Tainted Blood of a Ninja

A year ago Mitsukai would have been used the silence. Now it was driving her crazy. She followed the two men in front of her trying to come up with some sort of plan to escape. She looked around at the forest that surrounded them. Speed was her only and best defense. She wasn’t any good at taijutsu so trying fighting them would probably only make them laugh at her. Her ninjutsu wasn’t good enough to fend them off, only bore them since they had seen her best jutsu already…and had dispelled it with one swipe of that stupid sword. However, with Itachi’s exceptional Sharingan, even her speed would be no use to her. A familiar heavy feeling weighed on her chest as she felt hopeless. Her cloak swished and made a sound of waterproof material rubbing against itself. The small bells on her hat swayed in the cold air, chiming gently with her movements.

Kisame looked back at the girl and smirked. “Hey, kid. Are you hungry?”

Mitsukai snapped out of her daydream and looked up. “It’s time to eat already?”

“Yeah. It’s lunchtime now.”

Mitsukai’s lips twitched as she fought a smile. “Sure.”

They all stopped and prepared to make camp. Itachi watched Mitsukai closely as she moved and noticed something he found to be odd. Mitsukai was going out of her way to keep from standing in front of Itachi directly and she only spoke to Kisame. ‘Is she avoiding me?’ This amused Itachi. It wasn’t often that something came along and was actually interesting enough to cause him to think like this. She helped Kisame gather wood and even watched him cook. Not once did her head turn in Itachi’s direction. Not once did she speak his name. Not once did she even steal a glance. Itachi had to check his anger. For a second he felt as if she was mocking him by doing this. He could see his own mother doing the same thing, focusing all of her attention to his younger brother…and ignoring him.

Mitsukai could feel those red eyes focused on her and did her best not to care. It was unnerving to have someone stare so intensely, as if he would attack her at any moment. When Kisame told her that the food wood be done soon, she moved over to a tree and sat down. She drew her knees up to her chest and pulled her hat down over her eyes to keep Itachi from looking at her directly. How could he do something so horrible and then treat someone who once adored him the way he had?

“I don’t care if you don’t like me.” Itachi’s voice was sharp, and he sounded slightly pissed.

If there was one thing Mitsukai had picked up while being with Team 7, it was attitude. “That’s good to know. I’ll remember that for future reference.” She mumbled closing her eyes.

Itachi could hear the sarcasm in her voice and it grated him. Someone as inferior as she actually had the nerve to speak to him as if he were some common person? He took a silent deep breath and calmed himself. Just because she was something new for him to experiment with didn’t mean he would lose his calm. However, it was hard to not want to toy with her as he had his first few days with Kisame. Being someone with his intellect, he needed something to keep him entertained and nothing was more entertaining than the human mind. It was why he chose to excel in genjutsu. To Kisame’s relief, Itachi allowed the comment to pass. Kisame didn’t feel like playing nurse should Itachi decide to discipline the girl.

Itachi noticed that the ramen was done and moved to take it off the fire. Kisame pulled out bowls and chopsticks allowing Itachi to distribute the food. Itachi stood over Mitsukai and held out a bowl to her. “Here.”

“I’m not hungry.” She didn’t even bother to look up at him. If she had to take food from a monster then she refused to eat.

Kisame frowned. “But you just agreed that you wanted to eat.”

She looked up. “Lost my appetite.”

Itachi just stared blankly at her. “Fine.” He set the bowl down beside her.

Mitsukai couldn’t stop the question from coming out. “Why did you do it?”

Itachi paused and looked at her. “You want to know why I killed them.”

Mitsukai nodded, anger flashing in her eyes. Itachi inwardly smiled and turned away, opting to dismiss her question. Seeing him show no emotion at all, not even a flicker of acknowledgement, only sent her over the edge…just like Itachi had intended for her to do. She stood suddenly, “You’re a monster! I hope Sasuke does kill you.”

Itachi paused and closed his eyes. ‘He did say he was going to do that, didn’t he?’

“How can someone kill their own family?” She stared at the back of the older Uchiha, waiting patiently for an answer.

Itachi’s head turned slightly. “Who are you to pass judgment? Didn’t you do the same thing?”

