect money from a contact. That left Itachi, Kisame, Hidan and Yachiru at the base. The four were in the dining area eating lunch. Itachi cut into his beef silently, willing himself not to look up and openly peruse Yachiru's interaction with the other two Akatsuki. Why the girl interested him so was… well it would most likely be due to the fact that she was different, right?
Itachi reached for his glass again and frowned. There was considerably less water in the cup. Something was not right. He looked up at the others, but they were not even looking his way. Kisame was telling Yachiru fail-tales of Hidan, much to Hidan's displeasure. Yachiru's eyes flicked to Itachi for a moment, then darted back to Kisame. Something was not right. Itachi turned his gaze to Hidan who was spewing insults at Kisame.
"Ano baka, Kisame! What did they used to do in Hidden Mist? Fry your siblings for supper? Little fishy children darting about like tadpoles! You fishy fuck! Your blue skin makes you look like you've been dead a while…" He continued, but Itachi wasn't listening. He sent a glance instead to his cup, and his eyebrows knit together. He hadn't had a drink of water since the last time he looked, but his cup was already empty! Was he that preoccupied? He stood up and reached for his cup, turning his back on the dining Akatsuki and Yachiru.
"Hn," he said, meaning 'I'm going for more water', and stalked off to the kitchen. He had barely stepped out of the room when Hidan erupted in laughter. Itachi stopped out of sight behind the door and cloaked his chakra.
"Haha!" Hidan whooped in his signature maniacal laughter. "I can't fucking hold it anymore! Yachi–chan that was fucking hilarious! Did you see the look on his wrinkly face? He'll never figure it out, the dumb fuck! Not even with that baka Sharingan!" For once, someone was laughing along with Hidan. Two someones. Itachi frowned in disapproval of his partner's frivolous indulgence in whatever prank was being played. Hidan was wrong. He would figure it out, even if he had to dig it out of one of them.
Yachiru grinned at the Jashinist. When she had told him about what she had observed of her abilities, Hidan had been interested to know what they could get up to.
"Well, I can manipulate water with my arms or legs," Yachiru said, demonstrating by lifting dirty water out of a cup without actually touching it with her fingers.
"Fucking epic," Hidan breathed, leaning closer to observe as the water rose out of the cup in a brown, watery blob. His eyes widened as the blob took on the neater roundness of a ball.
"I can also manipulate earth, which I sometimes use to clean water, like this," Yachiru continued, raising her other hand with fingers outstretched. When she pulled it back, the dirt particles followed her fingers, moving completely out of the ball of water. Hidan followed the path of the dirt with his eyes, which widened as he observed. Yachiru fisted her hand and the dirt compacted into a round brown ball. Turning back to the water, Hidan saw that the water was now crystal clear.
"That's geokinetic and hyrdrokinetic ability," another voice inserted. Both Yachiru's and Hidan's head swung round to face the newcomer. Kisame took a seat by the table the other two were at. Allowing the earthen ball to fall to the table, Yachiru continued. She placed one hand, palm up, underneath the now clear glob of water. A small flame erupted from her palm. This would be firebending, or pyrokinetic abilities. She looked hard at the flame, and it got bigger. Kisame and Hidan leaned closer and watched as bubbles started spinning in the ball of water as the water heated and boiled. Yachiru killed the flame then leaned forward and blew a stream of cold breath on the boiling blob. It froze in a matter of seconds to a hard, clear ball of ice.
"I purified the already clean water by boiling it, that's why it froze clear. If I had left it, it would have had lots of bubbles inside and would have been more bluish-white," Yachiru said in explanation.
"That's freaking cool," Kisame said, not afraid to show his amazement. "How do you do all of that without hand-seals?"
At the look on her face as he asked the question, Kisame almost wished he could take it back. Almost. Her large eyes blinked even slower than normal and her face got pensive.
