The journey wouldn’t be long—but it would be long enough for Itachi.
Especially not at the pace he seemed to be setting. From the very moment Pein had told them to get going, they had dissipated into the trees, Kisame beginning to understand how things would be like if Itachi didn’t hold back as much as he did. The kid could defeat the majority of his opponents with one blow as it was, let alone if he actually bothered to make an effort the way he was now. But then again, this was to do with Imi, so it wasn’t a surprise Itachi was putting his all into it. It meant Kisame was torn between a smirk and a serious mood. He liked Imi too; and she was at least a little more emotionally available than Itachi was. That meant Kisame wanted to make sure she was safe as well. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a little happy at the idea of seeing Itachi get like this over her: it was just so unlike him.
Though as he glanced over at Itachi and saw the look on his face, Kisame tried to shake off the feeling. This wasn’t the time; and instead focused on the mission they had in front of them, questioning quietly,
“How far away is their hideout—or at least, how long do you think it will take us to get there?”
“Not long,” Was Itachi's swift reply, continuing on simply, “These guys didn’t see any danger in keeping Imi close by. They’re fools, with a bit of brute force on their side and a massive advantage over Imi that allowed them to take her. Even knowing the power she holds and that it’s the kind of ability that would make her valuable to them, they don’t think we’ll consider her worth our time to go and rescue.”
“Massive advantage?”
At that, however, and Itachi paused. Though Imi’s past wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that needed to be hidden away like his was, it was still hers, and not something he had the right to be blurting out to everyone and anyone. True, Kisame was a teammate, and not the kind of person to then spread the word around, but he didn’t know if Imi would want him to reveal her story. At the same time, though, he wanted an answer, and Itachi eventually settled on telling him only what was necessary, responding carefully,
“She hadn’t seen them since she was a child. They killed her family in front of her. Imi’s abilities involve being able to sense things. When she comes into contact with people, she can tell things about their lives straight away. When she comes into contact with them…she relives the past. And it’s not as if anyone was particularly accepting of her power to begin with.”
Kisame didn’t say anything in return at that. It was clear Imi had her own issues with her past, just like they all did. But the idea that Imi had to relive what she must have been through—even if Kisame didn’t know the whole story—he shook his head a little. It had to be hard. Everyone heard about her abilities and immediately considered them to be amazing and incredible, but everything had drawbacks in the end. Even somebody like her, who he had always seen in a similar light to Itachi; emotionless and aloof—she couldn’t hide from that. She had had to build herself up to be like that. But just like everyone else she had started out as a child. Itachi narrowed his eyes as he, too, considered it. Imi shouldn’t have had to go through something like that when she was that young. He hadn’t been able to do anything about it then.
He could now.
Knowing this, he pushed on faster, only stopping when necessary to make sure they kept up their strength and wouldn’t lose any speed or energy by the time they reached the hideout. Not that he needed to worry about Kisame; with his reserves of chakra, he could go on longer than most in the Akatsuki. In return, although Kisame might have passed a thought as to whether Itachi needed to preserve his strength, he found himself barely thinking about it. Kisame only needed to glance at Itachi to see just how focused he was on getting Imi back safe and sound, and he understood that there was no way he would let himself not have enough strength to save her. Itachi had impressive willpower; if he was going to do something, then no one was going to stop him until he’d done it.
So it didn’t take much longer until they reached the hideout where they were keeping Imi. It was backed up against some cliffs, hidden away amongst the forest, and slowing to a halt in the branches of a nearby tree, Itachi and Kisame looked over their target and began to formulate their plan. Imi already knew exactly where they were, surprised—even by her standards—that they had gotten there so fast. But all she could do was concentrate on their position, sitting in her cell with her eyes closed, frowning at her situation. She didn’t like being so at war with her emotions; but that’s how she felt. She felt relieved Itachi was here; yet at the same time, she didn’t want to be. A part of her wanted to overcome her fear and deal with it. It would only haunt her all her life otherwise. And yet…the thought of doing so…
No; she had to do something! Itachi was going to come in here, help her break free and escape, and get her out of there! Imi would simply run off back to the Akatsuki, but where would that leave these bastards? They’d still be out there, and for all she knew, planning another attack on her! Imi couldn’t rely on Itachi all her life—or better yet, she didn’t want to. Feeling useless and weak was not something Imi enjoyed, and it gave a nice added feeling of guilt, as well. Itachi had enough to deal with. He was trying to protect Sasuke and Konoha, constantly shouldering a massive burden he’d had practically all his life, and Imi wouldn’t let herself become another part to it.
The only problem to that theory was that meant she’d have to act.
But before Imi even got a chance to make a decision, an explosion snapped her out of her train of thoughts, making her narrow her eyes in surprise. Sensing through the building with her abilities, she could tell it was Itachi and Kisame that had caused it—but that in itself was strange. This wasn’t a typical Itachi plan—and Kisame knew it too. When they had been waiting outside looking over the building and Kisame had questioned what Itachi wanted to do, only to have Itachi answer bluntly “break in there, kill anyone we find, and get Imi out”, Kisame hadn’t been able to respond. Yes, it was the kind of plan Kisame liked, but it was never something Itachi agreed with. He was the stealth and assassination guy, only fighting when it had to be done. Imi wasn’t the only one who was surprised—but if that’s the way Itachi wanted it, who was Kisame to protest? He was more than happy to oblige as they headed over and smashed their way through.
Imi could now see them through the bars of her cell as Itachi cut down anyone that got in their way, seeing the ruthless side to him that didn’t come out often. She could see from the look on his face that he focused entirely on what he was doing, and a small smirk fluttered over her face. He was getting like this because of her. And with that thought, everything seemed heightened. It was why the squeak of the cell door appeared so much louder as the leader of the ninja came over to her, not hesitating to grab a fistful of Imi’s hair as he yanked her closer to the bars and called out, Itachi and Kisame only glancing over to begin with. But once they saw what was going on—
It was more than enough to get their attention.