Mitsukai nearly doubled over in pain from the question; it felt as if he had hit her without even touching her. She fought tears of rage as she did her best to steady her voice. “I did not do it on purpose. That was an accident. You sought outyour own family as if they were another mission and murdered them all in cold blood. And just to prove how sick you really are, you torture your brother with the images of what you did as if you’re proud of what you did. Don’t ever compare me to you.”

A blur of black and red was the only thing she saw before feeling intense pain in the back of her head. She tried to breathe in only to realize that she was pinned to the tree by an icy hand that held her throat in a vice-like grip, threatening to end her life. Itachi stared her as his blood red eyes bore into hers, yet he didn’t seem angry with her. “You are not better than me in any way. Do not belittle me; do not think that you are superior to me just because of morals.” His grip tightened at a snail’s pace with every word. “You’re a criminal just like the rest of us. You killed during your training and you murdered your own parents. It doesn’t matter how you did so; the fact is that you did. Should they ever find out the things that you’ve done, they won’t be so willing to welcome you back. They’ll turn their backs on you and see you for what you really are…a criminal.”

He let go and she fell to her knees coughing violently. He watched her struggle to breathe normally. He could feel the presence within him stir slightly as he tried to check his temper. “Everyone has their own inner demon. No one is exempt or immune. You shouldn’t judge others by your own preconceptions or by their appearances.”

Mitsukai listened to his words and remembered something from Sasuke’s memory. ‘He said the same thing to those men…’

Itachi frowned slightly. Even four years later, he was still angry with himself for allowing his so-called “family” to gain that kind of power over his life. That had been his first mistake. He should have stood up sooner. “Even I’m human…and I also make mistakes.” His expression returned to the indifferent one he chose to use.

Mitsukai brought her eyes up to his. ‘Does he regret what he did…?’ Deciding that it would be better to give him the benefit of a doubt, she chose to believe that he did. She sat back slowly and picked up the bowl he’d brought for her. If she simply obeyed, then maybe it wouldn’t be as hard to deal with being with them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Naruto and the rest of the team returned to the Hidden Leaf within nine days after their departure. They were supposed to go straight to the Hokage and give a report but, of course, Naruto hardly ever followed protocol.

“I’m going to go tell Mitsy that we’re back and meet you guys in Granny Tsunade’s office, okay?” Naruto shouted and took off running.

“Naruto!” Sakura yelled after the blonde then folded her arms angrily. “Why must he be so annoying?”

Naruto made it to Mitsukai’s apartment building within two minutes. When he made it to her door…words can’t express how he felt. Yellow police tape marked off entrance but Naruto cut it away with a kunai and entered anyway. The door had clearly been kicked in and laid on the floor inside of the apartment. He had never seen Mitsukai’s apartment even slightly messy but now things were thrown everywhere. Her bed wasn’t even made. A chill ran up his spine and he knew something bad had happened. He ran back out and charged off to the Hokage’s office.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Naruto rushed in, everyone was already there with solemn looks on their faces.

“Mit—“

“We know Naruto.” Sasuke cut him off putting his hands into his pockets.

“Then we gotta do something! We have to assemble a search and rescue team and go find her!”

“Naruto.” Naruto turned to the blonde woman seated behind her desk. “Calm down. As much as I would like to send you to bring her back, I already had another mission assigned for you three to complete.”

“I’m not going! I have to go find Mitsy!”

“Naruto. No.” Tsunade said firmly. Naruto gritted his teeth and his fists balled up tightly at his sides. “I’m assigning Kakashi the task of bringing her back.”

“What?” They all looked up at the Jounin.

“Your next mission will not require him to be with you.”

Sasuke sighed, “The last one didn’t require him to be with us.”

She narrowed her eyes, “It’s a simple mission for an old friend of mine.” She looked over at Kakashi. “Do you have an idea as to how you will find her?”

Kakashi nodded, “One that will at least point me in the right direction.” With that, he did a few hand signs and a little dog appeared at his feet.

“Pakkun!” Naruto exclaimed. It hadn’t been too long ago since he had last seen the nindog.

“Kakashi. It rained the morning she went missing. If there’s a scent to trace, I doubt it will easy for him to pick up.” Tsunade leaned forward. Naruto’s shoulders slumped.

“Then how will he find her?”

“Due to the circumstances of this situation and the fact that the missing person in question is a Jinchuuriki from our village, I’ve called two special ninjas to aide you in your retrieval mission.”

