"Do you think we could sleep out here tonight?"
Itachi blinked in confusion as he glanced up at Koishi, who was looking across the table at him with wide, hopeful eyes. He wasn't used to his usual teammates, Beetle and Kanoe, making any requests of him let alone being asked to spend a night outside. It was usually a given, but on occasion they did find themselves in villages after nightfall, and it went without saying that those rare nights were spent in the comfort of a room or two at the local inn. Sleeping rough without shelter was just part of being a shinobi that most accepted, but didn't particularly enjoy.
A small smile cracked across his tired face. Koishi's love of nature was endearing to him and he hoped that it was a piece of herself that she wouldn't lose as Danzo twisted and molded her into the weapon he so desired her to be. It was a piece of innocence in her, he thought to himself as he nodded without giving her request a second thought.
"I don't see why not." He told her, earning a huge grin that spread from ear to ear across the girl's face, excitement shining in her blue eyes.
"Thank you!" She exclaimed, unable to contain her emotions. "Back home, it's always so cold and windy that camping is miserable. But here...with all these trees, and a warm breeze...a soft bed of grass..." She sighed dreamily as she trailed off happily.
She knew that they were going back to Konoha tomorrow - back to Danzo's prison-like compound, where she was sure she'd be kept in her soulless little box of a bedroom once again. The window giving her the view of the old tree was the only glimpse of this wonderful forested world that she'd get for as long as Danzo decided to keep her locked away before letting her out again.
"Maybe we could even go back to the river today." Koishi decided to push her luck, a smile still plastered on her face.
Itachi laughed. Was there any part of nature that she didn't emphatically enjoy? "If you can give me another round of sixty reps each of the same exercises I had you do this morning." He told her after a moment of thought. When her face twisted in dread and she opened her mouth to say something, he added, "And if you can get through the obstacle course in less time than you did on your last run."
"Now you're just being mean." She scowled, her body slumping as her shoulders drastically fell. "What if we compromise and I do thirty reps each of the exercises and make at least the same time I did on my last run?" She asked him.
He chuckled. "You really hate the barbell, don't you?" He thought about her offer for a moment and then nodded slightly. "I think that's acceptable. You did manage sixty this morning, after all. You've gotten quite strong, Koishi."
She seemed conflicted as her excitement wavered a bit. "It's not what I want for myself." She shrugged as she spoke. "You know that. But I understand why it's necessary."
"Perhaps someday, you'll be able to use the strength you obtain now to fight for the causes important to you, Aomizu." He murmured thoughtfully as he glanced out the window.
"You, too." She said, reaching over the table and covering the top of his large hand with her smaller one. "If I get strong enough to do that, I'll be strong enough to break your cage, too."
Itachi just gave her a small smile as he shook his head. "My duty to Konoha isn't my cage. I am proud to defend my village. I don't enjoy working with Danzo, but I'm not under his thumb entirely. I have a level of autonomy that many don't enjoy." He explained softly.
She frowned in confusion. "Then what is your cage, Itachi?"
He flicked his gaze to hers and her heart twisted when she saw a deep sorrow in his black eyes. "The world." He answered after a few seconds, his voice quiet. "The violence and hate of this world. I don't think it will ever change, no matter what anyone does. There will always be corruption, and where there is corruption there will always be violence."
She thought about what he'd said for a few minutes before responding. "I have to believe that it's not all bad." She told him, her eyes meeting his. "That it's not all war and death. That someday, there will be peace among all the great nations so that more children have to fight the battles of their fathers."
He just smiled faintly again. "That sounds like a nice world." He admitted before glancing towards the clock hanging above the kitchen sink. "It's getting late. Better start those reps now if you want to make it to the river this evening."
Koishi was used to Itachi changing the topic abruptly when he became uncomfortable with the way the conversation was drifting, and she found herself wondering just what it was about this one that had gotten under his skin. She just sighed, sliding away from the table and grabbing both of their dishes to leave them in the sink for later. Itachi followed her outside and to the gym where she ignored her aching muscles and sore body to begin the exercises - starting with that damned barbell.
-x-
An hour and a half later, she was bracing herself on her thighs, hunched over as she tried to catch her breath. Itachi was smirking at her from across the yard, where he leaned against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. He had pushed her to do forty reps each, taunting her that he didn't think her capable, and Koishi had foolishly taken the bait. Her body was much more sore than it had been since her first day of training with Itachi, and she was ready to sink into the river and let the cool water ease her muscles.
