Planning

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

― Benjamin Franklin

Standing up, Yu turned to Yumi sitting in the trees, holding the man known as Tobi across her back, unconscious. Dumping the man on top of Deidara, she stretched her arms out and sat down. "So, what are we going to do with these two?" she asked.

However, Yu failed to manage to reply as he stared at Deidara's hand. Beside the gross tongue sticking out, there was a ring on his index finger with the symbol 青 engraved into it. Picking it up and examining it, he noticed that Tobi also had one too, but one that had the symbol 玉. Sighing, he placed the ring back and picked Deidara up with one hand.

"What are you doing?" Yumi asked.

Dodging the question, Yu simply replied, "Pick the other man up, Yumi, and follow my lead." And with that, he jumped in air, swinging from tree to tree, leaving Yumi on the ground. Sighing in frustration, Yumi picked up the mask bearer and followed after him.

As they neared their destination, Yu thought, It's been a while, my friend…

As the meeting came to an end, Hidan turned to their Leader and asked, "Leader-sama, don't you think it's a bit late for Deidara and Tobi to return?"

Turning to the one in the middle, Leader closed his eyes and sighed, thinking, Of course, something comes up just when we finish the meeting. "Very well, Itachi, Kisame, please find Deidara and Tobi. We cannot lose any members at this precise moment."

Nodding, the two figures started to rise as they heard a thumping noise on the ceiling. Ceasing the conversations, everyone looked up to see a crack starting to appear on the ceiling, bringing bits of stone to rain down upon them.

"Dodge…" Leader said as he leapt from his seat.

All members sitting around the table jumped as a huge part of the ceiling fell upon the table. Standing there stood Yu and Yumi as they placed Deidara and Tobi gently on the ground. Looking around, Yu guessed there were roughly around ten figures standing around, putting defensive stances and casting hand signs in case the pair were going to attack. To their surprise, Yu held one hand out, a sign of peace, and stated, "We are not here to fight, but just returning your members back. We will be leaving after that."

"To hell with that!" yelled one figure who stepped forward. Looking closer, it was a white haired man who wielded a long, sharp scythe with three blades. Pulling out a bead necklace, the figure muttered a few phrases before tossing the scythe up in the air and catching it with one hand. "So then, which one of you are going to be a sacrifice to lord Jashin?" And without waiting for an answer, the man charged towards the pair, weapon at the ready with a crazed grin upon his face.

Sighing, Yu nodded towards Yumi as she brought an arrow to the nock of her bow. Without a second of hesitation, she fired the arrow, striking the man in the chest and pinning him against the wall. With a surprised look upon his face, Yumi fired four more arrows; one towards his left and right arms and one towards his left and right legs, forming the shape of a pentagon. There was an eerie silence as the others were amazed by the speed and skill of Yumi's aim. Until…

"HA, HA HA HA!" laughed the man, breaking the silence as he cracked his neck in pleasure. Turning to the pair he shouted, "It's impossible to defeat me! As I have the help of lord Jashin, nothing can stop me!"

"...Freeze…"

As if it was magic, ice started to spread upon the man's body, creeping at a rather slow pace, but then increasing rapidly. Suddenly aware of the situation, he struggled with all his might, but it was futile. In a matter of seconds, what stood in front of them was a giant ice cube containing the man within it.

"You know," responded one figure, "I must say I am impressed with your skills. However, seeing that you have froze my partner, I am afraid I must kill you…"

"Kakazu, stand down," came the voice of Leader as Kakazu immediately stopped talking. Walking towards Yu, the two looked at each other eye to eye before Leader finally spoke, "It has been a long time, Yu."

"As the same for you." responded the latter. "It has been at least a year since our last conformation together?"

"So it has…" the others were shocked upon this; Leader, one who did not trust many, knew the 16 year old teenager?

"However," continuing Leader, "Would you mind to release Hidan? I'm sure that it would be polite to release him sooner or later. He is immortal, after all…"

Nodding, Yu walked towards the ice and placed his hand onto it. Muttering a jutsu, the ice began to melt away as all there was left was Hidan, spitting water out of his mouth. Glaring at the pair, he reached for his weapon until Leader's voice was heard, "Hidan, please assure no more violence. He is an ally…"

"Are you kidding me!?" yelled Hidan. "These two took down Deidara and Tobi, broke through the ceiling of our hideout, froze me into an ice cube and you tell me he's an ally now!? For the love of Jashin, give me one reason why I shouldn't rip him apart into two and use him as a sacrifice!?"

Ignoring his question, Leader simply motioned for the pair to follow him. As they turned to leave the room, Leader turned to the rest of the Akatsuki and said, "Will the rest of you please make sure that Deidara and Tobi are well and restored? Also, Konan, I will be requiring your presence her as well."

