"I've never seen Akamaru disobey Kiba," Naruto said as you walked past Kiba and followed him and the rest of the people back into the house.
"Oh? Is that so?" you asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. He always listens to Kiba, how'd you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Make Akamaru go to you instead of Kiba?"
You put a finger to your mouth, signalling him to be quiet. Naruto looked around and nodded. You waved him closer and put your mouth beside his ear.
"It's a secret!" you whispered.
Naruto fell beside you, because he tripped over a pair of boots. "Aw come on!" he whined as he got up. "Aiko! You have to tell me!"
You laughed. "Nope! You won't be able to do it anyway."
"What?" Naruto pouted and crossed his arms. "Fine! Be like that!"
You smiled and followed Kakashi to another room of the house, the dining room. He set Itachi down on one of the cushions and sat himself on another beside Itachi. You took the seat on the other side of Itachi and the rest of the people filed into the room, sitting where there was room. The last one in was Kiba. He glared at you lightly but then took the last seat.
"Are you sulking Kiba?" Sai asked as he grabbed his chopsticks. "You shouldn't, just because you lost to a girl."
Kiba growled. "Shut up Sai! What would you know?! Sakura has punched you before! So better to shut it!"
"Oh my," Sai said with a fake smile. "Did I get on your nerves?"
"Why you-!"
"Kiba, calm down," the other boy said. "Why you ask? Because you might tear the house down if you get worked up."
Kiba sighed. "Gosh Shino, you're so confusing with the way you speak," he said as he sat down and dug into his food.
You turned to Itachi. He wasn't eating, just staring at the food in the bowl before him. You grabbed the chopsticks and picked a bit of his food.
"Say ah," you said with a smile while you held the chopsticks in front of his mouth. He blinked and backed up a little. He turned and gave you a questioning look. "What? You're not eating," you said as you placed his chopsticks back in his bowl and grabbed your cup.
~Itachi~
Itachi watched as Aiko drank her water. He got an idea into his mind and didn't put much thought into it as he slowly moved his hand back, up, and gently smacked the back of Aiko's head. Her eyes widened and she leaned forward, coughing and holding a hand to her mouth as she placed the cup down. Itachi cracked a small smile while some of the shinobi at the table began to laugh and others asked if she was okay.
"Just you... just you wait until we get home," Aiko gasped out. "I'll get back at you then."
Itachi let out a low chuckle. "Sure thing," he whispered.
~Aiko~
"I didn't know you fooled around like that," Naruto said as he handed you a napkin. You took it and wiped your mouth.
"Well now you know," you replied. Naruto nodded.
"I'm surprised you're not dead yet," Kiba commented.
You glared lightly at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Come on, S-ranked criminals and you're... how old are you?"
You crossed your arms. "It's not very nice for a man to ask a woman her age."
"Woman?" Itachi asked.
"Okay, okay fine. Lady," you corrected yourself.
"You're around sixteen, aren't you?" Kiba quessed.
You shrugged. "Maybe." In truth, you were only fifteen, he was off by one year so you'll give him points for that.
"Well, in any case, I'll just go with the assumption that you're sixteen," Kiba said.
"Okay," you answered.
"How long have you been with the Akatsuki? You're pretty young to have caught their eye with whatever your power is."
You took a deep breath. "Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai already know this. But I want you guys to know as well, maybe we can get to know each other. Right?"
The three nodded and you told your story once more. Or, what you could remember of it. About being alone, always having to run from one place to another, meeting Akatsuki... the fact that they gave you what you wanted.
"They took me in when no one else ever did," you finished. "They saved me from the shinobi. And I'll always be grateful to them for that."
Some of the members gave you pitiful looks and others you either couldn't tell what they were thinking or you couldn't see their face (*cough* Shino *cough*).
"I'm sorry for what you had to go through," the girl with lavender eyes said softly.
You smiled at her. "It's okay, you don't have to worry about it. I'm not alone, not anymore. I have the Akatsuki."
"So you feel safe around criminals?" Shino asked.