"You look like you're ready to fall over. Maybe we shouldn't go to the-"
Koishi glared at Itachi from underneath her damp bangs, blue eyes flashing icy fire. "Don't even finish that sentence, Itachi. We're going to the river."
Itachi made a small chuckle under his breath. "Alright, alright. A deal is a deal, after all." He sighed as he glanced at her with slight smile. "We should have at least a couple of hours before the sun starts to set for you to soak."
She grinned at him as they began heading for the gate that would take them to the river. "Since we have to leave tomorrow, will you actually join me this time? You haven't gotten in the water even once on any of the off days we've spent there."
He shrugged. "It's a good time to sharpen my weapons." He told her.
Koishi rolled her eyes, stepping through the gate that he held open for her. "I think they're sharp enough for the trip back to Konoha tomorrow. What could possibly happen between now and then, Itachi? C'mon, relax a little." She said exasperatedly, shoving his shoulder playfully as she spoke.
The dark-eyed boy arched his eyebrow. "Anything could happen, Koishi." He answered her seriously. "We are ninja, and the Leaf have many enemies. You should always be prepared for a fight."
Koishi just sighed, letting her arm swing back down by her side. "Always so serious." She grumbled under her breath. He huffed, a smile tugging at his lips.
"I suppose a short soak wouldn't be the riskiest thing I've ever done." He spoke lightly, glancing at her as he continued walking down the path.
Koishi didn't say anything, but the smile on her face was evidence enough that she was pleased by Itachi changing his mind. In the entire two weeks they'd been at the estate, the only recreational activities she'd seen him do were cooking and reading - and cooking didn't count, she thought to herself, because eating was a necessity of life. It was time that Itachi enjoy himself, even if it was just for a couple of hours.
Ten minutes later, the two of them arrived in the small clearing next to the riverbank. Koishi wasted no time in stripping off the sweat-dampened tee that clung to her frame like a second skin, tossing it over a low branch to dry in the light breeze that wafted through. She shimmied out of her shorts as she hastily made for the water, leaving herself clad in just her undergarments.
Koishi didn't wait for her body to adjust to the cool water, stepping right in and submerging herself up to her neck in the river's placid water. It wasn't the shock to her system she had been expecting, warmed from the sun's earlier rays that afternoon. She sighed in relief, finding a comfortable perch on an underwater boulder.
"So, do you think we'll get to come back here?"
Itachi glanced over at her as he pulled his shirt over his head, folding it neatly before he approached the water's edge. "It's likely." He nodded before adding with an arched eyebrow. "But don't get your hopes up that it will be soon."
Koishi sighed, remembering what Itachi had told her about Danzo's paranoia and the power struggle that was currently taking place in Konoha. She wondered just how bad it could get, but she wasn't naive. She'd witnessed such things in Iwa, too, between her father and his brother, the Tsuchikage. She just hoped that whatever happened, Itachi was left out of it. He was the best part of her days, the only friend she had in this place, and she didn't want to go back to living an endless series of days spent alone like she had back home.
As their conversation melted away and gave way to a comfortable silence, Itachi slipped into the water slowly, finding his own spot a few feet away from Koishi. She rolled her eyes with a smile when she realized that though Itachi had gotten into the river this time, he'd still brought his whetstone and a kunai to sharpen.
He was always so serious, she thought to herself as she studied him. Even when he was doing something as casual as soaking in the river, the dark, brooding boy seemed to always need something to occupy his hands with. When acting as her drill sergeant, they were always animated and in motion as he pushed her through her exercises. When he was cooking, he always made slow and deliberate movements with the knife as he chopped, using those same methodical movements when he'd begin stirring whatever meal he was preparing for them. Even now, in a moment as carefree and laid back as this one, he found a way to keep his hands busy.
"You never relax." She pointed out after a few minutes of watching him sharpen the kunai.
Itachi gave her a confused stare, his eyebrow cocked. "I'm doing so right now." He replied simply.
Koishi giggled, shaking her head as she pointed at the weapon and the whetstone in his hands. "Then put those aside." She challenged him, her lips curled in a playful smirk. "Have a water fight with me."
Itachi arched his eyebrow again, his hands dropping to his lap. "A water fight?"
Koishi nodded, splashing more water at him as she slid down off the boulder she'd been sitting on. "Yes." She answered him. "A water fight. Unless you're scared I'll win."