Nodding, the blue haired figure dissolved into million parts of paper as they floated towards the other room. Continuing to proceed, the group dissolved into darkness as they left the rest of the Akatsuki

A few minutes later, Leader sat with Konan across from Yu and Yumi. After a few moments of silence, Yu's voice broke the tension, "...I hear you go by the name of Pein now, am I correct?"

Nodding, Pein replied, "I never thought I would see you again…"

"I just so happened to sense one of your members spying on us. After that, we fought against Deidara and Tobi who I presume you ordered to terminate us."

Nodding again, the figure hesitated and replied, "You know how conditions are to achieve the final plan. Therefore, I must make sure there are no more flaws or incidents that will disrupt the flow of the plan."

"I understand, I forgive you. However, I presume that there is something else you wish to tell us?"

Sighing, Pein stayed silent again until he spoke again, "I did not think the matter would come this quickly, but I have no choice: I will need your assistance once again…" As Yu remained silent, Pein continued, "I realize that this is a sudden proposition for you, but I would appreciate if you were to accept my offer…"

"And what is it that you would like me to help you with?"

"For now, I have a rank S mission for you that requires to steal information of the nine tails jinchuriki…"

However, Pein's sentence was cut off as a dark expression and an icy glare covered Yu's face. Standing up, he coldly stated, "I will not be returning to the country of Fire, no matter what the deal is…"

There was a moment of silence before Pein continued, "It will be quite easy for you, as you were a habitant of Konoha, therefore I am recommending you to take the mission…"

"Did you not hear me before, Pein!? Just because it has been 2 years does not mean that the scars around my heart have healed! Ask the assistance of your other members, I am not interested in helping!"

The two were now standing, face to face; Yumi and Konan were studying their individual partner, wondering what their next move was. They were shocked when Yu sighed and turned around. "... I can never win an argument with you, can I?"

"It does seem to be the case," came Pein's voice. "So, you will agree to help me?"

"Yes, but only under a few conditions…"

"Very well, state them and I will accept them…"

"One, you are not to interrupt my work when I am working on my own plans. Two, if the members of the Akatsuki plan to harm Yumi or I, the treaty is broken up. Three, I am allowed to recruit anyone that seems to be capable in helping me. And finally…"

Yu paused before continuing, "You are not to touch the village of Konohagakure while I am an active member in the Akatsuki."

"WHAT!?" came the voice of not Pein, but of Konan and Yumi at the same time.

"You are thinking that we will blindly accept these terms!?" asked Konan in frustration. "Just because you have forged an alliance with us does not mean that you can easily make us agree to these terms!? Not only are these terms mostly absurd, but if we were not allowed to touch the hidden leaf village, how are we not able to obtain the nine tailed jinchuuriki!? Pein, please tell him that the offer is not available!"

While Konan was noting all the issues with the terms, Yumi was staring at Yu's face, as if they were having a silent conversation. She was giving him looks that were indicating if he was crazy or mental, possibly both at the same time. However, all chaos ended as Pein cleared his throat.

"... I accept your terms…" Pein concluded.

"WH-WHAT!?" cried Konan as she started at Pein. Meanwhile, Yumi was giving him the "Who are you and what have you done with the real Pein?" look as she merely frowned, trying to cope with the situation.

"However," Pein added. "I hope you realise that one of our targets is inhabiting in Konoha right now. Therefore, when the time comes, I will have to…put down the host of the tailed beast."

Nodding, Yu said, "I understand, but please ask for my permission to attack the village. The sake of my revenge… will come soon and I am hoping that I am the one to extinguish this will of fire Konoha yields."

Giving Yu a questioning look, Konan slowly asked, "...Forgive me for asking this, but what did Konoha exactly do to you, Yu?"

Yumi gave Konan a warning look, but it was too late. Clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes, Yu suddenly turned on the spot and hurried out of the room. A few seconds after he left, the others heard a smashing sound outside of the room, indicating that Yu was no doubt, angry. Stunned, Konan turned towards Yumi who only sighed. "I-I'm sorry, should I have not asked that?"

"It's okay," Konan was surprised that Yumi's voice was so soft and kind, considering the event that just happened. "He's still trying to cope with his grudge against Konoha. They took the only thing precious to him…" Turning towards Pein, Yumi added, "Pein, I need to go calm Yu's temper down. May you excuse me for one moment please?"

"You are excused," replied Pein. "When you return, I will have the information for the mission ready for you."

Bowing in appreciation, Yumi drifted off after Yu, disappearing into the darkness…

It was not hard for one to locate Yu; all you had to do was to follow the trail of destruction, just like following a set of footprints. Following the mess of punch holes in the wall, Yumi located Yu sitting down against a large rock, staring at his hand, deep in thought. Sitting right next to him, Yumi held his hand upon his shoulder and asked, "Yu, are you okay?"

Sighing and putting his head upon his knees, Yu whispered, "...I shouldn't have let loose my temper like that…"

Grasping his shoulder, Yumi said, "I won't blame you , Yu. Speaking as a friend and your companion, I understand that you are trying to cope with the past…"

Smiling slightly, Yu replied, "... you always know how to make me feel better, do you?"