"I can't remember," she said in a tone so low it came out a whisper. "I think I must always have been able to do this, and I must have trained on it before, but I can't remember anything earlier than two and a half months back. I don't even know all I am capable of. I can't remember if I know anything about hand-seals. What are they?" Kisame frowned a bit, then decided to show her. Using two hands, he made the seals ram-serpent-tiger.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Kisame said. Yachiru's eyes widened as she took in the three Kisames standing before her. She reached out to touch them, jerking her hand back in astonishment when she realized that they weren't just illusions. "We all have chakra," Kisame went on to say, "and hand seals affect what happens when you use said chakra. Each person has different chakra, and different amounts of chakra. The Akatsuki each have more chakra than the general person, so we can do more jutsus than a lot of other people." Yachiru's eyes had widened, even as she nodded her understanding. Kisame and Hidan took turns showing her different jutsus and seals, and told her more about chakra and shinobi in general. After that moment, they spent their days at the base teaching her about jutsus and weaponry, and helping her figure out exactly what she was capable of. In the past month she had grown much closer to the two Akatsuki, who trained with her when they were present and training by herself while they were on missions.
Yachiru did not mind at all playing tricks on the other unsuspecting Akatsuki. She, Hidan and Kisame had perfected the Inry ou Sunatchi no Jutsu (Beverage Snatch Jutsu), which involved her waterbending a beverage out of an unsuspecting person's cup, while Kisame and Hidan distracted them. It had worked perfectly on Itachi.
"He's going to be looking for us to do it again, so let's try that other one," Kisame said, grinning.
"Which one, you dumb fuck? We practiced so many!" Hidan inserted, as if he had any major part in any of the plans other than talking loudly and distracting the person.
"The one where he can't swallow," Kisame continued, reveling in the opportunity to repay Itachi for preventing so many of his kills. Hidan whooped in laughter, shaking in mirth as Itachi stalked back into the room with a full cup of water.
Itachi didn't know what he expected to see, but this time the water level in his cup stayed put. They must have wised up. He took a sip of the water, enjoying the cool feeling as the liquid slid down his throat. If only he had some pocky to go with it. He set down the cup, and returned to his meal, keeping a sharp eye on his cup. 'I am watching the cup as if I expect the water to magically go down,' Itachi thought. Dismissing the idea as foolishness, Itachi turned his full attention back to his meal. He took another sip of his water and swallowed. It was halfway down his throat when it stopped! Itachi tried to swallow again, but the glob of water began sliding up and down his throat. Itachi pressed one hand to his throat, and his chopsticks clattered to the table as they fell from his other hand, which was now clutching the table.
Hidan, Yachiru and Kisame stopped talking and were looking at him with concern.
"Oi, 'tachi, you alright?" Kisame asked, one brow raised. Itachi tried to answer, but the blob of water in his throat prevented him from speaking. Panic started to set in as the pressure in his chest began to intensify. He couldn't breathe! Then, the water slid easily down his throat, and the pressure subsided. Still, Itachi took deep breaths, partially in need, and partially in relief. What had happened just now? Were these the repercussions of his last battle?
Yachiru put down her knife, a weird expression on her face.
"I don't feel to eat any more," she said, getting up and taking up her plate. She literally ran from the room. Hidan and Kisame followed at a much slower pace.
Yachiru burst into her room, unsure of how much longer she could refrain from laughing. She collapsed on her bed, stuffed her face into her pillow and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. The look on Itachi's face when she had waterbended his water to slide up and down his throat was hilarious! Hidan and Kisame slid into her room, locking the door behind them before they started laughing as well.
"Serves him right for denying me the pleasure of taking out some of those whelps we called opponents these past few years," Kisame said, his sharp teeth flashing a bit as he laughed.
"That Gakona Mizu no Jutsu was freaking epic," Hidan said in relation to the Stubborn Water technique Yachiru had just used on Itachi. "The senseless Uchiha thinks he's so powerful, but we got him good. He totally panicked." He raked his silver hair into his face and his voice took on a monotonous imitation Itachi tone when he said, "Aaaahhh! Aaahh! I, the all powerful Uchiha Itachi, will fucking be dead because of some stupid fucking water in my throat," and schooled his face into Itachi's perpetual apathetic expression. Yachiru sent a gust of air from her palm to cause the Jashinist's hair to flutter dramatically in expression of Itachi's 'coolness'. The three of them laughed, satisfied that their mischievous plan had been carried out without a hitch. Hidan sat on the bed next to Yachiru and looked her in the face, a smirk still adorning his lips. "I don't know if anyone told you this before, but you're one fun bitch."
oooOooo
Yachiru was hard pressed not to show her excitement. She had been with the Akatsuki for two months now, and this was her first mission. The mission was around an A-rank difficulty, according to Kisame, and she would join him and Itachi on it. Yachiru understood that this mission was a test. She intended to pass it with flying colours, for she had been training for two whole months now.