Itachi just chuckled as he slipped off his own perch, making a series of hand signs to bring forth a large jet of water that he directed at Koishi. She squealed, ducking just as the splash hit her, and she laughed as she slid her arm across the water's surface, concentrating a line of chakra into her thrust so that a decent wave headed for him. This was what Koishi had been hoping for when she'd asked him to get in the river, she thought to herself with a playful laugh as the water hit him in the chest. This was the Itachi she wished she saw more of - laughing and smiling, all the many worries that weighed on his shoulders gone. For just this moment in time, he wasn't the elite shinobi that she suspected he was - he was like her, a teenager having a bit of whimsical fun on a summer day.
-x-
Koishi had picked a great night for sleeping out under the stars, Itachi thought to himself as he sat against the trunk of a tree watching the girl sleep soundly in her bedroll. They had stayed at the river a little longer than he'd intended and hadn't made it back to the estate before dark. Between the full day of training and their evening at the river, Koishi had been completely exhausted and had barely had the energy to eat the simple meal of grilled fish and a salad that he had prepared for dinner that night before she'd been ready to go to bed.
For Itachi, rest didn't come so easily. He had spent so many nights of his life on missions, his mind always on high alert, body always prepared for a fight. He usually occupied his nights the same way he chose tonight - thinking about his life.
But it's not really your life, is it?
The intrusive thought brought a scowl to his face, and he launched the dull kunai he'd been fiddling with into a tree a few yards away. And yet, it nagged at him even as he tried to ignore it. Earlier this afternoon, he'd told Koishi that he wasn't under Danzo's thumb; that he enjoyed a certain level of autonomy within the village that others didn't have.
The truth was, his situation was a lot more complicated than he'd let on. While it was true that he wasn't an official member of Root, he was an active ANBU agent. The Third had directly requested that he work with the shadowy, underground organization led by his biggest opposition. While he hadn't outright requested that the Uchiha prodigy spy for him, Itachi suspected that's what Sarutobi Hiruzen's ultimate intentions were. And he knew for certain that Danzo expected the very same thing. Nothing overt had been done besides the kidnapping of Koishi, but Itachi was no fool - he knew what Danzo intended, and it wouldn't end well for the Third Hokage or the village in general.
A soft sigh fell from his lips and he closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his head back against the tree trunk. He yearned to be as optimistic as the girl sleeping a few feet away from him, wished that his dreams of peace hadn't been dashed already. He thought of his new brother, Sasuke, and a smile came to his face before fading away when the realization hit him that someday, that happy baby boy who knew nothing but happiness now would someday come to know the cruel and violent ways of the world into which he'd been born - a world Itachi longed to make peaceful for him, but had no idea how to go about doing.
Itachi felt the approaching chakra signature before he heard a twig snap in the distance, and he sharply turned his head to the left. As he activated his Sharingan eyes and scanned the area, he realized that there were three shinobi lurking about three hundred yards away. He glanced over at Koishi, still sleeping and completely oblivious to the three ninja, and sighed when an insect began buzzing beside his ear. Immediately realizing this wasn't an ambush, he stood and began making his way towards the three people hiding in the trees.
"Beetle." He greeted his teammate with a curt nod a few moments later, coming to a stop in front of the quiet masked man who just mimicked the motion silently. "So, what are you doing here?" He asked after it became apparent that Beetle wouldn't say more without being prompted.
"It's been two weeks." The man answered simply. "Lord Danzo wants to test her development. Since we have no gauge of where she was before you began working with her, this will determine what the next steps will be."
Itachi glanced back towards the clearing where Koishi was sleeping, only a little surprised that Danzo would pull something like this without first informing Itachi that it was coming. How would she fare against two seasoned Root agents, he wondered to himself as he flicked his eyes back to the porcelain mask covering Beetle's face. He had trained her as well as he could, but two weeks was a short amount of time and she still hesitated when striking. Would she now, when faced with opponents she wouldn't know weren't actual enemies intent on hurting her?
At Beetle's signal, the two men he'd approached the estate with silently disappeared, moving quickly towards Koishi's sleeping form. He and his teammate leaped up into the tree branches and followed, stopping on a branch that gave them a good vantage point to watch everything that was about to unfold. As he watched one of the men come up on Koishi from behind, Itachi felt his body stiffen. He could only hope that she'd actually been paying attention to everything he'd tried to teach her.
A shrill scream filled the forest as the man at Koishi's back made his first move, aggressively slicing his kunai across her arm. She was on her feet in an instant, her hands reaching blindly for a weapon but finding none within reach. Itachi sighed, his hands tightening into fists at his side as he realized she'd failed one lesson already - never find yourself without a weapon.
