Before we get started, I wanna say that I'm super-duper sorry for posting after over two months of nothing. School's got me worked up to the max, and also, I have started writing other stories to post in the future. However, I promised myself to not post them until I at least finish this one. If you guys are desperate to get a few hints about them, message me and I'll tell you beautiful people as much as I can.
With that said, on with the chapter!
Chapter 25: Reunion Long Overdue
"Hey, Karin! You in there!?" I shouted as I banged the large wooden door for the redhead.
It took literally hours to travel to the Southern Hideout where Karin was currently working in, so I was very tired and expected a full relaxation the moment I walked in. However, the four-eyed female wasn't answering the damn door and I was getting really irritated.
"Karin, open the f**kin' door already before I break it down myself!" I warned in annoyance, focusing my chakra just in case she decided to go through things the hard way.
After hearing my threat, the hotheaded female finally opened the large door. However, she didn't open it enough for me to enter; she just opened it just enough for her to peek to see who it was though she had a good idea who was behind the door. The look on her face gave off the feeling that she didn't really appreciate me banging the door like an impatient a**hole while shouting just so I could get in. I couldn't blame her: it could attract unwanted visitors and whatnot.
"Happy to see me?" I snickered sarcastically, earning a cold glare from the female.
"Barely!" She snapped exasperatedly. "What the f**k are you doing, shouting and knocking like that!? You can attract enemies here!"
"Quit b***hing…" I dismissed playfully. "It's been a while, seeing my wonderful redhead. I couldn't help but be excited to see you on my mission."
Karin rolled her eyes as she adjusted her glasses.
"Besides, I figured you already know why I'm here in the first place…" I remarked plainly then placed a pout. "Now let me in, will you?"
"Whatever…" She grunted in defeat as she turned her heel and walked deeper into the lair, signalling for me to follow.
Without hesitation, I walked into the giant structure and made sure to close the door behind before I followed Karin's tail. We walked through the dark, damp hallways for a long moment until we reached one particular door. She pulled out the key ring filled with keys for the entire hideout and chose one near the middle of the bunch. With one turn, the door was unlocked and I helped myself in opening the door and walking into a bare room where there were only dark couches, a coffee table, and a file cabinet located at the far corner of the room. I plopped on one of the couches while Karin made her way towards said cabinet. With another key, she opened the cabinet and for a few seconds, she went through a few files as she picked up one every two or three documents requested by Orochimaru. Once she was done searching, she slammed the drawer shut without locking it securely just in case she needed to come back to retrieve more files without the hassle in unlocking it again. She sat down on the couch beside me and laid out all the documents she obtained, allowing me to read the labels and the information in them.
"So how's it going lately?" I asked her conversationally, looking up from reading a list of data in my hands.
"Nothing much." She answered simply, keeping her eyes on the classified papers. "Same old same old in this dark hole…"
I nodded, satisfied with her answer then I continued reading the files until she decided to pull out a question of her own.
"How about you?" She questioned curiously as she eyed me expectedly.
"Um, nothing new, I guess…" I replied unsurely, shrugging the question off.
Karin huffed at my words then she clarified, "I mean… how's it going with you and Kabuto?"
I merely blinked at her, trying to find words so that my answer wouldn't confuse her. Karin was aware of my relationship with Kabuto for a while. Kabuto and I were here not too long ago, recruiting prisoners for Orochimaru twisted experiments and because we both forgot that the redhead was a formidable and powerful sensory ninja, she was able to detect the feeling of affection and admiration our chakra was giving off. Of course, the bookworm didn't know that she knew about us, but she hinted to me that she was on to us and I couldn't lie because she could sniff my bluffing from a mile away. Long story short, Karin swore that she wouldn't tell a soul to anyone—even Sasuke and Orochimaru—because we both understood as females that we all needed a strong male figure in our lives at one point. She also told me that I had to be the "maid of honour" of her and Sasuke's "wedding" and their "wedding planner" to which I agreed because any idiot person knew that would never happened in a million years.
