namikaze girl ! k. hatake

ten.

my eyes scanned the horizon of the village hidden in the rain. buildings towered over me, taller than i could have ever imagined. the air was cold from the constant rain, making me uncertain of my decisions so far. placing my kunai into the softened ground, i fought the doubts in my mind as i continued on, heading straight for the heart of the village. if this place was worth any information i was searching for, i presumed it to be in the tallest tower.

a lone ninja admiring the view of the waving water i walked over perked up at the sight of me. an uncomfortable frown came to his face as i stopped a few meters away, staring up at him as he leaned over the ledge.

"hey, you! the main gate's over there!" he pointed to his left, shouting at me for defying orders i was under no obligation to follow.

"take me to your leader," i demanded, staring up at him as his hand slowly went back to his side, seemingly frozen as i ignored the question. his hesitation forced me to do things my own way - throwing a kunai at a slanted angle, i moved quickly to his side, catching the flying kunai before holding it to his neck. "now."

i hated this part of me in particular. i never intended to hurt anybody, especially innocent bystanders that followed orders. still, i needed information, and this man in particular wasn't going to let me be peaceful for it.

"l - lord pain doesn't normally meet with people," he stumbled over his words, seemingly star struck by my speed that matched minato's.

"pain?" i had encountered and heard of many kage's, but never anyone by the name of pain. glancing back, something turned in my stomach; my guy telling me that something was very, very wrong with this place. "take me to him, now."

after restating my demand and gently shoving the shinobi's shoulder, he began walking, allowing me to ease the kunai to my side, hidden beneath the akatsuki cloak as i attempted to look less suspicious.

propaganda littered the walls of nearly every corner; pain was everywhere, but no photographs or artwork to praise him. who did this man think he was?

paper angels hung from every shop, brushing through the wind, but never dampened by the rain. as the shinobi silently led me towards the tallest building, i praised myself for guessing correctly, though continued to wonder who was in control, here.

stopping at the doorway, i moved by the shinobi i held hostage, allowing him to leave almost immediately, likely to warn others of my presence. still, pushing open the door, my eyes adjusted to the absurd darkness within the building before a womanly figure appeared before me. she was stoic, staring at me with unlimited patience as i attempted to wrap my head around her being pain.

"rei namikaze; i am honored to meet you," her tone was calm, though i couldn't help but be surprised that she knew my name, anyway. i quickly decided that itachi may have mentioned my name recently.

"pain. i'm here to see him," i confidently stated, boring my gaze into her calm eyes. she didn't physically react, instead holding an open palm out towards me. flinching slightly, tiny sheets of paper began covering my body, starting from my feet, going up to my head.

my body felt fuzzy; almost numb as i suffocated beneath the paper. by the time i could see again, i was overlooking the entire village as sheets of paper gently pealed from my clothes, falling onto the floor.

"rei namikaze," a deep voice called from behind as soon as i turned around; a bare room with nothing but a view of the gloomy day. a red haired man stood before me, looking as stoic as the woman was. "itachi uchiha had said you'd be coming."

itachi?

my thoughts of kakashi were quickly washed away as the red haired man took a single step forward, revealing his face in greater detail in the light. his eyes were spirals, forcing me to blink before accepting that he possessed the rinnegan. although never having seen one in person, i still glared, uncertain of his intentions.