Thaaaaaaank you so very much, Airyo-chan, who was my Beta! Whooop for Airyo-chan! Many, many, hugs and kisses. And because she Beta'd it so quickly, I decided to get started on the second chapter. Declaimer: plot is allllllll mine, but sadly Naruto is owned by Kishimoto. For now. Bwahahaha! Kidding. Characters don't belong to me, either. I don't like having only one characters' pov, so in this story, there will be two. Oh, and Itachi is not a full saint. Even he has his bitter moments.
Complicated
Itachi was misunderstood. Really, that's all he was. He wasn't as complicated as people always thought him to be- he thought complicated things, by all means, yes- but he himself didn't have very many needs. He didn't need entertainment, nor money, nor power, nor any of the other things that most greedy people needed nowadays; he just needed food, sleep, and water. So how did he always end up in the most complicated situations?
He was a self driven pacifist. He didn't enjoy conflict, and he found fighting pointless; harming something or someone was pointless. He found a lot of things pointless. Maybe that's why he didn't feel a lot of things; things like annoyance, boredom, enthusiasm, or any such other things. He only felt the very extreme things: happiness, and despair.
Sadly, however, he had almost never experienced the former. His whole life was a deep chasm that he kept on falling in. The only thing that had ever given him happiness was his little brother, Sasuke. Sasuke had seen him as a person; not a genius ninja that most other people regarded him as. Even his father, and his mother, after he had passed the age of seven, always saw him as the 'genius' of the family. The one that was destined to lead the Uchiha to greatness.
Too bad that Itachi was never one for commitment to meaningless things. As a genius, he had a mind of his own, and could clearly tell the difference between right and wrong. That was the whole reason that the Uchiha Massacre occurred, but if he was given a chance to repeat history, he would have done it again. Although Itachi wasn't sure if he'd be able to kill his parents a second time. The first time was bad enough for his mentality as it was- the second time would be fatal.
Sometimes Itachi felt that the situations were all his fault. If he had never blabbed on the Uchiha, maybe his mother and father would still be alive, and he wouldn't be on the run now, and... a cough interrupted his train of thoughts, making his body shudder painfully. The cough came only once in a while, but Itachi was sure that it was only a cold; it would pass soon.
"Are you okay, sir?" Asked a young looking woman who was seated near him in the café. He had transformed into a man in his mid thirties, with brown hair and brown eyes, looking as average as he possibly could. When you were an S-Classed missing nin in the Bingo Book, you wanted to blend in as much as possible.
Itachi couldn't help but be a bit bitter at the thought. Even though he knew that it was necessary for him to leave his home and be a criminal for a living, he couldn't help but regret it slightly. It had been three years now, since he had had a normal home, with a normal bed to sleep in. Yet again, in his life, he was faced with a complication; this time, it was his living arrangements.
"Can I sit here?" Itachi had observed a strange looking man enter the café and walk towards him with purpose. Itachi was instantly on his guard. The man was pierced with numerous rings; nose rings, ear rings, and mouth rings. His eyes possessed the Rinnegan, something that you could only see if you looked underneath the genjutsu. Itachi, being the genjutsu user he was, could instantly spot the differences. This person was a ninja, who probably knew who Itachi was. But why did this person have the Rinnigan? How? Was he a protégé of the Sage of Six Paths? Itachi decided not to worry about it, until he had more information regarding the subject.
"Name?" Itachi asked monotonously, his ever present mask upon his face. He had to learn about his opponent, after all. Despite Itachi's unnerving blank face, the orange haired man showed no signs of weakness.
"Pein." He said, and then beckoned Itachi to come closer. "This place is too crowded; I have a proposition I wish to discuss with you." Itachi was inwardly curious, although he knew that starting a fight at a café would do no good for him, or for the citizens. He warily stood up and followed the orange haired man out of the café. The continued walking, until 'Pein' broke into a run. Itachi followed his lead, running after him with ease. Pein led him into a forest, south east of the café they were just at.
Finally, the orange haired man slowed to a stop, and slowly turned to face Itachi. Itachi stood, in a casual position, although his guard was up. "Itachi, Uchiha", he said, and Itachi, somehow, was not surprised. Instead, he transformed back into his normal image. Now, in the place of the thirty year old average looking man, stood a fifteen year old with devastating good looks.