There was a strong gust of wind as one of the windows slide open and two ninja appeared, both crouched down. One was clearly an ANBU member wearing his mask and uniform, the other wore a solid black cloak and a white porcelain mask with a red “X” on the left cheek.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke looked at them with interest as Tsunade told them to stand. Kakashi looked at them and smiled behind his mask. “Old comrades?”

“Yes.” Tsunade nodded. She returned her attention to the three Genin. “You three. An old friend of mine in the Land of Tea needs our assistance. You are to go there and find out what he needs you to do and do it. When your mission is completed, you may return. You are dismissed. Leave as soon as possible.”

Although his two teammates nodded and turned to leave, Naruto was rooted to the floor. “I want to go with Kakashi-sensei. I have to make sure they bring Mitsy home.”

The ANBU member rested a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “Naruto.” Naruto looked up at the man questioningly and the man took his mask off.

“Miko?” Naruto gasped.

Miko nodded. “Yes. You have my word that she will be here when you return.”

Kakashi nodded as well. “He never breaks a promise. You have mine as well.”

The third member only nodded. Naruto stared at the figure for a moment then asked. “What kind of ninja are you?”

“A hunter Nin. I specifically asked for one and I was sent one who specializes in tracking and capturing a target alive?” Tsunade looked at the person in question. The figure nodded and pushed back the hood. Shoulder length auburn hair with a slight red tint framed the mask. “We need to discuss this mission in detail. Naruto, go home and rest. Tomorrow your team will leave.”

Against his wishes, he turned and left with his other two teammates closing the door behind him. When Tsunade was sure that they were alone, she continued to speak. “You all know each other, don’t you?”

The three nodded.

“Good. This will make this mission easier for you.” She looked at Miko. “You can continue to use your codename.” She looked at the hunter Nin. “Take off your mask and I will give you a codename as well.”

The ninja did as told and slipped the mask off revealing emotionless black eyes accompanied with a woman’s face. The expression was just as emotionless as her eyes.

Tsunade tapped her chin in thought then looked directly at the woman. “Your codename will be Meisuta.”

Meisuta only nodded in acknowledgement.

“Now with that out of the way, we must discuss the mission. Mitsukai is a student of Kakashi’s, a very dear friend to Naruto, and a Jinchuuriki. It the information Miko gave me is correct, the Akatsuki have had her with them for nearly eight days now. I’ve consulted with Jiraya on this and it is his belief that they do not wish to extract the demon within her…for now. She was trained by them exclusively and therefore is more of a possession to them, like a weapon. I am not sure if they will use a jutsu to control her or allow her to act on her own. I don’t know if she will be willing to come back but that will not matter to you. Understood? No matter what she may say to you, your mission is to bring her back here alive by any means necessary, even if it includes killing an Akatsuki member.”

The three nodded at the same time.

“I prefer that you leave as soon as possible. You may go.” She sat back and waved them away. With a poof of smoke, the three disappeared. Tsunade stared at her closed door with her eyes closed, wondering if they would succeed.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

That next morning, Kakashi, Miko, and Meisuta stood outside of the village gates, surveying the road ahead of them. What the Hokage had said was true. Although Kakashi had given Pakkun and the other nindogs Mitsukai’s scent from a cloth face mask she had left behind amongst others, it was hard to pick up. But not so hard that they didn’t at all. One of the other dogs picked up a faint trace of her as the wind blew gently, bringing the scent to them from the northwest.

“Let’s go then.” Kakashi readjusted his headband and crouched down preparing to jump into a tree and begin running.

“Wait.” Meisuta spoke. She licked her thumb and stuck it in the air, testing the air. “Depending on which way they are traveling with her, if we are not careful in our approach they could smell us coming.” She looked down at the remaining dogs that had come back. “These dogs could give us away with their Konoha symbols.”

Miko nodded, “You should send one unmarked one for us to follow.”

Kakashi nodded once and bent down to one of the smaller, yet smartest, dogs. “Pakkun.”

“Yes, Kakashi?” The dog stepped forward. Kakashi removed the dog’s headband and cape.

“I’m leaving the tracking to you. You go ahead and find her. Once you do, stay with her by any means necessary. Understood?” Kakashi stood

“Yes!” The dog nodded and promptly disappeared.