The mission was simple. They were asked by the client to find Miramori Oori, a rich dealer who operated a casino in Shinringakure as a front for his drug trade operation. They were to get into his hidden office undetected, kill him quietly, and escape without alerting the guards. Kisame and Itachi, who had done background checks on Miramori, had thought it best that Yachiru try get into the office without their aid. The office, however, was heavily guarded and any noises would be heard by the chuunin-level shinobi placed at the door. It would be too noticeable for Itachi and Kisame to accompany her inside but Yachiru did not mind, for she already had a plan.
As they left the base, Yachiru breathed in the fresh open air. She was wearing her own Akatsuki outfit – a gift from Pein – which consisted of a mid-thigh length black skirt and a cropped top which she wore under her Akatsuki cloak, along with an 8-shaped gourd of water which was strapped to her back. Her shoes, which she had created herself, looked like normal shinobi footwear, but had soles made of compact dirt so she could 'see'. She hadn't told the others about this ability, deciding to keep some of her abilities to herself. She was so caught up in the feeling of freedom that she barely realized that Itachi and Kisame were several paces ahead of her.
Itachi decided not to wait for Yachiru. She would need to learn to keep up. He took to the trees at a decent pace, since they had a deadline to meet. A swift glance to the side told him that Yachiru was hot on his heels. How could she stay in the trees without chakra? Itachi decided he would ask her later. When Yachiru was running right alongside him, Itachi didn't know whether to be impressed or to be annoyed at her competence. He went with annoyed, but he wouldn't let her, or anyone else, know. Trees whizzed past on either side as they jumped from limb to limb. After a while, they dropped to the forest floor and continued running. Out of the corner of his eye, Itachi saw Yachiru pull a snakelike stream of water from her gourd, and freeze it into a ball while running at the same pace he and Kisame were. Without even looking from side to side, she shaved slivers of ice off the ball and they spun off in different directions. It was not until about ten strides further that Itachi sensed the shinobi in the woods. As they drew closer, he saw that the men had slivers of ice sticking into their legs and arms. Yachiru growled in annoyance beside him.
"Need to work on accuracy for that move," she mumbled as an afterthought.
"It's more accurate than the last time I saw it, Yachi-chan. At least you hit them while running this time," Kisame returned with a chuckle. Itachi kept quiet, knowing Kisame spent almost all his free time developing moves and training with the new addition to the Akatsuki. What he wondered, however, was how Yachiru had sensed their positions enough to hit them before he did. Deciding not to have any more of this foolishness, Itachi activated his Sharingan. He didn't get the chance to attack the obviously hostile guard shinobi, for Yachiru ran ahead, sending sharp earthen spikes shooting from the ground with short punching motions. The spikes impaled the chuunin-level shinobi before they had the chance to even clone or substitute themselves out of the way.
"The training is paying off," Yachiru said through a grin as they ran right past the now dead shinobi. Kisame grinned back at her as she fell back in line with him and Itachi.
"Of course it is," Kisame replied.
"Hn," was all Itachi said. He only meant "hn" this time around, for he had no place in the conversation, having purposefully avoided watching or helping Yachiru train. He would not bother to try to explain this to anyone or even himself, but for some reason the way she interacted with Hidan and Kisame frustrated and annoyed him.
In a matter of hours, they reached the village of Kizudetsu. It was the last village before Shinringakure – The Village Hidden in the Forest. Kizudetsu was a somewhat rural village, with dirt streets and small shacks and wooden shops. As they stepped through the village gates, Yachiru was immediately aware of the scent of the village which consisted of the hunger-inducing smells of different types of food. The village had pretty much zero foliage, and was a hot dusty mess, but seemed to be a street-food lover's heaven. Dumpling and ramen shacks were as popular as the air itself, and they all seemed to line off on the main street. The main street itself was rather wide, but this seemed to make no difference at all as it was still crammed with people, carts, donkeys, and even more people. Little children weaved between the legs of the adults, some with dogs hot on their heels. Shinobi from almost every imaginable hidden village were traversing the streets, some tumbling in drunken stupors from bars and others renting rooms in small hotels.
