Escaping His Past (Naruto/Akatsuki FF)

Chapter 23: Hurry and Find Me

The next day, I was outside near a waterfall. I cupped my hands together, scooping the water up and splashing it on my face. "Eita." I turned my head as Tobi and Itachi walked over to me. "How did you guys find me?" I asked with a frown.

Nobody, not even Pein knows about this place. "Because we always know where you are, Eita!" Tobi cheered. Itachi sighed. "Tobi said that you might be here." He answered. 'Must've been from that time when he found that one time.' I thought to myself.

"So, what do you guys want, anyway?" I asked before splashing more water on my face. "Konan was wondering where you were, so she asked us to go looking for you." Itachi said. "Well, you found me. Now leave me be." I said, coldly.

I closed my eyes as I remembered my sister's voice. She always used to sing to me. One of my favorite songs from her was 'There's No Place Like Home'.

"No place like home, huh? Not anymore." I mumbled.

"Y-Yikes!" I heard Tobi yelp. I rolled my eyes as I thought that he saw a spider or something. "G-G-Ghost!" He said.

"Yeah, right. There's no such thing as ghosts." I said, standing to my feet. I turned around and faced them as I noticed Itachi looking at something near the trees. "What? What are you looking at?" I asked. Itachi didn't answer as he continued to stare at something in the distance.

I followed his gaze and spotted a young woman. "A girl?" I mumbled. I examined her from head to toe. "I can't see her feet, and she's not touching the ground. Is she floating?" I wondered. "Then, she really is a ghost! She's come to haunt us!" Tobi yelled, dramatically.

I rolled my eyes. "I sincerely doubt that," I faced the girl as she held no emotion on her face. "Hey, are you lost?" I called to her. "Hurry..." The young woman spoke. "Hurry... Find me..." She said. Her voice was soft and it kind of echoed.

The young woman raised her hand and beckoned us over to her. "What do you think she wants?" Itachi asked. "Please... Find me... Hurry..." The young woman repeated as she continued to beckon us over. I took a small step forward and she floated back two centimeters.

"She wants us to follow her." I informed. "T-T-Tobi's not so s-sure about this, E-E-Eita. W-What if Ghost Girl leads us into a trap?" Tobi stuttered. "Then, go back to the base. I'll handle this on my own." I said, walking away. I followed the young woman as she floated backwards.

The more I followed her, the further back she floated as she continued to beckon me. 'Just where in the world is this woman leading me?' I thought with a small frown. Whatever it is, it seems pretty important to get me to follow her all the way out here.

The young woman suddenly disappeared in thin air, and I looked around. "Where did she go?" I mumbled. I glanced back when I heard a twig snapped from behind me. Instinctively, I spun around and took out a kunai knife.

The tip of the blade was just inches from Itachi's face as he stared at me with a calm expression on his face. "So you decided to come along after all, huh?" I said as I put my kunai knife away.

"I figured I'd come along and see where this girl was leading you. Tobi got too afraid and ran back to the hideout." He informed. "I don't give a damn where that scaredy-cat ran off to." I said, coldly.

"I just thought you should know."

"Whatever."

I turned away from him and began walking forward as Itachi followed behind. I pushed past a couple of bushes and spotted a small house in the distance.

The walls were badly crumbled as if the whole building would collapse at any moment and the windows were cracked while some were broken. "Looks pretty abandoned from a distance. Wonder if anyone's living in there?" I said.