Kakashi looked sideways at his team. “We’ll give him some time to get ahead of us then we’ll follow.” They nodded and waited. “Alright then. Shall we go now?”

They nodded again and this time they all disappeared.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mitsukai trailed along behind her captors noting the scenery around them. Somehow, it all looked familiar. “Where are we now?”

Kisame cast a sideways glance to Itachi who didn’t even blink. He didn’t get the indication that he couldn’t tell her so he spoke. “In Earth country.”

“And where are we going?”

“Lightning Country.”

She frowned. “If we’re going to Lightening country then why not just cut straight through Grass, Fire, and Rice Field Country? Going around will take us longer.”

Before Kisame could open his mouth, Itachi held up his hand to silence him. “Because going through Fire Country is too risky for us with the Hidden Leaf looking for you.” Itachi answered. “We went through Grass and will soon be in Waterfall Country. All we’re doing is avoiding Fire Country.”

“You say that as if every ninja in Konoha is looking for me. You know that’s not the case.”

“I prefer to be extra cautious than to underestimate an opponent. You should know. I told you that.”

Mitsukai nodded. She did know and remembered him telling her that. Kisame chuckled. “I see why Leader couldn’t pair you with Sasori, Itachi. He hates waiting while you incorporate patience into everything that you do.”

Itachi cuts his eyes at Kisame. “That’s enough talking.”

Kisame didn’t say anything else. Another hour of silence went by before Itachi suddenly stopped. Mitsukai, who had been too busy looking at the trees around them, nearly collided into the Uchiha but Kisame held out his arm and stopped her. Her face was inches from Itachi’s back and she immediately stumbled backwards. Itachi looked around. “We have time to spare. Let’s slow our pace and conserve energy.”

The other two nodded. Kisame knew what this meant for him and unsheathed his sword. Mitsukai was looking at what she thought to be a rabbit when she heard a load scrape that literally made her skin crawl. She turned to see Kisame slicing away at a tree, practicing swinging. Her eyes widened with anger. He lifted his sword and attacked another tree. She stopped walking altogether. He raised his sword to hit another tree. Itachi felt an increase of chakra in her and turned slightly to observe her. Kisame brought the sword down forcibly only to have it knocked out of his hand. Mitsukai hugged the tree tightly with her eyes clamped shut and Itachi stood in between them, eyes on his partner.

“Watch what you’re doing.” Itachi murmured then looked back at the girl. Mitsukai opened her eye and looked around then stood up straight.

“What is wrong with you?! You can’t just go around slicing up the environment, Fish Head!” Mitsukai ranted, exhibiting an affect of having been around Naruto a bit too long.

Kisame’s eye twitched slightly. “What…did she…call me?”

Mitsukai turned to the tree. She murmured an apology to the tree then tried to use medical jutsu to heal the cuts. “…stupid fish head…”

Kisame and Itachi stared at the girl in utter shock and silent wonder respectively. She nursed the two wounded trees back to health then rounded on Kisame and pointed her finger angrily at him. “You have absolutely no respect for you environment! You stupid fish head!”

Kisame picked up his sword and stepped forward to slice the girl’s face off but a look from Itachi stopped him. Mitsukai examined the trees as if she were a nurse. Kisame slowly leaned closer to Itachi and whispered, “Is she a tree hugger or something?”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The sun had disappeared from the sky and the stars took its place. As they moved along, the only sounds they heard where the insects chirping, the fallen leaves crunching under their feet, and the gentle chimes of their hats. Mitsukai eyelids became heavier with every ten steps and soon it was hard to keep up with the other two. “We should stop. I’m getting sleepy.”

Itachi ignored her and kept going; Kisame obeyed the silent order. She frowned when she saw that they weren’t going to stop yet still followed. As an hour passed by slowly, her steps became even slower and her eyes closed completely, moving out of instinct. Itachi lead the trio feeling his own body movements become slower as well. It was time to stop and get some sleep. He looked sideways at Kisame who seemed to also be in need of rest as well when a sudden loud crunch of leaves sounded from behind them. They turned around quickly with their weapons drawn only to find Mitsukai lying on the ground sleeping soundly. Kisame groaned and covered his face.

“Tell me she isn’t sleep.”

Itachi approached the girl and bent down, studying her. Her expression was peaceful and her breathing was even and easy. If she had been hit with a paralyzing senbon needle, he expected her muscles to twitch occasionally due to the disruption of the nervous system. She was still with the exception of the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He closed his eyes. “Then we shall stop and rest.”