Yachiru felt as if the place was familiar, but, of course, she could not remember being there. Still it was fascinating and a bustling, dirty way. Itachi edged in front of her, and Kisame fell behind, their actions unconsciously protective. Yachiru didn't really need it, but she didn't mind, as her senses were somewhat boggled by the sheer amount of people and creatures she was 'seeing' with her feet. The vibrations and movements were too much. For situations like this, it was best if she had some sort of training so she knew what to look out for. Yachiru made a mental note to ask Hidan and Kisame to help her with it the next time they met to train or hang out.
Yachiru smirked a little, noticing that the crowd parted before Itachi, obviously having an idea of what the red clouds on his cloak stood for, and aware of the power of those red eyes. Yachiru had never seen the power of the Sharingan used on someone else, but Hidan had informed her that the Uchiha had used it to capture her on that first day. She remembered something to do with attacking crows, but nothing else. Hidan and Kisame had spoken to her about genjutsu, but not possessing chakra, Yachiru did not know how to dispel them. Hidan and Kisame had at least taught her how to recognize a genjutsu, but they had made no headway in finding a method for her to be released from the pesky jutsus. Itachi stopped sharply in front of Yachiru, but she 'saw' him, and avoided crashing into his broad back.
"I'm going to meet a contact. I need to see if there are any missions in this area," Itachi said, turning away before Yachiru could comment. She started after him but was held back by Kisame, who had a gleam in his eyes. Yachiru grinned. Whenever Kisame's eyes took on that gleam, she knew she would be having some fun.
"Itachi's favorite food is pocky," Kisame said, gesturing towards a stall that sold little packets of the stick candy. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. She grinned. They went over to the stand, whose patrons cleared when they saw Kisame. Turning round, Yachiru saw why. The tall bluish-grey Akatsuki's grin had disappeared and was replaced with a menacing scowl. "Little whelps," Kisame growled as he and Yachiru moved to the front of the line. The hard tone of his voice was hard, but for a millisecond, a humorous twinkle was in his eyes.
The stall owner was visibly quaking when Kisame slammed his palm on the stall counter.
"What may I get you?" the owner asked, his tone low and shaking in fear. Kisame frowned harder. He leaned forward and stared at the teenager. Yachiru was having a hard time schooling her features into solemnity, because she really wanted to laugh.
"EEHH?" Kisame growled. He turned to Yachiru. "Oi, Yachi-chan, I didn't hear anything he said, and you know how I get when I don't hear." Yachiru nodded almost in pity for the stall owner, who didn't look a day over 16.
"What may I get you?" The teenager asked again, looking to Yachiru with a face that begged for help. Unfortunately, his voice cracked mid-question.
"NANDA?" Kisame growled again, softer this time and therefore more menacing. Yachiru blinked at the youth, telling him to calm down with her large expressive eyes. The stall owner took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm down and gather his courage.
"What may I get you?" He asked, getting the question out at a decent volume, with only a slight quaver at the beginning.
"I want a bag of your freshest pocky… no, make that two bags," Kisame demanded. The boy was about to rush and get two bags of pocky, and maybe give Kisame free, but Yachiru, feeling his nervousness through her feet stared at him calmly and gave a subtle shake of her head. His eyes glued to the beautiful Akatsuki, the pocky vendor stated the price, refraining from backing down when Kisame growled menacingly over the cost only because Yachiru's eyes were telling him not to. He gave the two bags of pocky to her instead of Kisame. As they turned to leave, Yachiru gave the pocky vendor a small smile, before turning her head and following Kisame down the bustling street. She didn't see him, but the pocky vendor watched her back and swaying white hair until she disappeared into the throng of travelers.
"Kid had guts," Kisame said to Yachiru without looking at her. "It wasn't much, but it was there." Yachiru only smiled, deciding not to tell Kisame the part she played in it. It could save the teen's life later on if he ever encountered Kisame again. The two of them stood by the edge of the village's gates, which were on the opposite side to where they had entered from. They looked around the road for the best spot to carry out their plan.
About twenty minutes later, the trio was following the cobbled road that led from Kizudetsu to Shinringakure. Itachi grunted when Kisame stretched, groaned, then declared that he 'needed to take a leak'. He continued walking, knowing his shark-like partner would catch up. Only the sounds of his and Yachiru's footsteps on the road and the breeze rustling the trees on the side of the road filled the air. Soon, the trickle of a stream some distance away joined the sounds.
