Mizuumi was paralyzed. The eyes each seemed to hold three black commas with the largest part of each facing inward to where the pupil would be in a normal human eye. There was no shape in the darkness but the two glowing demon like eyes that trapped Mizuumi within their gaze. All rational thought had left her mind, even the knowledge that something had to hold those menacing crimson eyes.

"Continue moving, because otherwise the Hokage may," Mizuumi's broken mind could only capture and make sense of fragments of sentences, but the bits and pieces she gathered fit together like the pieces of two different puzzles. The patterns refused to fit together in a logical and coherent way. Someone thumped her on the back of the head, jarring her out of her trance.

"Did you hear a word she said?"

"Yes, Kaiba, I did." Which wasn't a total lie; she had heard some of what had been said.

"Well then, Mizuumi," Kaiba tossed her her bag, which had never been unpacked; "you know we're going double time to stay on schedule?" Mizuumi's heart sank. Double time? She could hardly handle half time!

"Yes, Kaiba." Mizuumi took one last look into the bushes, but the eyes had vanished without a sound. The only evidence of their existence was their imprint in her mind.

"You ready, Itachi?"

"Let's go."

"I've been waiting all night for you to say that."

Suddenly, he felt cut off from himself, like a fluidic substance had been placed over his

conscience. He felt a distant ghost of movement, like running weightless through the woods, and then it hit him. He had been tricked.

Yuki led her squad through the crisp night air, their footfalls as soft as fresh fallen snow on an ice coated lake. Frosty whips of smoke floated from the mouths of the shinobi as they made their way through the chilly night air. That Mizuumi had always been trouble in her opinion, even before she decided to get those atrocious marks under her eyes. When she'd been born, Mizuumi hadn't seemed to Yuki like she'd ever be the type to disobey her parents' wishes.

Maybe, Yuki thought, if I'd been a better mother back then, she never would've disobeyed me.

Kisame mentally kicked himself. He'd been waiting for Itachi to give the signal to attack and forgot that it was his turn to call the strike, so now they'd have to wait until they passed by the next village. It, was his turn…right? Kisame's eye twitched in annoyance when he realized the Waterfall ninja would not just be passing through, and they planned to stop for lunch, and nearly fainted when Itachi suggested stopping as well. Of course he gave in to Itachi's request. It wasn't every day Itachi asked to stop to eat. Itachi was the one to order first and surprisingly got actual food. If that wasn't enough, he finished first and ate the rest of Kisame's! Kisame was shocked out of his appetite when Itachi asked for still more food. There was something seriously wrong here.

Mizuumi pushed her ramen around in the bowl. Yuki kept staring at her from across the table. Kaiba was reviewing a map while eating a sandwich and ignoring Relena's tactless flirting.

"Relena, must you shame the kunoichi name with such behavior?" Yuki snapped. Relena instantly scooted away from Kaiba, who nodded appreciatively at Yuki. Mizuumi smiled, Yuki had her ways to cheer anyone up.

"Mizuumi quit playing with your food before I give it to one of the children I saw in the street on the way here!"

"Sorry, Yuki!"

They finally stopped. Whoever was masquerading as him was a fool if they thought Kisame couldn't see through his disguise. Or did Kisame just not want to see the truth?

Kaiba scanned the room with his one good eye. Looking out the window opposite him, he could see into the neighboring shop. The two lone customers wore straw hats with a bell tied to each and white strips concealing their faces and with them their identities.

Relena sensed the tension become palpable around here. She and Kaiba had been partners for countless years, and that energy he was emitting was never good.

"Spot something?" She asked casually, like she would if she were asking the time of day.

"Akatsuki."

"Yuki~Sama!" Relena locked eyes with her leader. Yuki stared calmly back.

"I know." Kaiba tugged Mizuumi out of her seat.

"Hurry."

Kisame noted the Waterfall ninjas' exit with tired interest. He moved to follow, but was stopped by Itachi's hand on his shoulder.

"I think we'll be able to catch up. Besides, a little rest for us means more work for them, yes?"

"Fair enough," Kisame settled back down and watched his partner from around his cup. Itachi's appetite appeared insatiable to the older man, and he greatly wished he possessed the Byakugan or some other way to see his chakra. From what he could tell, this was the real Itachi, but that left another question. Why was the Uchiha acting so strangely?

Mizuumi's hair snagged every thorn in the forest, and the trees lifted their roots to ensnare her feet at every step. Warm summer sunlight danced through the leafy treetops. Birds lilted listlessly in the branches above their heads. The Waterfall shinobi drowsily trekked through the thick woods.

"Lady Yuki, may we please stop for a moment?" Relena panted. Yuki growled internally. The universe was against her, wasn't it?

"Five minutes, that's it."

"Lady Yuki, do we really have time for us to stop? The Akatsuki may be close," Mizuumi seated herself on the ground beside Yuki.