Kisame was glad to hear this. He sat down slowly and leaned back against a tree. “Shall we take shifts?”

Itachi opened his eyes and looked down at Mitsukai. Circumstances were different from the first time they had traveled with her. Then she had been sick and didn’t have the energy to try to escape. Now she was well and her only issue was that she was tired. Unless they wanted to wake up and find her gone, they didn’t have much of a choice. “Yes. Let’s eat first then you can take the first shift.”

Kisame nodded and pulled out some ingredients. “I’ll need some firewood.”

Itachi only stood and walked away from Mitsukai, disappearing into the darkness. Mitsukai muttered in her sleep and rolled over onto her side, curling up into the fetal position while using her right arm as a pillow.

Itachi returned with a few thick branches and laid them on the ground. He did a few quick hand signs and blew fire over the pile, thus starting a fire. The heat blazed and instantly warmed them all, even causing Mitsukai to wake slowly from her slumber. She sat up and rubbed her eyes and looked at the other two. Kisame began to set up the pot to boil the water for the rice while Itachi pulled his cloak sleeves back and removed the weapon holsters attached to his arms, placing them neatly on the ground. Kisame glanced at Mitsukai.

“Why did you make such a fuss about the trees earlier?” He sat back.

“I’ve never liked harming someone or something that couldn’t fight back. I don’t like fighting people who I know are weaker than me or I have more than one advantage over. It is immoral to be cruel and wicked.” She yawned and stretched. Itachi chose not to comment. The food was distributed and they ate. Once again, Kisame didn’t see Itachi actually eat his food but his bowl was returned to him empty. Mitsukai inched closer to the fire and laid down. Itachi sat back and closed his eyes. Mitsukai pulled her cloak on her and curled up once again, surprised that it was big enough to be a make-shift sleeping bag for her. Her eyes became heavy and she drifted off to sleep again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The sun rose slowly, spreading its warmth. Itachi watched Mitsukai twitch as the sun reached her face then open her eyes. Even with the sun illuminating them, her eyes were still that peculiar shade of midnight blue. She attempted to roll over away from the sun but when she did part of her cloak fell off of her. The cool morning air hit her and she gave up. She sat up with a yawn and looked around. Kisame was still snoring lightly while Itachi stared at her, expression empty. She returned the stare, intending to annoy him. “Good morning, Itachi.”

He didn’t reply. He stood and grabbed his hat. “Kisame.”

Kisame stirred slightly then woke up. “Time to go?”

Itachi didn’t reply. Kisame sighed and stood. Mitsukai did the same, even putting her annoying hat on her head. The following six days followed this same routine. They would walk until someone got hungry then they would stop to eat. At night they would walk until Mitsukai literally fell over like she had the first time then would make camp for the night, Itachi and Kisame sleeping in shifts. Occasionally they would take a break just to rest and Kisame would make Mitsukai spar with him just to keep his joints moving. She would often stare at him for several minutes to see if he would change his mind then groan quietly. Kisame was a very sore loser. She wouldn’t try to actually fight him; she only dodged his attacks using her speed. If he got frustrated he would simply use his sword to practically immobilize her and she would then give up. Kisame often lectured her for giving up when she could simply learn to master a form of jutsu like taijutsu or even ninjutsu. Itachi would listen to their conversations and wonder why his former student never tried any genjutsu attacks. There was a time when she was able to trap five opponents in a Hell Viewing genjutsu and literally scare them all to death. He concluded after watching them “spar” for the third time that she had gotten weak while away from them and was dangerously close to being useless to them as an effective weapon.

On day nine of their journey, their mission officially started. They had entered Lightning Country the day before and were now searching for the target. After Itachi got some information from several different sources, they were able to determine that their target, Marumo, would be in the next village. However, they lucked up when Itachi spotted the man traveling down the road ahead of them. The man sensed their presence and whirled around.

“Are you bounty hunters?” He yelled. Kisame took a step forward.

“I’ll handle this one.” He put a hand on the handle of his blade, but Itachi put an arm out in front of his comrade.

Mitsukai looked at the pair then felt the color drain from her face as they both turned to her. Itachi’s command was clear. She was to go forward. She wanted to protest but before she could open her mouth, Itachi shoved her out in front of them. She took off her hat and unbuttoned her cloak. There would be no moving with that damned thing on.