"You can go ahead. I need to refill my gourd," Yachiru mumbled softly and took off in the direction of the trees. Itachi watched until she disappeared into the trees then continued walking.
"Hn," he mumbled, meaning 'Sure, go on ahead and leave me by myself', a frown knitting his brow only slightly. A slight rustle caught his ear and he stopped abruptly in the road. A small, unopened bag of pocky was laying on the road.
Itachi stared at the bag of pocky. He glanced around for the presence of another, but found no one. Itachi blinked. Only Kisame's chakra was felt somewhere close. Itachi stared at the bag of pocky some more. He really wanted to take it up, but what if Kisame saw him? His partner would never let it drop. Itachi gritted his teeth and scowled. He continued walking until he was right next to the bag of pocky. It seemed to be screaming his name. Another quick glance with his Sharingan told him that he was still alone. Unable to help himself, he bent, and reached for the bag of pocky. It moved out of his range by about a centimeter. Itachi shifted, getting closer to the bag of pocky. It rustled again and moved out of the way. Itachi frowned, silently damning the breeze. When Itachi finally caught the bag of pocky about two minutes later, he looked up and realized he had moved a good three meters from where he had originally been. The bag of sweet stick candy was still sealed, which made Itachi feel a little less stupid for chasing the stupid bag of candy around. As he opened the bag, running footsteps sounded behind him. He turned to see Yachiru and Kisame.
Yachiru waved at him a little as she caught up. Her face looked clean and fresh.
"Sorry to be so long," she said, a little breathless when she caught up. "I just had to wash my face in the stream." Itachi looked to Kisame. An inexplicable emotion crossed Kisame's face.
"Don't ask," the blue Akatsuki mumbled.
"Hn," Itachi returned, and the trio continued down the path.
Yachiru had to clench her teeth and take controlled breaths to keep from laughing. The sight of Uchiha Itachi chasing a bag of pocky when he thought no one was around was not something that she would forget any time soon.
Yachiru opened a small hole in the rim of the bag of pocky and dropped three small stones in the bag. Pushing heat to her fingers, she pressed the hole closed and allowed the heat to reseal the bag. Kisame was grinning next to her, small rumbling chuckles sounding in his chest and throat.
"Where do we put this now?" Yachiru asked Kisame, stifling a laugh with her hand. She and Kisame looked around for a good spot.
"Here, give me the bag," Kisame said, a light in his eyes. Yachiru smilingly handed over the bag and watched as Kisame literally disappeared. Her feet, however, 'saw' him running down the road. He stopped a short distance away, just barely in range of her 'sight', paused for a short moment and then came back. "I put it a few meters down the road. There's a stream nearby where…"
"…where I can pretend to refill my gourd!" Yachiru interrupted, grinning and pointing to the large clay gourd on her back that Deidara had helped her make. Kisame grinned.
"…and I can say I need to spring a leak." Yachiru grimaced at Kisame's statement.
"Where? In the stream?" Kisame laughed at Yachiru's incredulous tone.
"What? Does that offend you, O Kurokka-sama?" Kisame teased. Yachiru punched him in the arm.
"Oh come on, surely you can mark your territory in some place other than where we would get water to drink, sharkie," Yachiru returned, quirking a brow.
"What, you can't use your all powerful jutsu or power or whatever to purify the water, O Great Yachiru-sama?" Kisame taunted again.
"Not unless your piss is made of dirt, sharkie. Find a decent tree to carry out your … ahem… needs," Yachiru said, giving Kisame a playfully disgusted grimace. "In any case, I don't want to see your blue…" Itachi's arrival sent the words she had been about to say crawling back to the safety of her throat. Something told her that the Uchiha would not be as amused as Kisame would be by her words. Kisame cleared his throat suggestively, which told her they would continue the conversation sooner or later, and they turned and continued down the road in silence. They had taken a few paces when Kisame declared he had to take a leak and took off into the woods on one side of the road. Yachiru continued for several meters more with Itachi until she heard the stream. Telling Itachi she was going to refill her gourd, she ran off the road, feeling the distinct difference as she left the dirt path and ran onto the grass.
