The moon fell out of the sky, introducing the sun. The familiar warmth tickled my skin and nourished me. I stopped to allow the flooding rays to envelop me, the heat licking my skin, ridding the night's chill. I gazed at the sky and admired the sun.
I took the opportunity to pause and activate my Kekkei Genkai. The Murasaki clan had lilac colored eyes, but when we used the Murasakiro ("Kiro"), our eyes turned a royal, bright illuminating purple.
The Kiro was able to detect brainwaves from far distances, practically marking people with a pip and giving off their location. The Kiro could see through bad weather conditions, which wasn't entirely practical for battles outside of The Sand Village, but helped long-distance travel. I also had the ability to alter senses, like temporarily blurring their vision, or altering their ability to hear. The Kiro also paired strong genjutsu, such as the skill of temporary persuasive hypnotism and mental illusion, which I had not quite mastered yet.
I had planned on using my Kekkei Genkai at a few intervals during my travel, all locations I deemed to be hot spots for activity prior to leaving the Sand Village. Thankfully, I would not have to use it for long, as I was already halfway to the Leaf. I would turn my ability off an hour within the boarder of Konoha.
I was planning on stopping at Konoha for supplies, and I was already halfway there. Realizing I may run into Leaf Nin, I tucked my sand village headband in my pocket. At this moment, I was most likely a rogue ninja, escaped from the demonized Murasaki clan. I wanted to be in and out of Konoha without any issues.
I stopped in my tracks. Two enemies to the left. 20 miles away. I drew right to hide behind the bushes.
As the Kiro was more defensive than offensive, I jumped into the tree above, my sword clutched tight between my hands. My heart was thumping in my chest, my body froze up. Alarm bells had instantly rung in my head the moment I realized the amount of power radiating off of the two people, and the sword one of them was holding. Suddenly, they stopped moving and shifted, facing my way. I felt my heart almost leap out of my chest. Normally, they wouldn't be able to sense me from this distance. I prepared myself, readying my eyes for battle, watching them approach.
They were striding my way, calmly, quickly, through the trees to the trail I had been walking on, but all of a sudden, they disappeared from my line of sight, and I almost let out a yelp when they reemerged right below the tree I was in. I looked downward, my heart racing when I saw the two in clear view beneath me.
Both individuals were dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them. One was a very tall, blue man, with shark features, including small eyes, gills, and razor-sharp teeth. He wielded a large sword with bandages wrapped around it, encasing the top. The second individual was a younger man, probably around my age. He had long hair tied up in a pony, and sectioned hair framing his face. He had such dark eyes, I couldn't make out the irises.
"Hm, where do you think she is, Itachi?"
I swallowed hard, keeping as still as possible, balancing on the branch. I shifted my feet slowly, thankful there were enough leaves underneath me to where my shadow wasn't visible.
I pushed my hand out towards the men, altering their brain pattern to blur their vision, landing in front of them. I swung my katana out in a long, swiping motion, catching the shark man's sleeve with my sword, but barely slicing his forearm. The man named Itachi had effortlessly moved out of the way before throwing a leg out to kick me in the stomach, sending me flying into a tree.
My back hit the tree as I wheezed. The wind was knocked out of me, and a little blood as well. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, shakily pushing myself back into stance.
"Well, well, we have a fighter,. Impressive," The shark man amusedly spoke. "That's expected from the Murasaki Clan."
They knew who I was. I straightened my back, raising my sword, glowering at the man with pure rage. "What do you want from me?" I questioned, my heart beating rapidly out of my chest. I wasn't going to go down without a fight.
The shark man kept his grin, glancing at his partner. Neither men responded.
The man named Itachi had a stoic demeanor, silent, tactical. The way he held himself spoke volumes on his power. I was no match for either of these guys. I looked at Kisame firmly, but when I turned to look at Itachi, I realized just how handsome he was up close, and my eyes quickly darted away. I could feel a soft warmth begin to stain my cheeks and reveal my thoughts, but my survival instincts kicked in, marking him as the enemy. Suddenly, his eyes met mine, endless onyx transforming into a piercing red.
Suddenly, I felt the gravity of this man's prowess, the power of his kekkei genkai radiating off of him, warning me with its sweltering rage. I could feel something in his power that rattled my bones, and I broke my eyes from his hard gaze.
"Well, I don't know if you're in a position to be talking to us like that," The shark man spoke, and I remembered the conversation I was currently having. It was as if there was a momentary pause in that stare, as if something had come over me. The shark man's voice sounded grated and rough, and it gripped onto me through consciousness, lifting me into its clarity. He let out a chuckle. "No wonder you're the lone survivor."
The haze lifted, my ear twitched, my arms drooped a little lower. My head tilted as I turned to look at the shark man. My mouth was pursed in a tight, grim line, but I couldn't really argue with his logic. There was no use in anger in this situation. These men were surely stronger than me. There was something about the other man that chilled my bones, and set me on edge, never mind the fact that the shark man's sword was an entity all on its own.