The man looked down at her with discontent. “They send a kid to face me? And a girl at that.”

Mitsukai scoffed, “Oh, shut up. I don’t want to do this anymore than you want to fight a girl.”

Behind his back, he pulled out a ten inch knife. “Who said I didn’t want to fight you?” He charged at her and swung. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was holding and ducked. Her long hair flew up in the air due to her sudden drop and his blade sliced it off. She fought the urge to scream when sliver hair dropped to the ground around them. She did a quick backwards flip away from the man to examine the damage. Her hair was now shoulder length as compared to being down to her knees, and she looked at Marumo scornfully. Itachi was secretly pleased. If someone else hadn’t done it, he was sure to do it himself. She didn’t expect to be able to battle effectively with such a major disadvantage like that, did she?

“Aw, did I cut your hair? I’m so sorry, pretty little girl.” He mocked her with a baby voice. She balled her fists up and stepped forward, eyes flickering gold.

“Don’t mock me.” She whispered. He laughed and charged again. His punches came fast yet she dodged them. He clearly wasn’t trained to be a shinobi and that gave her one advantage. He managed to trip her and she fell onto her back. He drove his knife downwards. Her survival instincts kicked in and Houkou temporarily took over. Her hands moved quickly to form hand seals as chakra was channeled into her palms. His weapon was inches from her face. “Tsunami Wind!” She moved her hands and created a strong gust of wind that sent the man flying away from her.

Kisame’s eyes widened with considerable interest. “How come she never used ninjutsu when sparring with me?”

Itachi glanced at the taller man out of the corner of his eye. “It was never a life or death situation. She knows you won’t harm her.”

Mitsukai stood quickly and took her fighting stance. Marumo landed on his back but still managed to recover quickly. He charged back at her and started swinging again. She kept dodging his attacks, waiting for his attacks to slow as he tired himself out. Marumo realized that with the way the battle was currently going, he was sure to lose. Instead of aiming to kill her, he quickly jabbed the knife while simultaneously tripping her. A sharp pain tore through the nerves in her leg as she landed on her back again and she looked down at the knife that had been lodged into her left thigh. Dark red blood oozed from the wound as she tried to stand. Marumo chuckled and stepped towards her.

Kisame took step forward preparing to intervene but Itachi stopped him with a look. “She can handle this.” Although Itachi told Kisame this, he didn’t believe it himself. By tapping his elbow to his side, the kunai holster on his arm shot a kunai into his hand. If they needed to step in, they would.

Mitsukai stared at her own blood in awe. Itachi had been wrong. Being defensive and waiting for an opponent to wear themselves out did not always work. Her blood dripping onto the dirt proved that. She grabbed the handle and, with one tug, yanked it out. She screamed out briefly from the pain then stood. Blood poured freely from the wound but she managed to remain calm. She was angry that somehow this jerk had managed to seriously hurt her. She was even angrier that Itachi and Kisame were watching as if this were some show on TV.

She charged at her opponent and flipped over him, catching him off guard with her ability to still move so quickly. With him still turned away from her, she landed a well aimed kick to his back and he fell flat on his face, skidding across the dirt ground. The chill wind blew gently, causing her cloak to swish about her and her hair move in the wind. He twitched and started to stand. She narrowed her eyes as they flickered gold again.

‘Let me handle him, Mitsukai…’

She shook her head slowly. No. This was her fight. She moved so quickly that to him it seemed like she merely appeared in front of him. Before he could react, her knee connected with his jaw and she felt it break. The man fell on his back, whimpering slightly in pain. She moved closer and stood over him, looking down at him with an angry expression that mirrored the one Sasuke had given her when he had the urge to kill his own teammate. She squatted down and hissed slightly at the pain in her thigh. Her hand enclosed on his throat and she lifted him up enough to look him squarely in the eyes.

The man’s scream echoed for miles around.

Mitsukai dropped the man who was now drooling all over himself, eyes rolled back into his head. She stood and turned back to Itachi and Kisame. Kisame was speechless. Itachi was inwardly proud. She began to tremble slightly when she realized what she had done. It wasn’t murder. No. Yet, it felt like it.