"Yes?" He asked, staring at the orange haired man nonchalantly. He gave nothing away; he couldn't. One little mistake could result in his premature death. He couldn't let anyone kill him, the only person that could kill him was Sasuke. That way, he could pay for his sins, and die in peace. Especially when he knew that Sasuke was strong enough to care for himself.
"You, Itachi Uchiha, are a rogue nin of Konoha. You have killed your entire family, for unknown reasons. You are a criminal. You do not belong anywhere. You have no purpose in life." Itachi knew that half of what he was saying was wrong, but decided to play along. He kept quiet, waiting for 'Pein' to finish. "We, the Akatsuki, will have you join our ranks."
While Itachi's outward face was composed and blank, inwardly, it was a different story. What was Akatsuki? Some kind of criminal organization planning to take over the world? After all, he was a criminal, why else would they want a criminal to join their ranks? Only other criminals would not be scared of criminals. And what could criminals, when grouped together, do, other than plan evil to the world? "Our goal is peace. We will take over the corrupt villages of the ninja world, and show them pain. Then, and only then, will the world be at peace." He continued, oblivious of Itachi's inner turmoil.
Itachi, the genius he was, could immediately understand what was happening. This person, Pein, was recruiting some of the most dangerous shinobi of the world, all into one organization. They would all join for different reasons; some for the fighting, some for the power, some for the peace. And they wanted him to join, to add to the power, to the horrible name they wanted for themselves.
The question was, should Itachi join? They would definitely be a threat to Konoha; the most he could do was be a self proclaimed double agent, and warn Konoha of the Akatsuki when he could, without any of the members noticing. Itachi almost wanted to sigh in exasperation. How come it was always him that got dragged into these complicated scenarios?
"I will join your ranks." Itachi said, keeping his face clear of any unwanted emotions. He observed that this Pein also showed no emotions in the time he had known him; it was almost like he was a puppet, like he was dead. That was when Itachi solved the puzzle of Pein; this orange haired man was dead. Someone was using his chakra to manipulate the body of doing his bidding, through the numerous piercings that dotted his skin. They weren't just piercings; they were chakra transmitters. How clever. Itachi wondered if he had any other bodies.
"Follow me." The body said, beckoning him to start running. Itachi did as he was told; he followed the corpse into the trees, keeping up with the fast pace. They were heading towards the Fire Country. How ironic, Itachi thought dryly.
They travelled for hours, leaving the quaint Country of Tea. Itachi wasn't sure how long they travelled, but he did notice that the sun was coming up by the time they reached their destination. They were in some kind of cliff side, with a river and what looked like a cave. The cave had genjutsu, however, so it would be hard to tell for all but him.
"This is the Akatsuki Base." Pein had spoken for the first time in hours, informing him something that he had already guessed. He walked up towards the cave entrance, and Itachi watched as he bit into his thumb, and placed his bloody hand right in the centre of the door. That was when Itachi felt the rock give way to a dark corridor, only lit by candles. Pein stepped in, and Itachi followed him, through the long and twisting corridors of the Akatsuki base.
"The Members are not all assembled. When we are, I, who from not on will be called Leader, will contact you through the rings." Rings...? Itachi wondered what on earth and heaven he was talking about. Itachi didn't wear any rings; they usually got in the way when you performed hand signs. They entered a room, and Pein undid another genjutsu, opening a drawer. Itachi guessed that there were valuable things there, possibly the 'rings' he was talking about. He took something small that Itachi could not decipher, and threw it at him. Itachi caught it effortlessly, and took to examining what was in his hands. It was a ring; one that had a red stone it it, with the kanji, 'scarlet'. "Wear it on your right ring finger, or else the jutsu will not work." Pein said, watching him intently as he put on the ring.
"Congratulations. You are now forever bound to Akatsuki. There is no turning back." Pein said, the moment that Itachi had put on the ring. Then he turned, "Konan will give you your uniform. Afterwords, you are free to do as you please, until further contact via ring."