Though we weren't close like "best friends", I believed that Karin could keep a secret like this mostly because she knew that my brother—the guy she obviously had the hots for—would eventually get involved and possibly feel the wrath of the snake; simply she wanted to "protect him" in a way.
"He's battered and bruised badly…" I simply replied, slumping against the couch comfortably.
"Why? What happened to him?" She asked curiously; I was taken back by her sudden concern for the male.
"Sasuke found out about our relationship and long story short, his 'big brother instincts' kicked in…" I answered dryly. "He wanted to see how much I meant to him so he challenged Kabuto to fight until one of them dies."
"Then… what happened?" She asked intriguingly.
"Sasuke was a second away from killing Kabuto if it weren't for Orochimaru coming in to stop him at the last second." I answered tediously, resting my head on my linked hands behind it. "Sasuke was pissed off and walked away without saying another word to any of us. At the time, Kabuto's state was severe because he had a punctured artery."
"What was Sasuke thinking at the time?" She inquired softly.
I shrugged at her. "Not sure. We haven't been speaking to each other before this mess took place and all that mess did was cause my brother to move further and further away from me to the point where we don't act like siblings. I was close to getting over it but the fact that he had the intention to kill the one person I cared the most just to prove his point really stung." I explained as I kept my emotions in tact in front of the female next to me.
"Maybe he's worried that you're replacing him with Kabuto…" She purposed assumingly.
"Don't you think I already know that?" I scoffed in annoyance. "Even if that's true, he only has himself to blame for that…"
"Maybe he needs an eye-opener…" She suggested thoughtfully. "You know, a situation where he's forced to realize his faults with your sibling relationship and the importance of you as a sister. He needs to get out of his narrow-minded perspective and understand that as your older brother, you're his first priority…"
"I doubt that'll happen. It's not like we could pop out circumstances out of our asses and make him 'realize' that he's the culprit of everything that's been going on." I responded skeptically as I rested my eyes. "And it's not like we can just put him under a genjutsu where he's hypnotized into thinking that he's the one at fault since he can easily see through it and release it with his Sharingan…"
"You may not know, Katsumi…" Karin sighed in relaxation. "Anything can happen to any of us, and it happens for a reason…"
"Again, I doubt that." I huffed in response. "My day-to-day life is the same and boring like always. The chances of 'something happening' is almost slim to none, in my case at least…"
"Sure, why don't you disagree and shut down every single thing I say because it's 'irrelevant'!"
"My bad, Karin." I apologized lazily. "Force of habit…"
"Besides, things actually can happen from the luckiest to the unluckiest of people…" She added begrudgingly.
I rolled my eyes at the redhead's spiritual beliefs as I breathed out deeply.
"So what's Lord Orochimaru's reaction to your relationship?" She then asked.
"Miraculously, he was cool with it. In fact, he said that he didn't really paid that much attention to it as it went on because it immediately lost his interest." I answered with a cocky smile. "Since our relationship wasn't getting in the way of his goals nor it would benefit him if he pulled any strings on it, he gave me his blessing…"
I left out the part where Orochimaru revealed that he genuinely cared for Kabuto because that would make every subordinate under him think that he was weak and take advantage of it.
"Damn, you must be really special in Kabuto's eyes…" Karin mused deeply. "For as long as I've known him, he was never as considerate and less creepy as he is right now. And it's all because of you…"
I lifted my eyelids to eye the female sitting next to me.
"I wouldn't say that it was all because of me; a factor of it maybe…" I simply critiqued.
"Yeah, but he's been a bit more sensitive and humane since he started falling for you." She beamed lightly. "You're his special something…"
I couldn't help but return her joy with a small smile myself. I knew she was only saying this because she was thinking about Sasuke again.
"I wish someday I'LL be Sasuke's special something too!" She exclaimed wishfully, squealing like an average fangirl.
"I hope things work out between you and Sasuke. He'll come around eventually…" I acknowledged sweetly, stressing the last word in emphasis.
I knew that was a lie, but I didn't want to be the a**whole breaking the news to her; it was better to keep her happy so that she supported Team Katsumi all the way. Then, the sudden thought of Kabuto risking his life to prove that his faithfulness to my brother and I caused my face to fall to a gloomy one.