Koishi was quick on her feet despite the rude awakening, pure adrenaline pumping through her body as she dodged another lunge of the kunai. Itachi felt a surge of pride as he watched Koishi deftly reach out to wrap her fingers around her attacker's wrist, his Sharingan taking note of the thin threads of chakra she used to keep her grip firm just as he'd trained her to do. She used her other hand to force the kunai from his hand just in time to dodge as the second man came out of the treeline towards them. Itachi felt only a little pang of guilt as he stood motionless when he heard her desperately call his name out, evidence that she truly felt she was under attack.
They watched the fight play out for awhile, Koishi never gaining the momentum she needed to overpower either of the two men. When she'd get the upper hand on one, the other would come at her from an unexpected angle. Itachi was proud when she managed to injure one of them, though he noted that he'd need to work on her understanding of the human body and its vital points when it became apparent that she wasn't going for the obvious lethal zones that any trained shinobi would aim for.
At the ten minute mark, Itachi's eyes narrowed when he saw a burst of orange light, the heat of a large fireball hitting him in the face as it hurled towards a stunned Koishi, who froze in place like a frightened deer. He hadn't anticipated that Danzo's test would include ninjutsu - something that he and Koishi hadn't yet had time to work on. As he opened his mouth to snap at Beetle for the blindside, his teammate held one finger up, his gaze still focused on Koishi and the fireball heading straight for her.
"Just watch." Beetle told Itachi.
Time seemed to slow to a halt. Itachi had known somewhere in the back of his mind that Koishi must have ninjutsu capabilities - that those capabilities must be what Danzo was so keen to weaponize for the Leaf - but he hadn't been expecting what happened next. In nearly the same moment that she'd become paralyzed by fear, Itachi watched as Koishi burst into action, her body a blur as she darted out of the way at the last second, the fireball dissipating against the trees behind her.
Another one came for her, but this time she didn't stand still. Itachi's Sharingan both active, he watched as pieces of her chakra began to float erratically around her body in a tornadic pattern. Her blue eyes were wide, the only place her terror was evident as her arms seemed to move with a mind all their own. Her palms were facing down and slowly rising, her loose chakra bringing small and medium-sized rocks up from the ground.
This, he thought to himself in awe as the rocks began to circle around her weakly, some of them falling back to the ground she'd pulled them from. This must be the ninjutsu Danzo is after.
The light of another fireball illuminated the clearing and Koishi screamed again, this time the sound less fearful and more angry as the whirlwind of stones and pebbles around her began to intensify. Itachi sensed the chakra of the second man above them suddenly and looked up in time to see a barrage of kunai and shuriken raining down over the open top of the cyclone surrounding Koishi.
She deflected them with ease, pushing one of her hands upwards and sending a surge of rocks up at the attacker, who wasn't able to dodge. He let out a strangled, gurgled sound as blood spat from his mouth when one of the larger rocks collided with his stomach. His body tumbled down through the storm of rocks, landing hard on the ground and laying motionless.
"Impressive." Beetle spoke quietly. "She appears to have more control over it than Lord Danzo thought she might."
Beetle might think Koishi had control of herself, Itachi thought to himself with a stoic face as he watched the dark-haired girl turn her attention towards fireball, dodging it again before setting her sights on its caster. But the raven-haired Uchiha could see the subtle tell-tale signs of instability in Koishi - the narrowing of her eyes, the tremble of her body as she breathed hard and fast. She might be capable of using this jutsu, but it appeared to Itachi that her control over it was another matter entirely.
"She doesn't." He told Beetle, still watching Koishi intently. The mass of rocks surrounding her was becoming bigger now, her hands ripping up larger ones from the ground, leaving cracks and crevices in the previously grassy yard. His Sharingan eyes widened when he saw the wisps of chakra beginning to combine into a tight ball of energy at the center of the cyclone.
Itachi and Beetle moved back at precisely the same time the concentration of chakra released with a thunderous clap. They moved quickly enough to avoid the immediate blast, unlike the unfortunate caster of the fireball jutsu, but still felt the sting of sharp bits of exploded rock slice and dice across their bodies. Itachi came to a stop fifty yards away, his red Sharingan eyes staring through the forest back to where Koishi was now kneeling on the ground, hands clutching her shoulders as she sobbed. So this was the power of the Nokogiri clan, he mused. It was no wonder Danzo had been so interested in obtaining Koishi for his ranks.
