Book 2: The Three of Us

Previously On

The casual look disappears from Tsunade's face, replaced by a serious and heavy look. The look sets me on edge and makes me tense. She lets out a heavy breath before continuing, "I sent him on a mission to gather intel about the Akatsuki."

"But why Kisame? Intel gathering isn't his specialty," I say.

"All previous attempts to complete the mission have failed," Tsunade says. Glancing over at Itachi, I can see his whole body tense up at what she says.

Itachi's voice is sharp when he speaks, "You mean no one has ever returned from the mission alive." It's not a question, it's a statement. The realization makes my stomach drop with dread.

***

I could tell the moment Jiraya recognized one of the faces of our attackers, a slight hesitance in his attack causing him to be thrown into a building. Blocking an attack from another with Samihada, I make my way over to Jiraya to back him up.

I give him a quick look, "Care to explain what that was about?"

"My suspicion has been proven correct. The leader of the Akatsuki is located here and he was once a student of mine," Jiraya says, a troubled look on his face.

I don't have much time to process what he says before we are once again bombarded with attacks, almost overwhelming us.

***

I pick up the notebook and take a look inside. Most of the pages are blank but the first few pages have writing on them in a language I don't understand. It makes me wonder what is written in it.

Itachi' taps his knuckles against the table gently, his way of saying 'come here' without speaking.

Setting the notebook back down, I step out of the kitchen and to the dining table Itachi is by. Standing beside him, I look at the thing on the table he's looking at. There's a note beside two necklaces. Picking up the note, the words written make me want to cry. Itachi picks up one of the necklaces, tracing the tooth with his finger.

Gently grabbing Itachi's hand that's holding the necklace, I look up at him with a teary smile, "I can put it on for you."

He nods silently and lets me step behind him to clip the necklace on. I step back around to his front and look at the necklace on him. He picks up the other one and motions for me to turn around. Once I turn around, Itachi moves my hair out of the way and clips it on. Turning back towards him, I pull him into a tight hug. The gift made us both incredibly happy but also terrified. Terrified we'd never see Kisame again but happy that he gave such a thoughtful gift.

***

The next attack I could see coming at me but I was unable to move fast enough to avoid it. One of the black rods they use as weapons stabs me through the stomach, the weapon causing a disruption in my chakra and making me unable to control it properly.

Jiraya makes his way towards me, helping create space between our enemy. He gives me a heavy exhausted look before whispering, "Please forgive me."

He places a seal on me and activates it. The world around me goes black for a moment as I'm hit with vertigo that sends me to my knees. Opening my eyes I'm met with Anko who comes rushing towards me. I look around me in confusion, taking in the cave that she was in.

"I thought you were headed back to the village," I say, trying to understand what was going on.

Anko kneels beside me, examining my wounds, she looks at the rod in my stomach in worry, "I made a promise I intend to keep."

"What promise?" I ask.

She looks me in the eyes, "To bring you back alive."

***

The medics rush me into an operating room and start preparing me for surgery. Laying me down on the table, they set a mask on my face, attempting to give me anesthesia. It sends my body into a panic when the unknown chemical mix causes my lungs to switch over to use my gills. I rip off the mask, gasping for breath, "That won't work. You can't use that. My gills."

"What can we use for you?" one of the medics asks.

"Numb me up and hope for the best," I say, still gasping for breath as my body tries to recover from the attempted use of anesthesia.

"There's damage to your chakra network. Repairing it is incredibly painful and there's no way to numb that kind of pain," the medic explains, preparing me for what's next.

Focusing on taking deep breaths, I finally catch my breath and give a sharp smile, "Oh, I know. And I'd recommend you use a paralysis poison and restraints to keep me still."