She was soon among the trees, and ran the short distance to where she could see the banks of the stream. Yachiru took in the sight of the clear water that was rushing over the rocks in its bed, and the bright green grasses that lined the banks of the stream. Not wanting to lie, Yachiru decided she would actually put some of the cool fresh water in her gourd. Using one hand, she pulled a snake of water from the stream, and pulled the excess dirt particles from it with her other hand. Using both hands, she guided the water into her gourd, feeling the additional weight as the water slid into the container on her back. She washed her face, mentally calculating the time it would take for Itachi to reach the bag of pocky. Turning, she ran back, darting back around a bend in the road to meet Kisame on the other side.
"Wonder if he's reached it yet," Kisame said, reaching towards Yachiru. A grimace on her face, Yachiru jumped back in distaste.
"Don't touch me with those hands, sharkie," she chuckled, pulling a small line of water from her gourd, directing it to the blue Akatsuki's hands. "I know where they've been." Kisame raised a brow and snorted, rubbing his hands together under the water.
"Women," he muttered. The two of them then turned and ran to catch up with Itachi. When they came closer, Kisame half-cloaked his chakra. The duo hid behind some of the trees, out of Itachi's periphery and watched him. He was staring at the bag of pocky on the road. "Pick it up, Uchiha," Kisame mumbled under his breath. The Uchiha stared some more at the bag and took a quick glance around. Yachiru nudged Kisame's elbow and giggled.
"He's going for it," she murmured, a grin stretching her cheeks. Itachi continued walking.
"Damn it, Itachi," Kisame growled in disappointment. "It's a freaking bag of pocky. You love the stuff, so pick it up!" Yachiru groaned.
"He's not gonna pick it up," she mumbled resignedly. At the last moment, Itachi looked around again, then bent and reached towards the bag or stick candy. Grinning, Yachiru used her hands to make the little stones in the bag roll to the side, pushing the bag out of Itachi's reach. Every time Itachi reached for the bag, Yachiru made the bag move just out of his reach in movements so small that they wouldn't raise any suspicions within the Uchiha.
"K omoku o Ido no Jutsu is a success," Kisame said, and buried his face in his hands to smother his laughter and prevent blowing their cover. After about a minute and a half of watching Uchiha Itachi chase around a bag of pocky, Kisame and Yachiru decided to let him have his prize. They turned and ran back a ways, then stepped out onto the road. The duo tried to squelch the grins that resiliently stuck to their faces and jogged to catch up with Itachi. He had just opened the bag of pocky when he turned to watch them catch up.
Under the guise of waving at him, Yachiru lifted the stones out of the bag and let them fall to the ground.
The trio arrived at Shinringakure roughly two hours later, when the sun was on its way back down. They were, in fact, just in time for a late midday meal, which they decided they would take at the casino. Shinringakure, unlike Kizudetsu, had lots of trees in and on the outskirts of the village. Shinringakure was small, not even having a daimyo or ninja academy, but was fairly busy and had an excellent nightlife if what Deidara and Hidan said was true. Still, the casinos spread out along the main streets attested to their claim. Itachi led them to a small ramen shop on the main street and purchased a bowl of beef ramen. The owner gave him a small nod, then returned with a brown paper-wrapped package. Itachi took it from him, his perpetual apathetic expression in place. He didn't even spare the man one of his usual 'Hn's.
Itachi handed the bowl of ramen to Yachiru, who inhaled the delicious scent of the ramen which emanated from the hot ceramic bowl. Taking a pair of wooden chopsticks from Itachi's outstretched fingers she placed them on the counter next to the bowl and clapped her hands together.
"Itadakimasu," she mumbled respectfully before pulling the chopsticks apart and digging in. The ramen was the most delicious thing she remembered tasting, a fact which elicited a moan of gustatory appreciation from Yachiru. Itachi looked sharply at her before glancing away. Kisame had a wolfish gleam in his eyes. When Yachiru realized it was because of the sound she made, heat rose to her full cheeks. "What? It's really good," she said, defending herself. To prove her point to Itachi, who simply raised a brow, she clasped some of the noodles with her chopsticks and stuck the bounty laden utensils into his face.