"I do not sense their presence, and for all we know they had business in that last village."

"But shouldn't we-"

"Mizuumi," Yuki soother, "there is no need for you to panic. Go take your five minutes."

"Yes ma'am."

Kisame heard voices up ahead.

"Mizuumi," the voice was soothing like ripples through a pond on a warm summer day, the voice of a mother, "there is no need for you to panic."

"Is that them?" Kisame asked Itachi.

"Yeah."

Mizuumi jogged farther away from her squad until the voices of Relena and Kaiba were lost to the sounds of a babbling brook. The wheat field they had stopped in was a deep brown that reminded her of fresh baked cookies on a sunny spring day. Memories of her mother's laughter when she dropped the pan rang in her ears, and she felt increasingly homesick. White fluffy feathers drifted down around her, and her eyelids felt heavy with sleep. But Mizuumi didn't want to rest, for when she closed her eyes she was haunted by visions of her brother dying by a shadowy figure's hand. Nonetheless, Mizuumi wasn't strong enough to fight the sleep.

They use my chakra so well for someone not of my bloodline. It's almost as if…

Kisame raised an eyebrow skeptically at his partner.

"You've never been one to ease the pain of a victim, Itachi~san, have you had a change of heart?"

"I'm sparing her to send her village a message."

"Oh? And what message would that be?" Kisame had never seen the light that shone in his teammate's eyes, and hoped never to see it again.

Kaiba sat meditating in the center of the clearing. Mizuumi's chakra suddenly felt as if it had been submerged. No, it couldn't be! A genjutsu with no caster? That meant only one thing.

"Yuki! Relena!" Kaiba jumped to his feet. He didn't have time to process the pain before his life drew to a close.

Relena hurdled herself into the path of a fireball intended for Yuki. She let herself melt into a puddle on the ground and pulled herself a safe distance across the grass before reforming. Her attacker was a boy; barely a man, with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and eyes the color of fresh spilt blood. They stared at each other, and soon the boy's eyes changed to black, the same color as the cloak he wore. A smile crossed his face, and he pointed behind her. The last thing she saw was Kaiba's lifeless body as she fell to the ground, her body split in two.

Yuki was speechless. These monsters had killed two jonin with ease, and she had no trouble imagining what they must've done to her Mizuumi. Tears brimmed up in her eyes.

"You monsters! What have you done with my daughter?"

"You're the leader from last time," Kisame stated, brushing her question off like dust from a book.

"Answer me!"

"Mother's getting angry. Don't worry; we've spared your little girl, for now. We'll even give her the luxury of kissing her mother goodbye."

Mizuumi awoke with a pounding headache. She jumped when she saw it was close to twilight, and it occurred to her that her squad must've left her. She ran at a full sprint into the clearing. Mizuumi stumbled in fright, a scream wrenching itself from her throat. Her squad lay lifeless on the ground. Wait, was that? It was. Yuki groaned again and tried to sit up.

"Lady Yuki, what happened?"

"I'm sorry, Mizuumi, I'm so sorry..."

"What?"

"I was selfish to leave you and your brother. I hope you can…"

"M-mom?"

"Goodbye. Tell your brother…I love him too…"

"Mom…" Mizuumi felt numb.

"It's too late, little one, she's gone." Mizuumi whipped around. A shadowy figure leaned casually against a tree, its long black cloak with red clouds just as she'd seen in her dreams.

"You! You did this!"

"Yes."

"Why're you just standing there, aren't you here to finish the job?"

"No, I'm here to thank you, Mizuumi," the figure walked towards her as if in slow motion," You see, Mizuumi, had I never met you, I'd never have been set free."

"What do you mean?" She stared stunned into the glowing golden eyes.

"You saved me, and now I've returned the favor by ridding you of your wretched mother." Mizuumi flew to her feet and stuck out with all her might. The sound of flesh colliding with flesh resounded off the trees.

"How dare you! How dare you be so heartless?" The figure held his cheek thoughtfully.

"So…this is what pain feels like." Can't you see what you've done?"

"I've never had a mother, or any family for that matter. So no, I can't connect with your pain."

"But surely you can guess the agony? Aren't you even faintly hurt about not having a family anymore?" This seemed to get the figure to think, for he was silent for several moments.

"Agony? No, anguish. Yes, that's it. I'll take this world through its own anguish," the figure pulled Mizuumi into a cold embrace. Brushing her hair away from one ear he whispered, "Thank you, Mizuumi. You've given me a new reason to carry on." By the time she realized what had happened, she was already unconscious. When she awoke, Mizuumi found a piece of paper in her hand. On it were scribbled the words of the figure with the initials "KU" near the bottom in crude handwriting.

Mission complete, but not by me. What will happen not that nothing's as it seems?