You thought about it a moment. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"Duh, they're criminals," Kiba answered. "There's every reason to NOT feel safe around them. Then again, you are one of them so it makes pretty good sense now."
You smiled. "Yeah. I understand what you mean. But I don't feel any fear towards them, none at all."
~Nightfall~
"Are you sure you want to go now?" Naruto asked as you held Itachi's arm over your shoulder. "You should at least allow yourselves more time to get better."
You smiled at him. "We'll be fine Naruto. Besides," you looked up at the sky and the darkening clouds. "It's going to rain soon."
"Another reason for you to stay here," Sakura said. "You'll get soaked before you reach... wherever you're going."
"That's the reason why I want to leave now," you said. "And I don't want you guys to get in trouble for helping us. You have to get back to your village, and I have to go home."
"Alright then," Naruto said. "Be careful."
"We will," you answered and turned to walk away. "See ya."
"I'll be looking forward to when we can spar!" Naruto yelled at your back. You raised a hand over your head to show you heard him.
"So that's what you did," Itachi said once the Leaf ninja were out of sight.
"Hm?"
"When you were late with Sasori, and when you got in trouble with Leader," Itachi stated. "You were helping them?"
"Yeah," you answered as you looked down. "I know you'll probably rat me out, and I guess it doesn't really matter anymore."
"I won't," Itachi replied suddenly. You looked up at him with wide eyes. "I won't 'rat you out' Aiko. I'm actually quite curious about something."
"What would that be?" you asked cautiously.
"How did you bring me back?" Itachi asked and turned his head to face you. "That I knew of, that disease and the damage I took from the battle with my brother should have killed me. I was dead, I know I was. So how? How did you do it?"
"My Kekkei Genkai," you answered in a low voice. "I haven't figured out much about it, but I know I can ring people back to life."
"How, and when, did you find out?"
"It was when I was late the first time, when I helped the Kazekage," you answered as you thought back to that day. "Since I'm able to summon spirits and souls, I figured I might be able to summon someone's soul and return it to their body in order to bring them back to life. So I tried it and it worked."
"How many times have you used it?"
You thought about it for a moment before answering. Let's see, first time to bring the Kazekage back, second time to bring Asuma back. You frowned. And third time to bring Itachi back. "Three times I think."
"Three times," Itachi repeated in a whisper. "So you have a little of experience with it."
"You could say that... yes," you answered. "But it takes up a lot of chakra, so I still have to perfect it."
"I see," Itachi murmured.
You smiled and made a single hand sign. "Why don't we speed up the journey?" you asked as you summoned a bird and climbed on with Itachi. You took off to the skies and in the direction of the Hidden Rain. the only you hope for, was that you wouldn't get in trouble this time.
~Somewhere in the ninja world: deep underground~
"The last time this was tried, my lord failed," a snake-looking man said as he stared at the container in front of him. It was no ordinary container, it was a large, 5 foot tall 4 foot wide tube with green liquid. Inside it, floating in the center, there was a brown haired girl with bandages around her body to cover her. He smiled wickedly as her head moved up slightly and she opened her eyes for the first time. Her shining, golden eyes stared blankly down at the man on the other side of the glass. "Well, well, it seems there are some differences between you and the original."
The girl in the container continued to stare emotionlessly at him as he reached for a lever and pulled it. The water in the container was drained and the bandages loosened around her as she slowly flowed to the bottom of the container. Once the water had completely drained out, a glass door at the bottom of the container opened and the girl slid out. She was on her knees as the man walked over to her and knelt down in front of her.
"I am your master, your creator," he said. "So you answer to me and will obey my every command, understood?" It was more of a demand than a question. The girl nodded.
"Yes master," she answered.
The man smirked. "Good. Now then, come. We must find something for you to wear," he said as he handed her a dark brown cloak to cover her for the time being. The girl slipped her arms through the sleeves and followed the man with glasses into another room. His eyes glistened with evil intent as he thought over his plans for the future. The Akatsuki were all being saved by that girl, but now he had her. He glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eyes. She was the key to his plans, she was the one that played a big role... bigger than his other 'puppets'.