"What's the matter with you?" She questioned in confusion, noticing my sudden gloominess.
"Kabuto…" I responded lowly. "He proved that he genuinely cares about me and how much I mean to him… but I haven't done anything to prove any of that…"
"Don't stress yourself about it." Karin simply waved off, earning a questioning look from me. "Guys are the easiest to impress; the smallest things are good enough for them. So small gestures will do the trick… like—"
"I'm not having sex with him if that's what you're implying!" I cut in sharply, slightly blushing at the thought.
"Why not?" She frowned. "I can tell under those ugly glasses and baggy clothes, he has a body most girls would die for and your petite figure is one of your sexiest assets you have. Considering those circumstances, I'm surprised that you guys haven't jumped on each other yet."
"First of all, you're only saying this because you know just as much as I do that the second you and Sasuke 'get together', you wanna bang him harder than I did on the front door of this place a moment ago." I countered in a hissing tone, then I lowered my gaze as I continued in a weaker tone. "Second of all, I want our first time to be special. I want it to mean something about the connection… the chemistry we have…"
"That's stuff is cliché…" She commented in a sigh, unimpressed. "But I guess I understand where you're coming from…"
I huffed loudly at the girl's state of mind. "I wonder if that sensory jutsu of yours is a blessing or a curse for others."
"On the other hand, he's like what… twenty-one, twenty-two? Guys around that age are horny as hell and would do anything to get laid." She added hypothetically, completely dismissing my comment.
I rolled my eyes at her logic. "That's a f**kin' stereotype, Karin. Any guy at any age after puberty can obtain a sexual attraction and desire for others."
Karin stayed quiet as she listened to my explanation.
"Plus, Kabuto is not like that at all. Though his attraction for me is strong, he respects my boundaries and he refuses to take things to the next level unless if I'm comfortable. My wellbeing is his number one priority…" I proceeded confidently, certain with every word coming out of my mouth.
"Not even a hand-job?" She hesitantly offered with hope.
"KARIN!"
"Okay, okay! Geez…" She huffed defensively, slumping on the couch next to me.
We sat there for a long period of time, having gone through our personal thoughts in silence until Karin decided to break the awkward silence in the room.
"How about giving him a meaningful gift?" She suggested genuinely, finally taking the matter seriously.
"Like what?"
"Something that shows him that you know him more than anyone else…" She clarified briefly. "You know… to show how much you care about him and accept him for who he is."
I took her idea to consideration; she did make a point. For now, I would keep that on mind for the future.
"I'll think about it…" I assured truthfully.
Karin nodded as she gave me a rare, friendly look. It was true, we weren't close friends and definitely not best friends but we were—nonetheless—friends. Despite the fact that she could be the more unbearable, annoying, and even nasty most of the time, I still respected her for her abilities and her as a person.
"Listen…" I spoke up with a grin, earning the girl's attention. "As much as I want to hang around for a little bit, I still have a mission to complete."
It took a few seconds for Karin to process my words. And when she finally realized what I just said, she slapped her forehead for being an idiot.
"Sorry about that." She quickly replied as she hastily gathered all of the papers. "Just let me seal this in an envelope to keep the documents safe. This is classified information and Lord Orochimaru will have our heads if it gets in the wrong hands."
"Ugh, you sound like Kabuto…" I gagged playfully.
Karin merely gave me a dirty look as she tossed the large envelope towards me. I easily caught and hopped onto my feet with a cocky grin, earning a nasty look from the redhead; she didn't like the fact that her attempt to hurt me failed miserably. That mere thought made me smile grew bigger while her glare at me grew nastier.
"Thank you, friend!" I chirped then I started skipping my way towards the door and down the hallway. "I shall take my leave now."
"Good to hear!" She snapped in exasperation, following behind me. "I wanted you to get the f**k out of here from the start!"
