Itachi instantly hesitated, unsure what to do now.
He wasn’t going to let Imi get hurt—he wasn’t going to let them do anything to her, he knew that for sure. He was completing what he had come here to do, no matter what it took. But Itachi wasn’t entirely certain what this guy was planning on doing right now, and as such he didn’t make any moves for the moment, waiting to see what he would do next. Kisame did the same, glancing between Itachi and the ninja, not wanting Imi to be injured—but when he saw the focused look on Itachi's face, the feeling extended to Kisame. Itachi wasn’t worried about this situation; he could handle it, and evidently had something up his sleeve. Whatever would happen in the next few seconds, all Kisame would have to do was react accordingly, and everything would turn out fine. Itachi wasn’t leaving any margin for error this time around.
“Back the hell up, pretty boy! You’re not in any position to be barging in here and doing what you want! I’ve got the girl! So don’t go making any sudden movements!” He screamed, clearly nervous even with the attitude he tried to give off. He knew they were both in the Akatsuki; that meant they were powerful ninja. He couldn’t risk getting into a battle—so he had to do something. But Itachi didn’t appear fazed in the slightest, taking another step forward as if to tease him, responding as he did so,
“Don’t bother. You went to all this effort to come after Imi and capture her…there’s no way you’re going to harm her now. Using her murder to get me to stop won’t work; because I know it’s all bluff. If there’s one thing you want out of all of this, it’s Imi alive and safe.”
The ninja immediately swallowed, gritting his teeth at how easily Itachi and seen through his ploy. He’d figured that even if he realised the truth, it would at least take him a little while; that Itachi would be taken in by the whole idea for a few minutes and give him a little time. But no; there had been no hesitation in the slightest. If anything…Itachi already knew. There was no fooling him. So he settled on his next best option—what he always relied on to prove himself. All he had to do was wait, meaning he continued to shout protests as Itachi made his way slowly closer to Imi and the cell. Not that it was entirely faked, however…the sweating certainly wasn’t something he was doing himself, but he couldn’t help but be a little afraid at the sight in front of him.
Though when Itachi reached the perfect distance—the perfect spot—his confidence returned to him a little. It was a difference that Itachi noticed as well, narrowing his eyes as the guy raised his arm and began to act. He was performing a jutsu; and instantly the corridor around him began to react as well. It wouldn’t be as simple a matter as merely dodging out of the way of this one; this was different. This was what he had been talking about to Kisame when he had mentioned ‘brute force’—he just hadn’t thought it would be affecting him. Itachi had reckoned he would have been able to act and get rid of all of them before they had a chance to do anything in return, and knowing what they were all like, considering their cowardice and how they wanted Imi safe—effectively ruling her out as a hostage—he had thought he could do it. But things were taking a slightly different turn now, and Itachi started to brace himself in order to at least survive the impact, if he couldn’t come up with a plan to stop it first, that is.
But he wasn’t the only one who was surprised at this turn of events. Imi knew the kinds of things these guys could do, but she hadn’t imagined he would decide to pull it out now of all times. Although then again, he’d been backed into a corner…it was natural for an idiot like him to pull his ace out when he had nowhere else to go. Only Imi was brought back to the memory of her parents being killed. This time was different of course—Itachi was much more powerful than her parents—but the battlefield made all the difference. That could change everything, and it would only take one blow; Imi had experienced that for herself. But the idea of having to go through that again scared her. She couldn’t. It had taken away everything from her before, and now Itachi was the only person she had left. Imi couldn’t lose him—and she was just sitting there watching him about to get hurt.
Perhaps it didn’t have to be that way.
Imi had been a child then, when it came down to it. It made sense that those circumstances would leave her vulnerable. She hadn’t had the experience that she had now; of knowing what it was like to fight constantly and see so much bloodshed. But she had grown up since then. She was no longer a child, and seen a lot, even though she wasn’t as old as some. Imi wasn’t an arrogant person, but she liked to think she had become stronger in that time. Yes, though she had been uncertain with the way things were with Konoha, things had changed; being with Itachi had certainly helped her feel better. She felt almost as content as she had done when they were both still living in the village and working together as teammates. Now she was in a situation where the one person who had stuck by her no matter what—who had always been there to help her—was in danger of being hurt, and she was sitting back and letting it happen. But she couldn’t; not this time. She had sat back and let her family die back then—there was no way she was doing the same this time around.
As she looked up at the hallway in front of her; at Itachi standing there, Imi knew she had been hesitant—even with the idea of Itachi coming to get her—because of what had happened earlier. Because he had simply left the room without saying a word to her. But Imi could see just how he was now; in a way that wasn’t like him normally. Itachi wasn’t hesitating to cut everyone down in front of him…and it was because he knew she was in danger. The possibility that Itachi didn’t really care about her as much as she cared about him; that what had happened between them hadn’t meant anything to Itachi…it had all faded upon seeing him arrive so desperate to get her out of there safely.
And suddenly…her fear was gone. All those years of waking up in the middle of the night, shaking and scared from nightmares—Imi got the feeling that they wouldn’t be happening as much any more. She felt surer of herself, and in a way, she felt free. There had always remained a childish part to her fear; although she never showed it on the outside, and it was mostly at night, there were times she spotted shadows; heard noises and instantly began to worry. For a fraction of a second during every surprise attack, Imi had always questioned whether it was them. But not anymore; and definitely not when she wiped them all out—she had to, or risk losing Itachi. Though with that thought going through her head, Imi became even more determined in her actions. That wouldn’t be happening—
No way in hell.
Before the ninja who had been pulling her hair could unleash his attack, Imi took advantage of the fact that he needed both hands to do the jutsu. Rolling onto the balls of her feet, she turned to face him and awakened her chakra, concentrating solely on what she had to do in order to use her telekinesis. Swiftly she used it to push him back against the wall, the kunai scattered across the floor from the battle rising from the floor to slam into his chest. From there, Imi used his body to break through the bars of her cell, the anger buried deep inside of her towards him fueling her attack as she threw him down the length of the corridor and through a wall on the other side of the building, taking the rest with him.
A few seconds later, and it was utter silence. Imi was coming down from her little adrenaline rush, blinking in surprise—almost shocked at her own actions. Itachi and Kisame, too, were speechless, having not expected that result to come out of the battle, staring at Imi in surprise…and probably a little awe. To begin with, nobody moved as the dust settled on the hallway—but as Itachi looked up at Imi, his shock melted into happiness. Imi had overcome her fear; she was safe, and a small smile broke out over his face—one that was reflected on Imi a second afterwards, seeing the expression on his face. He came over to her now, asking if she was alright, but all Imi could do was smile and nod in response.
What was there to say?
Everything was fine now—she knew that for sure.