Konan? Itachi wondered, until he sensed a chakra nearby. That must be the 'Konan', Pein was talking about. He stared blankly as she entered the room, adorned with a black and red cloak. She didn't speak; instead, she handed him a cloak and hat of the same design, and immediately left the room. She doesn't like me very much, Itachi thought dryly.
He then decided that since he was free, he would roam the country a bit more, in peace, until he was given a myriad of missions, that would take away all the free time he had. He made his way to the exit, already having memorized the route Pein took to get to this room. Konan said nothing; she just watched him silently, her expression eerily reminding him of his own. Before he left the room, however, he donned the Akatsuki cloak and hat, officially stating his status as now a member of the Akatsuki.
At least now he had something to do. That seemed to be the only positive side of this ordeal; that and the fact that he could inform Konoha about this budding danger. How he was going to do that, though, was another question...
He left Konan in the room, swiftly walking through the maze of corridors. Soon, he found himself at the exit of the Akatsuki base, and wanting to waste no time, he quickly dissembled the genjutsu surrounding it. Once he was on the other side, he put it up, not wanting to get Pein suspicious over such a trivial matter. What should he do now...? He mused briefly. He decided that he would see Konoha one last time, on friendly terms, and maybe observe Sasuke for a while. Who knows, maybe the next time he'd have to see Konoha, would be as part of the Akatsuki; Itachi dreaded when that time came.
He set off into a run, jumping through the trees with ease. This was the kind of landscape he grew up in; Not the marshes of the Water Country, or the desert of the Wind Country. The forest was his home. He was not far away from Konoha; it would only take him five hours to get there.
By the time he had arrived, it was already midday; Konoha was bustling with people, like usual. Itachi performed a genjutsu to cloak himself, this time. The ninja here could easily tell if he was using a Henge jutsu, so it would be better if he used genjutsu. This time, he cloaked himself as a boy of around ten years of age, with black hair, and blue eyes. He tried to make himself look as average as possible; when one ninja infiltrated another village, they wanted to look as average as possible. He entered the village, and none of the civilians noticed him, although he was walking towards the Academy.
The walk didn't take long; sooner, rather than later, he found himself at the playground of the ninja Academy. It was lunch break, it seemed that he had gotten lucky. Mo one noticed as he slipped in with the children, and as he walked to see where Sasuke was at. It wasn't hard; Sasuke was surrounded by a hoard of girls. Itachi, having been there, felt sympathy for Sasuke.
Then he felt someone approach him. "What are you doing here, Uchiha Itachi?" spoke a quiet voice. Itachi swirled around at the speed of light; he found himself face to face with a young Hyuuga girl. Ah, so Hyuugas' can see through genjutsu; he cursed his luck. When they said the 'Byakugan' were the all seeing eyes, they really did mean that. As the Byakugan could see the chakra paths, the could easily tell the real image of a person. While he had been in ANBU, the information on the Hyuuga's was always kept classified; and anyway, there had never been a Hyuuga in ANBU. Itachi, while curious, had never delved deep into that history. "I've seen you come here before; however, this is my first time confronting you. Have you come to check on Sasuke?" For the first time, Itachi looked really closely at the Hyuuga girl. Her whole, childish face... was... blank. Those mirrored eyes showed nothing but his own reflection. She seemed to be stripped of all emotion, which was quite unusual.
"If you want, I can get you to actually speak to Sasuke." Itachi was flabbergasted. She probably recognized him by his similar looks to Sasuke, and she knew who he was; Itachi hadn't denied it. So why... why was she offering to help him?
"Why?" He asked her, being naturally suspicious. She just looked at him, and shrugged.
"Why not? Now, come. Lunch break ends soon." She turned, and walked off, as if expecting him to follow. Itachi, cursing his curiosity, did follow. They walked towards the hoard of girls. "I wish to speak to Sasuke," she told the girls. The girls tried to snarl, but the Hyuuga was intimidating when she wanted to be. "Are you denying my request?" she asked, and the girls were hit with a lot of killer intent. They nervously gave way to Sasuke. She walked up to him, and asked, "Do you wish to play tag?" Itachi noticed that she was awarding him with an opportunity to get away from all the girls.
