Designed For War...But Not Meant For It (Itachi Uchiha Story) Info.

Chapter 26.

Moving to the side, Itachi watched as the kunai that had been headed straight for him went between the bars and into the shadows of the cell, Kiken having been ready for it as well and having moved easily out of the way. Narrowing his eyes at it as it fell, its harsh metal clang sounding out into the silent prison, he knew he had lost his chance to say anything more now and focused on what was appearing behind him. At least this way he was safe in the knowledge that Kiken would be safe—none of them wanted her to get hurt, though his motives may have been slightly more poignant than those of his attackers.

The Akatsuki hadn’t had much of a battle with the men, just as they had expected. The only thing that marred this fact was the disappearance of Seifu’s son. One minute he had been fighting them all, and when they turned to the others and back again, he had vanished. It took only a moment’s consideration to figure out where he had gone, however; he wanted Kiken. He wanted to use her power to take over the valley and beyond—it was why he had kidnapped her and been bragging about it in the village, after all. Their appearance in the house couldn’t be coincidental with just having taking Kiken, and abruptly his actions changed.

What do you do when your house is on fire?

You save what is most precious to you.

And in his case—it was Kiken.

Within seconds they had finished off the rest of the so called ‘guards’ and had followed his path down to the prison. Worry about Itachi's welfare wasn’t necessary; out of everyone, he was the least likely to be caught off guard, let alone by a guy of that calibre. It was what he might do concerning Kiken that made them apprehensive, and as such the sped down the stairs, being confronted with the image of Itachi standing near Kiken's cell, and Kiken within it. Seeing her like that wasn’t much of a surprise, however; they had all noticed how much time they spent together during the journey. If anyone was going to convince Kiken of what was happening, it was going to be him. Seifu’s son, however, was the only one who didn’t seem slightly amused at this development, having thrown the kunai, pointing accusatorily at Itachi to scream angrily,

“Stay the hell away from her!”

“Why? So you can follow in your father’s footsteps and force a young girl to your whim? Some aspiration.” Itachi said levelly in return, causing the Akatsuki to all glance at each other in surprise.

That wasn’t the sort of thing they expected from Itachi. He remained calm in battle, not bothering with insults or much talking at all, for that matter. He concentrated on the fight, analysing their movements for a couple of minutes before he gained the opportunity to place them under a genjutsu. From there, things didn’t last long, and his opponents were soon taken care of. His personality wasn’t like Kisame’s—he didn’t relish the idea of a battle, taunting his assailants at every available chance. But now he appeared to be doing just that; mocking Seifu’s son, an almost aggressive look on his face.

Then the fact it was Kiken standing next to him was remembered, and it all made sense.

“Excuse me? What right do you have to ridicule my father like that—you don’t even come from around here! My father brought glory to this village and was a great leader. He—”

“Started a war that nobody—not even those who were made to fight in it—wanted; ultimately causing a huge number of deaths and destroying the before peace that had always reigned. It brought nothing but desecration to the land and an ominous atmosphere—not glory. Why? Because of some stupid wish to have control over this valley. I may not come from round here, and you’re right. There’s no need for me to ridicule him. From what I hear from the villagers, he got enough ridiculing as it was.” Itachi quickly shot back, the Akatsuki barely managed to smother laughs at what he was doing.

Feeling more and more enraged with every word Itachi spoke, having had all his beliefs and aspirations mocked and jeered at in one go, Seifu’s son was beginning to lose his temper. All people seemed to do was dismiss him; like he didn’t matter. Like none of his life or the life of his father mattered. So for so many years he had been determined to prove them wrong. To do something about it and finished what Seifu had started. It didn’t matter that these guys had turned up out of nowhere, and were clearly high level ninjas. Kiken was still in no condition just to run off, and there was no way in hell he was going to be treated like that by someone like this guy. He was younger than him; he just stood there, calmly as anything, acting as if he was nothing to care about. No; he wouldn’t let him act like this without getting something in return.

Kiken had done nothing this entire time. It wasn’t just the Akatsuki who had noticed Itachi's change in attitude; it had been her as well. That in itself was making her pause in contemplation, but it was the thought that followed that truly put her into silence. She shouldn’t be thinking about how his attitude had changed—it was why. There had to be something that was making him act like this, and when a suggestion flickered through her mind, she couldn’t help but feel slightly better at it.

What if it was because of her? With what he had been saying…the way he was standing next to her now…it seemed possible. He was protecting her; an action that wasn’t one Kiken came across often. The only protection she could remember having was people not wanting her to get hurt because of their own wishes. Itachi was doing it because he wanted her to be safe. Because he didn’t want Seifu’s son to control her. All that she had thought before when running away was beginning to slip from her mind, and staring up at Itachi, she considered the two feelings that had been dominating her life for the past couple of days;

The fear, guilt and shame at the memories of the war; of being in the valley and battlefield.

And her feelings towards Itachi.

The latter had only been building up recently, but they were still there. They were a lot stronger than many other emotions she had dealt with through the course of her life, and it was these two things that were now competing for her attention. Her fear had caused her to be taken to the mansion; to start to be controlled by Seifu’s son once again—to run away from Itachi when he had responded to her story.

But it had been her feelings towards Itachi that had given her the strength; the courage to return to Hoshi valley to begin with. Even before she had truly begun conversing and getting closer to him, he had had this effect on her. The very first moment they met she had felt that silent understanding and knew he was like her; that they were connected in their similarities, and the idea he was strong with them made Kiken feel she could be the same. Then the journey had started, and though she had run away at one point, Itachi had found her and made her feel better. Made her realise that she could do this; and that he would be there to support her; to give her her own choice in the matter.

It was why she had been so upset upon thinking Itachi wanted her power as well.

Tensing as something else caught her attention, she looked up at Seifu’s son, seeing the expression on his face and the way he held himself, and knew exactly what he was going to do. Turning her gaze to Itachi, she cried out his name as the handsigns were finished, and sensing Itachi's dodge might not be enough, Kiken unleashed enough chakra from her hand to push him back even further, slamming through a wall on the opposite side and disappearing for the moment, the smoke from the explosion not helping much. Kiken couldn’t see the result of what had happened; whether Itachi was alive; but looking down at her hands and realising what she’d done, Kiken's gaze hardened as her eyes passed over Seifu’s son.

It was her feelings for Itachi that won out.