Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Second Birth ❯ Ch. 7: Thank You ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ch. 7: Thank You

They'd always taken great care to keep their secrets exactly that. Secrets. To learn members in their now-vast network were turning up dead was an unsettling discovery. Somehow their very existence was being pulled into the light and they were not pleased about it. Furthermore, with no distinct traceable techniques or centralized location, it was proving a difficult task to gain any significant leads.

If there was one thing for certain, it was the tragedy to follow when their attackers faced retribution. The Akatsuki would make sure of that.

* * *

It had now been four and one half years. It was a small feat to keep track of time when all the days fell together with an undeniable sameness. Or it should have been, had he not been so gifted at memorizing details. Regardless, Itachi didn't care much for his situation one way or the other. And he certainly couldn't bring himself to be interested in the so-called Akatsuki hunters.

After all, criminals were bound to be caught sooner or later…

Even ones like him. Especially ones like him.

The only information of note he'd come across lately was news from his hometown. It seemed the Hokage had died at the hands of Orochimaru. He wondered if he should feel proud to know he succeeded in scaring the old snake right out of the Akatsuki. Instead his thoughts traveled to another rumor, one that claimed his brother was sick. Or to be more specific, he'd been cursed by none other than Orochimaru himself.

Perhaps he should have killed that man when he had the chance. Not that he was worried. It wasn't in his nature to be concerned about anything, and he certainly didn't have reason to be.

Or maybe he no longer had the right to be…

He definitely wasn't getting any answers from the glass sitting before him. Most of the other members were trying to find a woman for the night, while he stared grimly at his reflection. Itachi was far more interested in the silent companionship of wine than having a warm bed. It wasn't as if he ever stayed anywhere long enough to let the warmth stick. He supposed it was ironic that he was becoming just like her—

Itachi dragged out a heavy sigh. Perhaps he drank too much this evening, as his thoughts were taking a turn for the worst.

Besides, he long sensed someone in the bar was watching him. He slouched forward, not wanting to be bothered by any desperate women or anyone hoping to pick a fight. He just wanted to rest. He chose to drift away now and slipped into his hotel room without a sound. He was being remarkably careless tonight, not having his Sharingan activated, not even sensing there was someone else in the room. The figure descended from the ceiling and stole up from behind, a hand coming round to keep a knife at his throat.

“You're better than I expected,” he remarked plainly.

Itachi hadn't imagined the hunters to be such pros, considering how flashy and inconsistent their attack patterns seemed to be. Who were they, he wondered. They didn't quite have the feel of standard government-issued Hunter-nin. High-powered yazuka, maybe? Perhaps they were Sound-nin. Orochimaru was just the type to eliminate anyone he saw as a potential threat, and could do it in the worst fashion. He'd certainly be on a power trip from killing the Hokage.

“I'd hate to disappoint.”

It had to be a joke. That voice…Instead of preparing for battle, his body relaxed like still waters. All the miles and spilled blood in this world could never wipe away the memory of her.

“Che, you could at least act threatened,” Yanagi said with a shove.

He turned to face her, recalling the scene of three years ago. An ash-smeared sky and gnarled trees dripping with blood. It was actually somewhat of a surprise that she seemed to look worse now compared to then. He did not bother to share such an observation with her.

“If you came to kill me, you should have done so while my back was still turned.”

She didn't say anything. Though Itachi rather imagined he was still alive simply because she still had something to tell him. He considered being patient with her, but then rather doubted he could afford to take such luxuries with her anymore.

“Is this a personal vendetta?” he asked calmly, quietly, “You didn't seem the type.”

“Nah, it ain't personal…This is a declaration of war.”

Itachi stiffened. She seemed to have grown a little harder in their time apart. Her eyes didn't have their usually fiery glare, but were the flat purple of winter dusk. She was not the person he used to know. Even so, he could guess what brought her here now.

“Hmm…a mercenary?” It seemed a logical guess to him.

“…Somethin' like that.”

“Then I'll assume this is not a one-man job.”

“ `Course I need soldiers to win a war.”

It was sort of strange, Itachi realized. Even though he knew what brought Yanagi before him again, he still didn't truly know why she was there. Why would a girl who was always so scared of dying take a job this risky? And she even seemingly amassed a militia to help with the task? That didn't seem very like her. There was definitely something she wasn't telling him.

“Who is your employer?”

“You're gonna have ta try better than that to get answers outta me.”

She was far more closed-off than he ever remembered her being. He supposed all children had to grow up some time. With the life she led, it was surprising she hadn't been so cold right from the start. Then again, no one had ever given her a chance. But he'd jammed the tiniest sliver of hope in her dead end street. She knew now there were bigger, better things in this world that she could never have. She learned that from him. This right here was a creation of his own making.