I waited patiently for Karin to graciously open the front door for me. With another smile I skipped out of the lair as the redhead stood at the doorway, watching me skipping away from the place. As I happily travelled towards the large water surface in front of me, I waved my hand as a gesture of farewell to Karin to which she responded with a wave back though I didn't see it but I could feel it. Once my distance was farther away from the hideout, I heard the large door slammed shut from the place. I then went ahead to run as fast as I could on the water surface with the envelope placed safely and securely in my weapon pouch.
After an hour and a half, I reached towards familiar land and I continued to run with intense speed towards the hideout I currently resided in. I attempted to make a full-on stop which resulted in me skimming a short distance until my feet finally made a complete stop. I let out a sigh then glanced up at the sky. I estimated that it was about 5 in the afternoon which I was kind of surprised that my mission was completed that easily, that quickly. Orochimaru did mention that it wasn't too difficult but it wasn't a walk in the park either, which was basically his reason why he sent only me. Plus, he knew that I hadn't went on a solo mission for a long time and he didn't want me to feel rusty. I let out a scoff, thinking about how considerate the rogue ninja was by the smallest of gestures. Since I was currently not too far away from the hideout, I saw no point in rushing to get back; I wanted to enjoy the fresh air Mother Nature had to offer. So for the rest of the trip, I decided to walk the rest of the way home. As I did so while keeping my guard up but also enjoying this moment of peace and quiet, something above me caught my attention. As I halted my step, I sharpened my gaze to see what was exactly above me. I was stunned to see a graceful, small dove flying above my head. Once it caught its attention towards me, it landed on a high tree branch as it never left its eyes off of me. I raised my eyebrow as it examined me by tilting its head left and then right for a few times, thinking this was a bit off pudding.
Firstly, doves were rare especially around this region never mind wild doves. Secondly, this couldn't be one of my summons—since my summoning contract was with doves—and I don't recall summoning one recent. Even if I did, they should've been sent back to their world one their job had been done. Thirdly, let's say my first two observations were false, why did it seemed as though the dove was expecting me. It was unusual for the most part for a dove staying in a specific area like this because doves usual embraced their freedom. However this one seemed to be on some sort of duty.
In that case, does this mean that someone was trying to mess with me? Were they trying to lure me into some sort of trap?
Cautiously, I activated my Sharingan and examined my surroundings and the greater area for any mischief in the radar. Maybe if some sort of genjutsu was casted to brainwash me. But I came out with nothing; there was no other chakra sources nearby besides mine. Plus, my charka didn't seemed disturbed in anyway, meaning there was no genjutsu anywhere near me. I sighed in relief, but the worry of getting ambushed heightened my guard and senses. After having a brief staring contest with the dove resting above, I walked off. I tried my hardest to shake off the fact that the dove's gaze followed me until I was far away for the bird to see me.
"Creeper…" I grunted underneath my breath, relaxing my body from that "intense" encounter.
I continued to walk through the woods, minding my own business, until another thing caught my eyes. This time, it was located on the ground. It took me only a second for me to recognize it was a garden of medical herbs. Not just any herbs, but they were the specific ones I recalled Kabuto complaining about because they ran out.
"Lord Orochimaru will kill me if I don't get this antidote done in time, but I'm all out…" Those exact words from the male repeated in the depths of my mind.
Today I was feeling extra nice, so I thought that I should take a bunch of these herbs back to our hideout and give them to Kabuto. That was the least I could do, plus it was convenient enough. However, I was still on a mission and Orochimaru wanted the documents of his experiments as soon as possible. But knowing me, I had my ways in completing tasks. I took out an empty scroll from my weapon pouch along with the large envelope containing those documents. I used a sealing jutsu and sealed the classified items in the scroll. After closing it and tying it securely, I bit my thumb hard enough to draw blood out of it then performed the exact hand signs for the Summoning Jutsu. I slammed my hand on the soft earth and with a puff a smoke, there stood there strongly was one of my most loyal dove summoning, Hana. She was much larger than most average-sized dove and bird, but she still had a cute shape that suited her personality really well.
"Long time, no see, Katsumi…" Her elegant voice acknowledged.