Kisame stepped forward and used his sword to pick the man up and carry him. Itachi stepped forward and began walking with Kisame trailing behind him. Mitsukai looked down at her leg. The blood had coagulated and now had a thick, dark color to it. Now that her adrenaline was starting to leave her system, the pain from the wound was coming back in dull waves. She inhaled and followed them.

As she limped slightly behind them, a thought struck her. Kisame was occupied with carrying the man on his sword. Sure Itachi could see her, but if they were unable to stop her…It took less than a second to react. She concentrated as much chakra into the soles of her feet and shot off. Itachi felt the burst of chakra and turned in her direction, blood red eyes watching the blur get away. Kisame shifted ready to react but Itachi held up his hand.

Mitsukai knew that she had made the wrong choice as soon as she started running. The muscle in her thigh was too sore to function the way she needed it to. Pain seemed to set her leg on fire and the sudden increase in her heart rate ordered her heart to pump faster resulting in the wound bleeding more freely. Trees that stood on the side of the road zoomed by as she ran, pushing herself to keep going. Itachi suddenly appeared in front of her and it took too long for her mind to order her body to stop. His hand landed on her shoulder to bend her over slightly as he drove his knee up forcefully into her stomach. The blow was strong enough to bruise a rib and, as a result, she coughed up the blood that leaked into her left lung. She fell forward on her knees cradling her stomach as pain pulsed through her in sharp intense stabs.

“Do that again and it’ll be the last time you are able to breathe on your own.” Itachi whispered. His tone chilled her and she nodded weakly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Several days after collecting the bounty, they stopped to rest in Bear Country which rested in between Rice Field Country and Lightening Country. Mitsukai leaned up against a tree with her eyes closed. Her injuries had started healing slowly on their own without her needing to use medical jutsu. Even her rib had stopped hurting. She looked over at Itachi and Kisame who were currently seated Indian style side by side. Their eyes were closed and each man held their hands to make the tiger sign. She assumed that they were meditating and left them alone, seizing the opportunity to get some rest.

The minute Mitsukai’s head fell to the side in a deep sleep, both Itachi and Kisame's rings glowed as they channeled their chakra into them. There was a quiet buzzing noise and their leader appeared in holographic form.

“Did you succeed?” He looked at them expectantly. Kisame nodded and held up the envelope with their reward. Pein nodded. “Good. Your next mission will not have a monetary reward. One of our spies has decided to turn against us. Unfortunately, he knows too much. We cannot risk him or his family revealing anything about us to anyone. They must be eliminated.”

Both men nodded in acknowledgment.

“His name is Hiroshi. They live in a village not too far from the southern most border between Fire and Rice Field country. Zetsu tells me that the village itself rests on the shore nearest the end of the border.” The projection faded and Kisame waited for Itachi to react. Itachi’s dark eyes seemingly stared at nothing for the longest until he closed his eyes and nodded. He stood and adjusted his cloak. Kisame stood and went over to Mitsukai, tapping her skinny leg with his huge foot.

“Hey kid.”

Mitsukai’s eyes snapped open and her hand went to her hip, snatching out her kunai. “Hm?”

Kisame chuckled. For some reason he found it entertaining that she was so paranoid, even when sleeping. “Get up. We’re moving out.”

She struggled to stand up, using the tree as a crutch. They all fell into step and continued through the forest. It was necessary to travel within any forests that they encountered as it provided camouflage. This often slowed them down but Itachi was never in a hurry to get anywhere.

Mitsukai had been so tired that before she knew it, it was the middle of the night. The full moon shown down brightly as the three of them stood in front of a cottage that built a ways back hidden among trees, away from the nearby village. Itachi fought to keep in control…but with the full moon up above, he was losing the fight.

“The plan is simple. We will take care of the adults. You take care of the children.” Kisame looked at her. Mitsukai unconsciously nodded and pulled out a kunai knife. Kisame lead the group. All the lights were out indicating that its inhabitants were all asleep. Kisame quietly went inside followed by Itachi then Mitsukai. Itachi paused causing the other two to do the same as he scanned the area with his Sharingan. He looked at the masses of chakra and figured out where the adults were and where the children were.

