Songs For The Heartbroken: That's What You Get

Chapter 29

When Jiraiya told me he was taking Naruto with him to search for Tsunade, I knew something was off. Konoha's aim had always been to keep the Kyubi within the village for safekeeping, and to break that pattern now of all times seemed more than a bit unusual. I decided, however that I would learn nothing from it if I showed my suspicions about the matter.

It made no sense to me then, I knew they were keeping something from me. For it to be Jiraiya who took the kid when the seal was clearly still unstable, added to the fact that the council did not oppose to it when they clearly had not been told the reason behind it, it all rubbed me the wrong way.

I would find the reason behind it soon enough though, and I would not like it one bit. Because after five years of absolutely nothing, after all the uncertainty, Itachi returned. He turned up right in the middle of Konoha, eating dango and drinking tea with none other than Hoshigaki Kisame, all without setting off a single alarm. He had always been good, so nobody noticed him until he made himself known, and with how vulnerable Konoha had been after the invasion and without a Hokage, it was almost laughable just how much easier it had been for them to infiltrate.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were the first to engage, all of them bested the second Itachi revealed his scarlet eyes. Hoshigaki, thank Kami, had decided not to intervene, and just become a spectator in what could have been a spectacular battle. Still, they were outmatched, and when Itachi put Kakashi under a genjutsu, all seemed to be lost. It was when they first engaged that Gai came to fetch me at ANBU HQ.

I don't think I ever ran as fast as I did then. I remember thinking the sprint to downtown Konoha had never felt as slow, as tedious, as infinitely long. My mask remained on, my colak a black blur under the sun, dragging behind me; and my hair in a braid like a whip against the air.

Gai did make his entrance quite flamboyant, as it was expected of him, just as it was expected of me to remain in the shadows and wait for an opening. I did lag behind, half to assess the situation and half out of habit. That didn't stop neither Itachi nor Kisame from noticing me.

Itachi.

He looked the same, but taller and with the baby fat completely gone from his cheeks. His Sharingan had three Tomoe, and I couldn't help but feel proud of him. He looked strong and powerful and very much himself. I was so ecstatic, that neither the hard line crossing his hitai-ate, nor his black and red cloak deterred me from wanting to hug him, welcome him home, ask him to stay.

I had missed him so much, I realized, I'd been so worried for him, and now, here he was, tall and proud and strong, and staring straight into my eyes through the holes in my mask. He smiled, brightly, honestly, with so much fondness I thought I'd melt. His hair was longer, his eyes wiser but more tired than ever. His smile, however, his smile remained the same.

"You've grown, Akane." He said as I dropped to the ground silently from the tree I'd been hiding in. "I expect you've made Captain by now."

His voice was deeper, softer, if that was even possible, as gentle as ever.

I took my mind and hood off, to let him see me properly after four years apart. We had both grown into out adult bodies, and now at eighteen, we had to re introduce ourselves. Four years was a long time in the life of a shinobi.

He scrutinized my face, memorized the gentle waves of the wisps of hair that had fallen out of the braid and now framed my features, studied the new scars in my neck.

"You've grown." He repeated,

I smiled.

"So have you, red always was your color." I looked around once and smiled at him once again "Your genjutsu are as beautiful as ever as well. You even managed to make it look as if it were seen through an active Sharingan. How did you know?"