"Nice to see you to, Hana…" I smiled friendly. "Sorry to summon you on short notice…"
"Not a problem." She dismissed kindly. "It gives me an excuse to see an old friend…"
"Same goes for me." I nodded.
"So, what can I do for you?" She asked straight-forwardly.
"I want you to give this scroll to Orochimaru." I answered flatly, holding out said scroll. "He's located at his hideout. The one about six miles from here. Think you can do that?"
"Leave it to me, Katsumi." She assured confidently.
With an appreciating smile, I carefully attached the scroll on Hana's back.
"That should do the trick."
"But why ask me to hand the scroll to Orochimaru when you're more than capable to do it yourself?" Hana asked me curiously, looking up at me innocently.
"I have a few errands to attend to and I wouldn't be able to hand the secret documents before the deadline." I simply answered.
"If you say so…" My precious dove sighed. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I'll be just fine, Hana." I assured soothingly, placing a gentle smile on my face.
"Right!" She chirped and flapped her wings rapidly, lifting off from the ground.
I watched Hana as she flew higher and higher then soared through the blue sky until I could no longer see her with my naked eyes. I subconsciously turned around and started gathering up as much medicinal herbs as I could to surprise my partner. The small anticipation of that thought made me smile at nothing like a complete idiot. Until an invisible presence that seemed to be lurking near the area broke my train of thought. I contained myself so that whoever it was, they wouldn't see that they were making me feel tense and scared though I slightly was. Reason being was because this presence wasn't familiar to me yet the feeling I was receiving was so memorable, I carried it on with me without even realizing until now. Who was this person? What did they want from me?
I winced when I sensed their chakra moving closer and closer towards me, meaning they were intended to encounter me. As they moved in, I prevented myself from widening my eyes and my jaw dropping to the ground when I realized exactly who it was. And too be honest, I expected this to happen at some point in time.
Apparently, Karin was right: anything could happen and they happened for a reason. She was also right about things happening to the luckiest and unluckiest of people. I guessed that made me the unluckiest person of the planet for coming face-to-face with the one person who was the only one to make my skin crawl. I replaced my shocked face with a cocky smirk and then I swiftly took out kunai. I skillfully threw it over my shoulder, directly at the intended target. But considering who I was dealing with, a surprise like that was child's play.
"You're sensing abilities have improved, I see…" The stoic, expressionless voice commented blankly. "And your aim at your blind spot is perfect, if I hadn't dodged…"
Just hearing the man's voice was so surreal. It had been three years since I last saw him, and it was then I was sent to the hospital because of my injuries inflicted by him. Him being here of all places where I was probably most vulnerable made me both anxious and overwhelmed. But surprisingly, I wasn't scared. In fact, I was glad to see him. I mean, it wasn't like me to miss a family reunion.
"When was the last time you've acknowledged me for my skills?" I asked myself mockingly aloud, lifting myself slowly off the ground. "Are you growing soft as you grow old?"
I then heard footsteps coming even closer to the small clearing of the forest where I was currently standing on. I slowly side-glanced over my shoulder at the man I dreaded to see ever since I was a child. The same man who basically raised and trained me. The same man who literally f**ked everything up. The burning feeling in my chest from the mere thought and sight of him activated my Sharingan without my knowledge. Once he finally removed himself from the shadows, the oh-so familiar cloak and the scratched Leaf headband were the first things that caught my eyes. The last thing I glued my eyes on was the blank, emotionless, stoic look of my eldest sibling's face. His pale face was only the few things in my mind that I carried an image of.
"Why so tense you feel the need to activate your visual prowess?" The older raven asked rhetorically, his face unchanged.
"It doesn't hurt to keep your guard up, especially when you're dealing with the likes of you…" I replied darkly, my crimson eyes looking at his which were identical to mine. "Besides, showing your face to me at a time and place like this is quite unlike you, don't you say? Can you blame me for being cautious, Itachi?"
"I'm not here to fight you, Katsumi…" He claimed expressionlessly.
