I do not own Sasuke Uchiha or The quote below. Any hint of OOCness or Mary-sueness is not intentional. Enjoy!


"Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle,"

~ Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland


There could possibly be converse over her age. It was true she could very well pass for a 15 year old, but as she carried herself with authority that of an adult. She had a curved figure, a figure fit for a girl of her age, and long black hair, although pulled back, was already to her thighs. Though the fact that bothered her pursuer the most, and quite nearly drove him to the edge, was that her face was hidden by a clever mask. As many sensible people are aware of, it is rather challanging to confirm a specific target when they are wearing a mask. Of course it would be hard to tell, mask or not, that the target was well aware of the fact that she was being followed. On the contrary, her anger was egding away on the inside.

She felt watched, trapped, and suffocated, knowing that she was being followed. Though, being on the other side of the situation many times herself, she knew that the moment she shows her follower that she is aware of them, they either flee, or take their chance to attack then and there. Of course, being planted in the middle of a populated festival, Cheshire felt that she didn't want to bother with an attack with so many bystanders crowding. She felt the sudden urge to retreat to an open space and face her pursuer. After all, she was well aware of just who it was.


"Oi, Sasuke. You don't seem like the type to like festivals!" Suigetsu teased, in hopes of gaining an reaction. "We're looking for someone," was the Uchiha's short reply. Suigetsu gave up, and continued to scan the crowd. "Let's split up." Although, it was phrased as a suggestion, it come out as an demand. Sasuke walked away, only to confirm it.

Suigetsu sighed, letting his eyes drift. He focused in on a figure, his eyes lit. "Black hair, kimono, and a hella' sexy... maybe not his exact words, but pretty close! I think I found this Cheshire girl." Suigetsu chuckled then made his way forward.

Meanwhile, Sasuke himself had locked in on his own target. As he drew closer, the farther the girl was moving away. The fact was beginning to annoy the Uchiha.

All at the same moment, a certain man was drawing closer to his target. It was just his luck that she was already making her way out of the crowd. Only, he didn't seem to notice a second man pursuing the same girl. It seems as if trouble lurks around every corner on this festive night, no?


The light and cheerful noise of celebration soon faded from her keen ears as she traced the shadows to an unpopulated park. Her hollow footsteps echeod on the stone brigde as she made her way to the middle.

"Perhaps, it would be a good idea," she said, leanning on the railing to look into the water, "To reveal yourself now, hm?"

A single shadow of a man made it's appearance in the reflection of the water. Cheshire looked up to see the living form on the brigde with her, at a respectful distance. Red eyes of the Uchiha gleamed in the moon light. Cheshire's own blue eyes glinted from under the mask.

"Itachi Uchiha, what a pleasure to meet you once more. Our paths are intertwined it seems," She cooed. The older Uchiha only gazed at the girl, indifferent.

"I have a proposal from our leader, Ghost," He stated.

"I no longer go by that name, Uchiha," She reminded him, "It has grown wary and worn; it's Chehsire now."

Ignoring her statement, he continued, "He wants you to join the Akatsuki. Leader beleives that you would be a great asset t-"

"No," she bluntly refused," I detest being tied down to a specific group, or to anything for that matter."

"Hn, it seems that we were right; If you refuse, then we will make you," Itachi warned in his monotone voice. Itachi disappeared as the brigde shattered from underneath Cheshire's feet. A strange, humanoid man that resembled a shark, proved to be the cause of this, seeing as he broke through the bottom of the brigde. As the rubble cleared, a normal person would see the two Akatsuki members on each side of the river, though the girl that was there before would be gone.

"Kisame Hoshigaki, I would think you would of realized that I would have sensed that you were underneath my feet seeing the amout of chakra you posses," Chided Cheshire from a tree behind Itachi. Kisame chuckled.

"You proceed to your nickname, don't you, Ghost? Or, is it Cheshire now?" He commented, turning around and hefting his beloved sword, Samehada, on his shoulder.

"If either one of us defeats you in battle, you will join the Akatsuki." Itachi explained.

"I'd rather avoid making deals with you," Cheshire yawned, leaning against a tree, only to disappear as Samehada ripped through the tree.

"Damn, gone again," Kisame cursed. Giggles erupted from behind him. He swung around to find the gril leaning against the ramains of the brigde.

"How childish; the thought of catching me off guard?" She teased. She then focused her attention on Itachi.

"How boring. You're not at all like your brother, Itachi." The said Uchiha raised an eyebrow in question.

"I met him not to long ago, but, then again, I never really pay attention to time. . ." She then cocked her, much in the manner of a cat, and gave the impression of lsitening.