Itachi had felt a warm pressure in his gut when Yachiru moaned in appreciation of the ramen. 'Is that how she would sound if…' Itachi mentally Chidori-ed the thought to a chirping death. Kisame's wolfish grin annoyed the hell out of Itachi, especially because Yachiru flushed so attractively as a result. She proclaimed that the ramen was really good, and Itachi was about to reply with his customary 'Hn', but found that the sound refused to make its usually graceful exodus from his throat. Instead it spread imaginary legs in his throat and resolutely refused to move. Itachi had to make do with a raised eyebrow.
The next thing he knew, chopsticks laden with ramen noodles and beef was shoved into his face.
'She doesn't expect me to… She's not trying to feed me, is she?' Itachi thought in disbelief, staring at the offering. Realizing she was not going to move it by the embarrassedly determined expression on her face, Itachi had no choice but to accept the offering, knowing that refraining would make him look petty… which he was not! Kisame was snickering as Itachi chewed.
"It is good," Itachi had to admit after swallowing. He watched Yachiru's eyes swivel to the still chuckling Kisame. In seconds a similar offering was shoved in Kisame's face.
"Oh, hell no," Kisame said, leaning away from the noodles. "You are not feeding me anything." Yachiru rolled her eyes.
"Oh, shut up and eat it, sharky," she said, moving the noodles closer to Kisame's face. "I will make it more embarrassing the longer you take," the white-haired female added, a dangerous twinkle in her eyes. Kisame quickly accepted the offering, making a point to make direct eye contact with Yachiru. Her flushed reaction did not sit well with Itachi.
They left the ramen shop a few minutes later and, once outside, Itachi handed the brown package to Yachiru.
"Put that on," he said curtly. Yachiru took the package, which was soft.
"What is it?" she asked. Itachi was about to answer, but Kisame stopped him.
"It's better if you see it when you're putting it on," Kisame said, grinning. Yachiru raised one white arched eyebrow, but decided to let Kisame have his fun. After all, it was better not to let mischief stack up against her person; she had been dishing out a lot lately, and just in case karma was a real thing it was better to play it safe. Itachi led the way to a small bed and breakfast and they checked in for one room.
"We aren't staying the night," Itachi said in response to Yachiru's questioning look.
"Unless, of course, you want to," Kisame piped up, chuckling to himself. Yachiru rolled her eyes and followed Itachi to the room, which was simple and fairly spacious. Yachiru unstrapped her gourd, set it on the floor and took the package into the bathroom that adjoined the room. She locked to door behind her. She rested the package on the top of the toilet seat and removed her clothes, dropping them in a heap on the floor.
She stepped into the shower and took a quick but thorough shower in cold water. She took time washing her white hair because; let's face it, white gets dirty easily. Waterbending the excess water off her body and out of her hair, Yachiru sent it down the drain. She used her hands to send a draft of air over her body and hair drying herself properly.
The brown package sitting on the toilet seat got a long stare from a naked Yachiru before she decided to open it. As she put the clothes on, Yachiru wondered which of the Akatsuki members had been perverted enough to choose this outfit for her to wear. Her mind kept inching back to Kisame whom she highly suspected was a closet pervert. She pulled her Akatsuki cloak over the outfit and stepped out of the bathroom, mentally readying herself for the task ahead. Taking out a highly guarded drug runner with no fuss would be difficult, but she had a plan and a backup plan.
Kisame and Itachi looked up as she stepped out of the bathroom. Kisame looked disgruntled to see her in the Akatsuki cloak, and Itachi simply raised a brow.
"You can't wear that in there," Itachi said. "It will attract too much attention." Yachiru rolled her eyes and opened the Akatsuki cloak, revealing the outfit underneath.
"And this won't, right?" she asked in a sarcastic tone, letting the cloak fall to the ground and giving a little turn to show off the outfit.
Itachi's face reddened only slightly and Kisame whistled a bit in wonder and masculine appreciation. He sounded suspiciously like Hidan when he spoke.
"Damn, bitch. If you don't kill him, that will."
A/N:- Heh! Chapter DUN! Yes, yes, before you kill me, there will be a description of the outfit in the next chapter. Soooohhhh I hope you liked this chapter! The next one will still be somewhat lighthearted, but will be more serious as well. Please oh please review on this chapter. I am desperate to know what you think! I had fun typing this and I sure hope you had fun reading it! Reviews make my fingers type faster!