“Do you remember what I told you?” Itachi's voice was plain and bare, “From that day.”

“I don't,” she answered briskly, casually folding her arms across her chest.

“Then I suppose there's nothing left to say.”

They stared across the empty space between, feeling its emptiness and its heaviness. As they prepared to take action, a rumble shook the building to its core followed by smoke and heat. No, this was not a one-man mission.

“We call ourselves Aohi,” Yanagi announced unexpectedly. Her decision to give him any information would be her last moment of compassion towards him.

Kisame burst into the room, sword at the ready, and expected Itachi to be caught up in the fighting. Itachi's eyes flickered to the shark for a moment and returned to Yanagi only to find smoke curling in.

“Be on your guard,” Itachi warned, “We're at war.”

“Who do you suppose our enemy is?” Kisame smiled in that same disgusting way again.

“One with a leader as efficient as she is stubborn.”

“Oh? You believe their captain to be a woman?” Kisame let that hideous smile stretch, “I didn't think you acknowledged any enough to guess that.”

“No,” Itachi let his eyes flicker shut, “Just one.”

* * *

More time peels away and the warring factions, Akatsuki and Aohi, continue to expand their empires. Yanagi's…persuasive nature had earned contracts in quite a few nations now. Having political immunity in most major countries certainly made life a little bit easier for Aohi. Even so, she could still feel it. The noose was getting tighter and the walls were closing in.

She was running out of time.

For all their success, no one from Aohi had been able to approach the Inner Circle. Not since her encounter with Itachi in a smoky hotel. And was that already two years ago? It bothered her now that she hadn't killed him when she had the chance. Offing one of the top Akatsuki members would have given her a lot more breathing room. She knew her “sponsors” were growing rather impatient with her lack of significant progress. For all the lower-level shinobi the Aohi killed, there were ten waiting to replace them. The core needed to be destroyed to finally put the Akatsuki in the grave.

She'd known that, even two years ago. She knew she could have killed him that night while his guard was down. Why on earth did she ever let him go? And she even gave him information about her group…It annoyed her that if she hadn't been caught by the Cloud, she wouldn't have had to think about him again. He, like all things, could just fade away from her life.

On the flip side, would she have even survived if she hadn't been taken into custody? Yes. She would have lived. Yanagi knew without a doubt she would have stayed alive. Because—

It occurred to her now that the climate in this area was quite a bit warmer than what she was used to. She probably had traveled further south than she was supposed to, as she had no contract with anyone in Fire Country. Even with the possibility of getting killed just for passing through, one of her crew heard substantial rumors about high-level Akatsuki possibly being in the region. The possible payoff was far too great of a chance for her to pass up.

That Aohi member, she recalled, was a former Cloud-nin. He'd reminded her of butterflies…

She followed the river as her guide deeper into Fire territory, keeping herself a shadow amongst the tall trees. Her frustrations began to mount as she continued to find nothing. Just as things seemed to look doubtful, she spotted a pair of those stupid cloaks. And she certainly had no problem pointing out how conspicuous they were, either. Well, in her own words anyway. She managed to remain smug in appearance when Itachi turned to face her. Kisame did not bother hiding his surprise upon learning the rumors of Yanagi's survival were true.

“Hello, Captain,” Itachi murmured.

Even though Yanagi wasn't particularly good at sensing these sorts of things, she could tell Itachi seemed rather uneasy. Perhaps he was bothered by how easily she could always sneak up on him.

“I been meanin' to return this,” Yanagi unsheathed her sword, the one Itachi used years ago to pin her to that tree. Even Kisame knew better than to get involved this time and stepped back from the fight. They say great warriors can read each other's minds simply by fighting. Their blades met with heavy clangs and even with his Sharingan, even though his sword cut deeply into her hip, she could tell there was something greatly off with him.

“You're pretty sloppy today.”

Itachi didn't say anything in defense. Even as he watched Yanagi spiral airborne, he did nothing to defend himself as her heel smacked into his temple. He just let himself crumple to the dirt in a graceless heap. He was losing this fight, but that wasn't what occupied his mind. Itachi remembered. Things he'd done since he left, terrible and unpleasant things. He thinks of his wine that always tasted of blood. He thinks of a pretty girl with green eyes, one that was no less unfortunate than Yanagi. One that he ruined, just like Yanagi.

He thinks of his brother.

Yanagi's determined face, and her fist, are the last thing he can see before falling into the dark. It is a surprisingly soothing place.