I scoffed at him. "Then why the hell are you here, in the first place? Why encounter me on your own willingly for no reason? Knowing you, you don't act unless there's a reason behind it—whether it be good or not." I commented accusingly, narrowing my eyes at him.
"You're wrong." He argued dryly. "I have a reason why I approached you…"
Hearing from Itachi that he indeed had a reason for "meeting" with me made me eye at him skeptically, however I did offer the man my ears so I could at least know his purpose at the moment.
"What is it then?" I questioned him hardly, rooting my feet on the ground readily.
After a moment of silence between us, the raven parted his lips to speak.
"You're aware about the Akatsuki?"
"Yeah, I know about that group of yours…" I nodded at his assumption, keeping my guard up. "And I happen to not give a damn about you guys either."
"And you're also aware about the death of Sasori of the Red Sand?" He then presumed nonchalantly.
I recalled Kabuto telling me about Sasori's death and that Sakura and his grandmother, Chiyo, were the ones who successfully killed him. Mentioning him of all things seemed off to me. Despite him being a mere ally to my brother and the organization, why does it concern Itachi right now? And what does it have to do with anything?
"What's your point, Itachi?" I inquired impatiently. "What are you getting at? What does the Akatsuki have anything to do with me?"
"Sasori was the only member of the Akatsuki who was capable of basic medical treatment and the only person who excelled in antidotes and medication." He briefed flatly. "Since his decease, our men have been injured greatly and our medication supply is close to zero. We are in need of a professional medic ninja…"
"So, you're basically telling me that you heartless beings need me to treat your 'men' and make more antidotes, right?" I hypothesized dully.
Itachi merely blinked at my assumption, which meant yes if translated.
"I'm under Orochimaru, which makes you and the Akatsuki my mortal enemies." I remarked coldly. "Yet you expect me to help you low-lives?"
I was baffled that Itachi of all people expect me to help him and his gang after everything he and the others did to me and my loved ones.
"You don't have the option to decline, Katsumi." He warned lowly. "This is an order by the Akatsuki's leader; you must do it."
"I don't give a f**k about your leader!" I snapped in annoyance. "You or your gang can't tell me what to do; I do whatever I want to do. And what I want right now is for you get the hell out of my face!"
Itachi didn't move or even flinched at my retort. He only raised a thin eyebrow, seemingly not comprehending something.
"You don't have the desire to kill me?" He suddenly asked. "You only wish for me to disappear?"
It took me about a minute of silence for me to finally understand what he meant. I sighed heavily as I folded my arms at him.
"No, I don't have the desire to kill you'." I clarified in bore.
The blank stare of Itachi was trying to urge me to explain myself and where I stood between the two of us to which I sighed even heavier.
"What you did was f**ked up all the way, from killing our entire family to attempting to kidnap my best friend. Personally, I wish you suffer before your trip down to hell…" I explained begrudgingly. "However, I've opened my eyes and my reality isn't to someday kill a cold-hearted murderer. You're not worth my time nor my smallest attention so I've moved on and focused on making myself stronger mentally and physically."
Though I didn't see it from where I was standing, I felt my brother's microscopic smile stretch lightly on his pale lips. I frowned upon this because for one, Itachi Uchiha rarely smiled. Two there was nothing funny about what I had just said.
"Like I presumed… your perception and mentality differs from Sasuke…" He remarked softly, resting his eyes. "You're more in-depth than he is…"
"As if I give a s**t about what you think about Sasuke and I." I retorted, rolling my eyes at him. "Sasuke has his own things to deal with and I have mine."
"He's getting stronger like he promised?" The raven asked curiously though his tone sounded bored.
"That's for me to know and you to find out when you fight him." I hinted coldly, refusing to give away anything.
"Hn." He simply grunted, unfazed by my cold demeanor.
"And as for that request from your Akatsuki leader: my answer to him is no." I finalized sternly.
"Likewise, I was ordered to find and bring you to our hideout… even by force if need be." He briefed lowly, opening his eyes slowly revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan. "Act stubborn any longer, I would have to take you in against your will."