I saw things as they really were, and the fire in me waned. "I see."
"Hm?" Kisame questioned. "You learn you're the last survivor, and that's all you say?"
It seemed the fire hadn't fully died yet when he made this comment, and my eyes narrowed at him momentarily before I let out a soft breath. It was true the Murasaki clan was not the most pure-hearted, or most noble, but to hand me information like that with such an edge was impolite to say the least. Had I not predicted the downfall of my clan, this news would have upset me, but I merely pushed that feeling aside. Although I was confident in my fighting ability, I was not stupid enough to tango with the likes of these men based off of rude behavior. Rage did not tempt me.
"I can't say it wasn't inevitable," I responded, crossing my arms. "So, we're not fighting. What are we doing? What's your plan?"
"We're taking you with us." the shark man responded. I felt every muscle in my body scream for me to flee, but I kept my composure, glancing behind the two men. At the small eye movement, the red-eyed man's eyes locked back on me, and I turned my sight from him.
I could feel my heart racing at my predicament, eyeing the slashes through their headbands. There had to be some reason they were rogue ninja, and they were obviously part of an organization, on account of their matching black robes with red clouds. I tightened my grip on my katana.
I could feel both men tense at this action. "And if I refuse?"
Kisame chuckled. "Well, it's too late for that."
His words confused me, I shook them off as if they had blanketed me. "Who are you?"
"My name is Kisame Hoshigaki. This is Itachi Uchiha. We are part of the Akatsuki."
I let out a gasp, understanding my fate. I had looked right into his eyes, those red, cursed eyes. It was far too late for me. A shiver ran down my spine as I processed the full name. I suddenly placed how I knew him, recalling the stories I'd heard of the Uchiha clan massacre. I swallowed hard.
I didn't reply. Instead, I turned to look at Itachi and made eye contact, examining his eyes. They looked like they had commas in them. He watched me silently, curiously, tilting his head as my glowing purple eyes scanned him.
Kisame chuckled. "Bold move, staring into his eyes like that." At the time, I didn't know better, and didn't heed the soft warning.
"Oh, we already know it's far too late," I responded, taking the opportunity to get a hard look at him. I had never met an Uchiha in person. I spoke curiously, staring at Itachi's eyes, "It is very peculiar finally getting to meet a person with ocular power like myself. Although, yours has historically proved to have a greater power than mine." This was not a fact that was unknown between the Uchiha and I, as the Murasaki Clan was practically forced out of Konoha in fear of conflict with the stronger opposition, the Uchiha, who at the time had the Senju to back them up as well.
I knew regardless of my ability to use my Kekkei Genkai, the Uchiha was too much of a match for me. I was also able to look at the sword the shark man wielded, feeling the unusual power radiating off of it. "And you, you are a Legendary Swordsman of the Mist, right?" I questioned, examining his crossed-out headband. There was no other explanation besides this one on his power.
"Well, yes, I am."
That confirmed it. My Kiro faded, and I sheathed my Katana. There was no winning this fight.
"Why would I want to join?" I questioned.
Kisame snickered as if I had told a joke. "You don't really have a choice."
Itachi was quick to respond, "Well, what was your current plan? Based on how far you are from home, you must have left the village early."
I turned to look at him, almost surprised to hear him speak. His voice somehow soothed the tension rising in my own voice. "I left beforehand. I wanted no part of the uprising. I am. . .Or. . . Was. . . Aimlessly traveling until I found a safe place, far away from The Sand Village."
Itachi lifted his chin, studying my face before replying. He quietly analyzed me. "The Akatsuki is very skilled at keeping itself hidden."
He had a point. I hadn't heard much on the Akatsuki's operation, but I knew they were not easily infiltrated, as a lot of their framework and ideology remained an enigma. "And what is the goal? I'm guessing it's not the friendliest bunch if you guys are planning on bringing me, whether or not it's against my will."
"World peace." Kisame grinned. "Leader will explain more. That is all the information I'm telling you."
I could not settle for that answer.
I lifted my hands towards my katana, a way to regain the feeling of safety, but it disappeared as my fingers slid across the material around the handle. "What?" I murmured, looking at my hands, but my left hand began changing, my fingers retracting back into my hand, darkening. "What the—What's going on?!" I shouted, my hand transforming before my eyes, until I saw a red eye staring back at me upon black feathers. The crow that emerged from what was my hand flew at my face, propelling me back into a pitch-black ground. My arms flew forward instinctively to catch me, and I realized my missing hand had formed back. I lifted my head, curling up into a ball once I realized I was being swarmed by crows — the black birds cawed and readied their sharp talons whenever I lifted my head up, forcing me further into the ground. I grew lightheaded, drowsy, dim, until I passed out into darkness.