"You could say we are two souls of the same person. Yin and Yang, black and white. Both trying to protect each other from harm, both knowing that they can depend on the other."

"...you have a funny way of words, don't you?"

Grinning, Yumi playfully nudged Yu as she stood up. Turning back towards the direction she came from, Yumi asked, "I'm going to go retrieve our mission scroll, are you going to come with me?"

Shaking his head, he said, "No, it's okay. I think I'm going to need some time to think for awhile. You can go yourself…"

Nodding, Yumi turned and left, leaving Yu deep in his thoughts…

When Yumi returned to confront Pein and Konan, they were quietly talking to each other, deep in conversation. She decided to wait until they were finished and when they finished, Pein reached from under his cloak and produced a scroll, containing the mission details. Nodding towards the scroll, Yumi opened the scroll, displaying a detailed formation of notes:

Mission: Retrieve and Obtain

Rank: S

Location: Konoha, Land of Fire

Objective: Retrieve a scroll from the information center of Konoha, containing information of jinchuriki.

Casualties: Allowed

Required time: Maximum of 14 days, two weeks

Reward: ? (confront later for further details)

Nodding, Yumi pocketed the scroll and bowed in appreciation. Pein and Konan followed suit, as they themselves stood up to leave, leaving Yumi alone in the room, thinking of the following outcome.

"So, this is the mission?"

The pair were standing outside of the Akatsuki base, heading out after a few minutes. Reading the scroll, Yu read the information containing the mission.

"Yes, as it seems so. I think it will take at least 3 days to travel there, making it a total of 6 days for the trip. Therefore, we will have 8 days to complete the mission."

"Plenty of time," stated Yu. Pondering in his thoughts, Yu added, "...Is there something else you would like to add, Yumi?"

Frowning, Yumi nodded. "... If they are targeting all the tailed beasts, then they will be sure to target Naruto for sure, therefore putting him in a lot of danger…"

"Yumi, what conditions did I ask Pein to agree on?" asked Yu.

Thinking for a few seconds, Yumi finally listed, "Not to interrupt your work, the members of the Akatsuki will not plan to harm either of us until the treaty is broken, to allow you to recruit anyone outside of the Akatsuki, and..." Sudden realisation to appear upon Yumi's face. "They are not allowed to harm the village of Konohagakure while we are working with the Akatsuki..."

Nodding, Yu continued, "As Naruto should be currently residing Konoha, they will not be able to harm him unless they wish to feel my true power."

"Why would you go to such lengths to protect him?"

Closing his eyes, Yu sighed, "Although the rest of Konoha treated me and my sister like scum, Naruto was the only person besides you to treat me as an equal. He knows what true loneliness means and what it takes to be discriminated from others. While I still feel anger towards the country of fire, Naruto is an exception, one who is determined to prove to anyone he will be respected by others."

"But, if he gets in the way of your plan…"

Extending his hand, Yu replied, "I will allow him to interfere for a few times. However, if he chooses to become my enemy, I will show no mercy towards him." Closing his hand, he stood up and nodded towards Yumi, "Let's go." And just like that, the two disappeared, leaving only one sign that their presence was here: a soft, white snowflake floating under a brightly lit blue flame

End of chapter 2.

Okay, so here's chapter 2. (Finally) Sorry for the whole wait, I had some personal things to take care of. (school, family related things, ect.) But, that's not really a good excuse for not writing this chapter faster, so again, I apologize.

Anyway, I want to talk about my two OC's jutsu elements: Yu's and Yumi's. In the Naruto universe, there are five main elements: fire, water, earth, lightning and wind. As you can tell, Yu's main element is fire, ranging from raising temperature to actually summoning flaming meteorites! (OP as hell) Anyway, there will be more jutsus that Yu will use and there are some weaknesses he contain, so it isn't too OP.

Now, Yumi uses a bow which can shoot fast projectiles. As shown in the prologue, Yumi is really skilled with the bow, therefore containing advanced accuracy and reflexes. But, what really makes her special is the element of her jutsu; ice.

For those who don't know, there are special elements that are passed from bloodlines are known as kekkei genkai. From magnet release to the sharingan, they are special abilities that grant the user special powers. So, you could probably tell that the ice element is my favourite element. As you could see in this chapter, Yumi can manipulate the ice that are produced from her arrows, (I'll talk about that in a later chapter,) and she can magically command the ice to spread or to act as a weapon. But just like Yu, I'm going to explain that in another chapter.

So, looks like this should be good enough. In the next chapter, I'm going to talk about how I created my OCs (namewise, background, references) and their weapons specifically, Yu's sword and Yumi's bow. Also, there will me a bit more dialogue between Naruto and the pair, so expect that too. And like always, rate, review, rinse and repeat.

- Pyrothemusical