"Huh, you honestly believed I'm the same little girl you faced three years ago." I scoffed smugly. "If you insist in fighting me, then let me show just how much I've improved… big brother…"
Said brother merely smirked lightly at my statement, rooting his feet to the ground readily.
"So, you want to kill me after all." He implied.
"Hmph." I brushed his 'humorous' comment off my shoulder as I too was in a fighting position, ready for almost anything he could or would throw at me.
We stared hardly at each other with our Sharingan blazing strongly with determination and the need of dominance. This battle had to be quick because though Orochimaru would have the scroll in time, he would have no clue of my whereabouts and in this case, circumstances. Hopefully, Hana didn't sense my brother and if she did, I prayed she would keep to herself from anyone in the hideout and trusted me to get the work done. I recalled telling Kabuto that if the opportunity was present, I would kill Itachi myself and make things a bit easier in my life. Now that he was standing in front of me, I started doubting if I even wanted to kill him. Not because I had any sort of pity for the man—he could go f**k himself in hell for all I cared—but because that made everything I said to and about Sasuke pointless and hypocritical. Not to mention, me claiming that I had accepted the events and moved on would seem ludicrous to everyone around me, especially Itachi. Besides, I didn't want to fight him because it would waste chakra and energy, and it could cause old feelings and thoughts to resurface again. But at this point, I had no choice: the raven wouldn't leave me alone unless I took him down and I wasn't in the mood to enter in a hideout I wasn't familiar of.
Out of everyone I had met in my life, my eldest brother was the one who knew me the most in which he could use that knowledge to defeat me. He also knew that I was very different in approaching a situation like this, compared to Sasuke. He knew that it wasn't my desire to kill him; I simply wanted to get past him and death was probably the cost of that. I wasn't necessarily scared nor intimidated by my brother; my main concern was getting back to Orochimaru's lair as soon as possible before he, Kabuto, Sasuke, or anyone in there grew suspicious. And I knew for a fact that they wouldn't be too pleased if they figured out that the reason for my absence was fighting infamous Itachi Uchiha.
I winced in shock as I pulled myself from my thoughts when I sensed a huge chakra source in my radar. Not only that, it was rushing directly towards me. Without looking who the attacker was, I jumped a far height using a bit of my chakra. While I was in the air, I flipped myself upside-down to see just who it was that tried to kill me from behind. My eyes widened incredulously when I immediately recognized the identity of the attacker. It was Itachi's walking tuna roll of a partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. F**kin' Karin was right: I jinxed myself and now I was paying the price for it. At the last minute, I released I was still in the air and because gravity was a b***h, I wouldn't be flying in the sky for very long unless I do something about it. With that, I quickly wielded a few hand signs.
"Ninja Art: Zero Gravitation!" I summoned mentally, releasing my chakra to activate the jutsu.
This was one of the jutsu Orochimaru found. Though it wasn't classified as "forbidden", it was still recommended for shinobi to not use it due to its high precision in chakra control and its difficulty in controlling. However, I wasn't just a mere shinobi. This jutsu took less than a week for me to perfect it and once I did, I used it often since it complimented with my Wind Style jutsu. Basically, this jutsu removed the gravity that's applied on the caster, resulting them to float in the air. When the person perfects it, they could fly limitlessly in the sky with such speed and use this as an advantage in battle. This was basically why I activated this jutsu right now: to distance myself from my opponents who remained on the ground staring up at me carefully. I glared exasperatedly at the Shark Skin swordsman, pissed off that he made the problem even bigger than it already was to which he grinned wickedly at me back.
"Well, would you look at that?" I overheard the blue man mused in entertainment. "Your cute little sister learned how to fly… how precious is that?"
"Well, I'm about to be real adorable when I turn you into lunch!" I retorted defensively.
"Kisame, don't rile her up." Itachi softly warned, looking blankly up at me. "It'll be difficult to put her down if she's provoked."
"Don't worry, Itachi. I learned my lesson the last time I underestimated the girl when she insisted in fighting you. Though she didn't win, she's headstrong and her spirit is hard to break like a diamond." He replied lowly, assuring his comrade as he adjusted his grip on his large sword. "If anything, I'm curious and excited to see how much stronger she's gotten after all those years of training under that snake."