Yanagi didn't get a chance to have a sense of satisfaction, or even the killing blow, before being broadsided by that ridiculously large sword. She hit the nearest tree with a splintering snap, and just as quickly hurled blood over the dusty earth. Moving seemed quite the impossible task but Yanagi being who she was managed to get out of the way before being smashed again. Taking advantage of the dust cloud created from Kisame's attack, Yanagi hid herself up a tree and hoped the shark wasn't drawn to her blood. It seemed at least a small bit of luck decided to befriend her, as Kisame chose not to take any chances of Aohi reinforcements arriving while Itachi was incapacitated.

The Akatsuki took leave, for now.

Yanagi kept her perch for a good while, leaning back lazily and letting her breath calm. The fight put a few questions in her mind, which she just as quickly brushed aside. She made a slow descent, knowing she didn't have time to waste on thinking. She made her way to the river intending to clean her injuries. She hadn't expected to find a stray cat left to die.

She wouldn't let herself think about how his face resembled Itachi's so greatly. He was only a source of information, she told herself as she packed his stab wound. She never thought of the task as an attempt to save the poor creature. Even though his weight was heavy against her back, even though she had to stop often to re-bandage his wound, she had to get back to Cloud Country and meet with her Aohi. She couldn't wait around for him to wake up and she certainly couldn't let him die before she questioned him.

When he came to, she hadn't expected such an angry boy to be waiting. He'd been so painfully peaceful before…

She tried not to show much interest when she heard his name. It was just a name. Just words. It didn't mean much. Though she never really could get past that.

“Uchiha.”

* * *

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

That's what Yanagi always told herself. She'd been so sneaky, talking that little Uchiha brat into being her underling. All she wanted was information about his brother. She wanted to kill Itachi and the rest of the Inner Circle. She wanted her life back. She'd been a manipulative and selfish bitch, only protecting him because it suited her needs. But things had been different with that kid. There was just something about him so completely different from Itachi. Something so consoling, something that nearly made her forget how bad things really were.

Damn him!

But suddenly it's three years later and she's in an old abandoned building having an old fashioned showdown. It's the last hurrah with those brothers and she somehow knew it all along. She fights Itachi, the little brother fights Itachi. Suddenly the pieces all come together and she feels like she's been hit in the gut with a sack of bricks. She gets everything now, she's seen the light, and she's a mighty bit disappointed to find Nirvana is a bitter pill to down.

She'd been quite the liar to say she'd forgotten the words whispered when she and Itachi parted ways.

* * *

“Yanagi,” his voice was tumbly gravel by her ear. She was in bad shape, but she swore he sounded rather desperate. “I know you won't die from this. Take this second lease on life and do whatever it takes to stay alive.”

His breath was hot and fierce by her ear, like a dragon. His lips just tickled the edge of her jaw line as she quivered, cold and deathly. His palm rough with calluses scraped her cheek as his thumb grazed under her eyes.

“You see…I have a little brother. He's clumsy and weak and would probably just up and die if he ever got the chance. But there's only one thing in this world for him to accomplish. If he should struggle, if he should fall, you better be there to finish it.”

* * *

Yanagi got it now. All the questions she'd hoped the little Uchiha could answer were things she really wanted to hear from Itachi. Now she held his baby brother against her chest, still a shaking stray cat and surprisingly devastated after the death of the man he swore to kill. She really had to hand it to Itachi for being a much better manipulator than her. He wound up dead and that had been precisely what he wanted.

How had she not realized this sooner?

He may have chosen his brother for the task, but still depended on her just the same. Figures a guy like him would have a contingency plan. When she found a quiet moment to sort out the facts, she really got what he had wanted to tell her. She'd been the catalyst to his leaving home. He faked killing her to save her from certain death at the hands of the Akatsuki. He entrusted his younger brother to her, the brother she shaped into a powerful weapon. Though she knew now Itachi would have been satisfied if she had been his murderer. The only thing he'd ever wanted was a way out and he'd somehow known it was through her.

It was an odd way to show his gratitude, but Itachi was strange like that. He likely doubted Yanagi would have appreciated his thanks, anyway.

The only thing she ever really cared about, even more than the life she so desperately clung to, was a pair of foolish brothers. The older was a dear friend, a dear rival, that pushed her to find the strength to survive in this world. The younger was more than a dear friend and taught her to appreciate the world enough to save another life besides her own.

She never shared these thoughts with either of them. On an unimportant rainy night, she saved a life not her own and that was it for her. She never thanked those brothers in person, but then she never had to. The one who was gone already found what he sought, and the one who lived had a second chance. And Yanagi? She found purpose. No words of gratitude would ever sum up her thanks, and it was just as well.

Yanagi never cared much for words, anyway.