"I'd simply love to play some more, but I'm afraid that time and I aren't on the best of terms," She bowed to them mockingly, "Until next time, no?" Without the slightest movement or even a hand sign, she disappeared with a trace of smoke, before the impatient Kisame had a chance to attack.

"She was just toying with us," Kisame grumbled. His partner 'hn'ed and started to walk into the cover of the trees, with a heavy mind. He then turned his attention to the sky. The air was thick with the smell of the oncoming storm.


"Damn. . ." Suigetsu muttered as he fell back in a tree with a feeling of defeat. He had lost the girl somewhere in the woods. At the precise moment, he was wallowing in defeat seeing as he was excited earlier to actually find something before Sasuke. Though now, that chance was gone. The sounds of footsteps broke him out of his daze. He looked up to meet the figure coming torward his on the worn path. He looked her over with eager eyes making it's way over her body only to end in disappointment when they came to her mask. He had to conclude it was her, seeing that he did not want to bring the wrong girl to Sasuke. She walked by him, shooting him a small wave as she saw he was looking at her, and continued past him without a second glance. Suigetsu scrambled to his feet and proceeded to walk besides her.

"Hey," he greeted, putting his hands behind his head. She simply stopped walking and looked up to the sky.

"It's going to storm soon," she commented, ignoring his greeting. Suigetsu followed her gaze, and become distracted by the dark clouds.

"Looks like it will be a big storm. . . Hey!" He noticed that she had continued to walk ahaead, without him.

"Why are you following me," she questioned bluntly.

"I'm looking for some one and you fit the description," Suigetsu grinned at her, "You wouldn't happen to go by the name of Cheshire, would you?"

"Perhaps," was her unclear answer. They had once again entered the village. The joyful people where still enjoying the festival, unaware of the shawdow that lurked above them. Suigetsu frowned, unsatisfied with her unclear answer. He decided upon trying a different tactic.

"Do you know someone named Sasuke Uchiha?"

"I've known a number of people and I'm met them in a number of places. He may be one of those many, though there's a chance he won't."

Suigetsu had afeeling that she was grinning under that mask of hers. And he simply despised that feeling. Suigetsu did not like to be toyed with.


A small blush crept across the girl's cheeks as she saw the face of the man that had forcefully turned her around. Sasuke veiwed the girl infront of him, disappointed. Her face was plumper than Cheshire's and her eyes were a murky brown color, much unlike Cheshire's clear blue. He turned around, leaving the stuttering girl behind him. He looked up to the sky only to see the first signs of delicate rain drops falling. Moans and complaints come after that, as the towns people realized that their fun would be ruined by the storm. The street soon was devoided of life, leaving Sasuke alone, walking in the rain. As he walked by the warm light of a dango shop, he glance inside, and soon back tracked, not beleiving his eyes.

Itachi?

He looked back, only to find an two empty seats where he thought he had seen his brother. He collected himself once more, and continued on his way, only to see two figures making their way towards him in the rain. One he recongnized as Suigestu, but the other had her face cover with a grinning cat mask, and was holding an umbrella to keep her sheilded from the rain. Suigetsu spotted him first.

"Oi, Sasuke! I think I found her!" He chided. Sasuke met them in the middle and veiwed the girl.

"Long time no see, Sasuke," she cooed, looking up at him. She took off her mask and revealed her ever present grin and sparkling blue eyes.

"You've grown. Why don't we catch up somewhere dry, no? And while you're at it, I'm curious to know if you respected our deal."


AN:

I'm so sorry I'm so late! But I don have a good excuse! You see, I tried out for Aladdin Jr. at our local arts center and I got the part of the genie (and yes, the genie can be a girl). It was so fun, but so time consuming and tiring. After 25 shows, I was dead. Singing, acting, and dancing sure taked a lot out of you, especially when you have a big character like the genie. Now I have all the songs running circles in my head. *sigh* anyway, we had our last show today, and I am now working on make-up-work (because we had 6 days of school shows) and updating all my stories! That, and getting the blue face paint off of me.

Anyway, I wanted to get the Akatsuki introduced soon, and decided that this was a good time. I also wanted to let Suigetsu meet Cheshire. I'll get more into Cehsire's past and abilites later on. I'm postponing the revealing of the deal for a very simple reason; I have no idea what the deal is. When I was writing it, I was all 'derpity, derp, derp, oh this will sound good/cool/awesome' so I posted it, and I didn't think about it until today. So if anyone had any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

So, reveiw, comment, rate, and all those wonderful things!

Thank you c00kiez for taking the time to reveiw! You get a cookie! I hope to get more reveiws soon :)

-Klu891