"Hn." Itachi responded nonchalantly, closing his eyes.
Now I was having second thoughts about this. The weasel himself was already a handful to fight with but now he had brought his alive, afternoon snack with him. This was out of the question. Unfortunately, I couldn't just say, "Y'know what? F**k this, and f**k you guys! Two against one? You're so funny!" and run away as fast as I could. But I couldn't because they could easily find and capture me without breaking a sweat because they were f**kin' Akatsuki. Although, I wasn't certain if Kisame would actually assist Itachi since there was the possibility of him simply letting the raven to deal with it while he watched the entire thing. That or said raven would order the walking aquarium to stay back. I hoped that was the case since I wasn't informed his exact abilities and jutsu he possessed.
I knew Itachi very well, maybe even more than anyone else. That was why I wasn't too afraid of facing him off because I knew his strengths weaknesses, skills, and almost all of his jutsu. With that knowledge, I could use it against him to help me prevail. Frankly, there was a drawback and that drawback was that he too knew me very well and my capabilities. He was the one who trained me long ago, so he knew what I was good and bad at. Plus, he had the Mangekyō Sharingan while I had the regular Sharingan so my genjutsu would make him laugh compared to his. Everything he could do was better than what I could do, including taijutsu, ninjutsu, and especially genjutsu. But I still had a chance. The one thing I had that Itachi doesn't was creativity; I just had to be creative with my attacks so I could at least gain the upper hand. That was, if his blue friend minded his own damn business and swam with his friends in the water.
"Kisame, I'll handle Kasumi." Itachi concluded flatly. "Stay out of it."
Said male glanced at his partner with a disturbed, confused look on his face. Apparently, he didn't take the raven's words to kindly.
"Are you sure, Itachi?" He replied warningly, looking at him with concern. "What about your eyes? You know it's dangerous if you overuse them. Do I have to keep reminding you?"
I raised an eyebrow at the two conversing. What about Itachi's eyes? I knew that using the Mangekyō Sharingan could be risky, but because I was too occupied with other stuff, I hadn't had the time to thoroughly research about it. Plus, the information hidden in Nakano Shrine wasn't in depth nor clear about the history of our bloodline technique. Cut back to now, if the risks associated with the Mangekyō Sharingan were that great, I could use that to my advantage.
"Don't worry about me." Itachi assured emotionlessly, pulling out a bunch of kunai knives from his long baggy sleeves. "I'm more than capable to fight without my eyes."
He was correct, he could fight just fine without the Sharingan. But it begged the question if he could win against me without it. On a bias viewpoint, I would say no.
"Whatever is going on with your eyes, it's a good thing for me." I proclaimed in triumph. "I always wanted to kick your ass, and today is possibly my lucky day."
I don't know if it was real or not, but I could've sworn Itachi gave me a "challenge accepted" smile. It was somewhat refreshing because it was the same look he gave me when he trained me as a child. He would always gave me impossible training methods and techniques that even jonin had trouble completing. But I was so determined to someday be stronger than he was, I worked my ass off to someday make that dream a reality. The thought of my time with Itachi helped my tensed body relax and calm. Now I was surer than ever before to beat Itachi. I was more certain that I was going to prove to my older brother that I was no longer than little girl he once took pity of.
"Prepare yourself, big brother!" I chirped confidently, making a tiger seal with my hands to focus my chakra.
'Itachi Uchiha. Though I highly praised and respected you as a powerful ninja, you hadn't dealt with the most skilled, superior, intellectual, and most powerful kunoichi yet. Just because I was your little sister, it doesn't mean I stood in your shadow. I would finally show you that all this time, you were standing in my shadow.'
And that concludes Chapter 25. Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. I didn't want you guys to get the feeling that I forgot about my readers or my story. My love for storytelling is very strong no matter how busy I am. I'll try my best to post the next chapter as soon as possible. Thanks again for being super patience, everyone!