"Hn," he scoffed, but Itachi recognized it as a 'yes', in Sasuke speak. "Who's he?" Sasuke asked, and Itachi took this opportunity to speak to his little brother, something he hadn't done since three years ago.
" Hokkaido Ruki." Itachi spoke up, his mind already coming up with an excuse. "My parents are in Konoha for the week, dragging my along. They told me that I could do whatever I want, so I wandered off here." Itachi's eyes observed as Sasuke's eyes clouded over by the mention of, 'parents'. Itachi felt a pang of regret hit his heart, and thought that speaking to Sasuke might not be such a good idea, after all.
Hinata broke the accumulating tension. "You're it,", she said, pointing at Sasuke, and running off.
That was how he spent the lunch time playing childish games, something he hadn't done since he was seven. To his astonishment, he had, 'fun'. He had never had fun. But, alas, all the good things come to an end; the end of the lunch break came. Sasuke immediately took off to lesson; Itachi stopped Hinata from doing the same.
She looked at him in confusion, her eyebrows knitting together. Itachi wished he could trust her... but how could he, when he couldn't even trust himself? Knowing that she could look through genjutsu, he activated his sharingan. Then, with the speed of light, he erased all memories she had of him, catching her as she fell. He couldn't leaver her like this; she showed him compassion, something he didn't understand, something that would probably forever remain a mystery, to a killer like him... Why? He asked her silently, staring at her sleeping form.
He left her on a nearby, taking a few moments to just stare at her. She hadn't judged him... she had helped him, as if she knew about his past. "Thank you" he told her, and an overwhelming feeling to repay her arose within him. He fingered the necklace he had on. It would be obvious if she woke up and found the necklace on herself, especially since it had the Uchiha crest on it, but he couldn't help himself. He just couldn't. And so, he took of the necklace he adorned, and put it across her neck. The necklace was made out of platinum, with a locket on it, made out of diamonds and rubies. It was incredibly valuable, but to Itachi, what was more valuable was the inside. Inside, there was a picture of his family, when he was young, before it all started. He infused his chakra within the locket, making sure that she wouldn't be able to open it. If she did, she might be able to figure it out, and remember; Itachi couldn't have that.
He left her there, before someone could find him. He didn't look back as he walked away, knowing that if he did, he would search for comfort of possibly the only human that had never looked at him as a murderer; a killer. While Hinata would probably never remember him, he would always remember her.
Itachi sighed. When had this all become so complicated? When did he become so complicated? Because, before, Itachi could swear that he was simple... And with that, Itachi left Konoha, knowing that he couldn't possibly chance coming back here again. He was sad that he wouldn't be able to see Sasuke again for who knows what period of time, but he knew that if he met Hinata again, he wouldn't be able to leave her so easily.
It was all so unfair. Why was he the one that was born a genius of the Uchiha clan? He would've paid anything to have just been a normal civilian, with a normal family, and most of all, a normal life. Yet, at the same time he knew that no one else could've fulfilled the role he was given to fulfil, the role of being the criminal. Itachi knew that wishing was all in vain, so he had stopped a long time ago.
While he was daydreaming, (a part of him, however, was always alert) he had already left Konoha. It was disappearing from his line of sight behind him. Itachi wondered where he would go next; where could he go? He only had a few more years of freedom before he became a full fledged Akatsuki.
And then he realised exactly what he had to do. He had to search for the old Sannin Jiraiya, who, was loyal to Konoha, despite all of his incessant wandering. Now, though, the question was, how on earth was he supposed to drop that information without him being discovered? Since Itachi was who he was, he knew that Jiraiya wouldn't believe him. He may believe some kind of alter ego, or whatever. Or should he just leave an anonymous tip?
Itachi sighed, for the infinitive time today. When had his life become so complicated? How he yearned for the time when all he was worried about was keeping Sasuke out of trouble... he wished his mother was her right now, as he fingered his neck, before he remembered that his locket was no longer there.
Ah, finished! :D ;D! SOOOOO! How was that? Please review!? Ah, and if you're fed up with my angsty stories, for a bit of a breather, you can read How Annoying. It's about Hinata- like usual- but please, please, read! Anyway, that's enough of my shameless advertising! Once more, thank you so much, Airyo, my Beta!
Sincerely,
Aurora-chan!