“There are five adults in this direction.” He pointed to the left of Kisame who went off silently. Itachi pointed in the opposite direction and Mitsukai went off. She eased into the children’s room and froze. Two little girls, about eleven and six, slept soundly in their beds. She dropped her weapon and shook her head. A shrill scream came from the other direction and she nearly fainted. She couldn’t do it. As the commotion in the other part of the cottage got louder, she made up her mind. The girls were staring at her in fear. She opened the only window and motioned for the girls to follow her. They refused to move at first but when the sound of men yelling and a woman repeatedly screaming was heard, they nearly dove out of the window.

Mitsukai jumped out after them and held them both by an arm. “Listen to me. Run. Get to the village as fast as you can. Go!” She turned the around and the girls ran off, the youngest sobbing quietly as she followed her sister.

“What are you doing?” Kisame and Itachi appeared behind her. Kisame growled softly watching the girls get away. Mitsukai noted that both Itachi and Kisame were covered him blood. Itachi shifted his gaze from the girls to Mitsukai and she flinched. His eyes were red…but it wasn’t the Sharingan she was looking at. The tomoes had spun together and made a spiky wheel.

“Watch her.” Itachi’s tone was icy…and more malevolent than usual. Itachi shot off after the girls with two kunai drawn, one in each hand.

“No!” Mitsukai screamed and attempted to go after him. There was a swift breeze and she fell to her hands and knees, sapped of her chakra. She looked back at Kisame who leaned forward on his Sharkskin a bit. “Why?”

“You don’t understand the state of mind that Itachi’s in right now. If you charged off after him, I’d be responsible for him killing you as well.” His small black pupils stared off into the darkness of the night. Shrill screams reached her ears. She didn’t care what Kisame said. She had to protect the girls. She stood shakily and forced herself to jog towards the screams of terror. She didn’t understand what Itachi was going through but if she had to lay her life on the line for them…so be it. She just had to hurry.

There were two soft thuds and the screaming stopped. In fact, she couldn’t hear anything at all. She stopped and listened harder. There were soft padded footfalls coming towards her. She looked up and two red eyes seemingly hovered in the air until Itachi stepped out into the moon’s light. His expression had changed. ‘What is that…’ She leaned forward slightly. He disappeared and reappeared in front of her, blood smeared on his cheek. Her eyes widened with horror. His eyes still held the appearance of the Mangekyou Sharingan…and there was a very faint trace of a smile that curved the edges of his mouth. His hand reached out for her and she tried to step away. His hand closed around her throat and brought her face-to-face with him. Something was very different about Itachi.

“Your emotions…make you weak. They make you hesitate.” He lifted his right hand, which held a bloody kunai, and pressed the cold weapon against her cheek. “That’s what’s wrong with this world. Human emotion…” He gently smeared the warm blood onto her cheek. “…does nothing for you. It holds you back. It keeps you from realizing your potential.”

She was frozen in terror. She had been in Itachi's company for over half a month and had never seen him like this. He let her go and walked past her. She stood still, ordering her heart to calm down. One thing was for sure…she had to get away from them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next day Itachi allowed them to rest since their leader hadn’t contacted them with any more missions. Mitsukai decided to take a bath in a nearby lake. As soon as she got out and changed clothes, she noticed a small brown dog sniffing around in the bushes. “Ooh, a puppy!”

The dog looked up and appeared to be happy to see her, running towards her and yipping. She knelt down and petted it. “Hello there.”

The dog sniffed her hand and yipped again. ‘It’s her! It seems she doesn’t know who I am. That’s good.’

She continued to pet and rub the dog.

“Let’s go.” She turned to see Itachi standing there with Kisame. She nodded and stood up. Both men’s eyes fell on the dog beside her. Mitsukai noticed that the dog tensed up and actually glared at the two. She really liked the dog now.

“That mutt isn’t coming with us.” Kisame complained and unsheathed his sword. “Shall I do the honors?”

Itachi didn’t say a word. ‘That dog looks familiar…and it has more chakra than necessary for an ordinary dog.’ Kisame stepped forward and prepared to swing but Mitsukai stepped in front of it.

“No! He’s with me. Can’t he at least stay until we have to go on our next mission? Then we can take him to the nearest village and let him go.” She stooped down and picked him up. “I won’t even name him.”

Kisame turned to Itachi. “No.”

Itachi didn’t respond to either, personally not in the mood to play referee. Kisame groaned and followed his partner. Mitsukai smiled behind her mask and trotted along behind him, truly happy for the first time in days.