Your mission is to both interrogate and assassinate Lord Mizuki of the upper fire nation. It seems that he is planning to support the Uchiha in a revolt against Konoha during his visit that he had planned for in the next three days.
In order to weaken the Uchiha's ability to take over the Leaf, we will have to cripple a resource of their strength. Parts of this mission is a mission given to an Anbu who happens to be a rebel Uchiha. You are to intercept him and carry out your mission before he can stop you.
You are aware of my intentions, girl, and I am unafraid to make you aware that I do intend to destroy the Uchiha before they can take over my village. I'm sure we both have an understanding of why you wouldn't speak of said intentions to anyone.
You are to report to me when your mission is complete and receive your reward, of course, the one other than your ability to live in this village.
Lord Danzo
Aiko's head pounded as she hopped from tree to tree in her uniform. She wore the Anbu uniform but she had a special mask, which separated her from the rest. She was not an official Anbu member, she was a hidden one who worked directly under Danzo unwillingly.
She was well aware of who's mission exactly she was intercepting and saying she didn't feel guilty or nervous would be a lie. She was nervous off of the chance of having to face him in combat if she wasn't fast enough.
She would have to face an Uchiha in ninjutsu and she did not master any water jutsu and he was a prodigy. Her chances of fighting and beating him were very slim if you count how out of practice she was getting with her ninjutsu. Out of restlessness and her nerves, she shot off out of the gates an hour before dawn.
Itachi said he would be leaving for his mission at eight and that Sasuke wanted her there to say goodbye to him.
She sighed while darting a corner, recognizing the landscape and that there was a turn to be made.
I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm too busy having to betray the nonexistent trust of your brother and hoping he doesn't find me because I'm not sure if I will win that fight.
She chuckled at how ridiculous she sounded and questioned if they had a card with such an apology on it. She shook her head, trying to focus, only to recognize it was too late and she had forgotten to turn.
She grumbled insults on how mindless she was sometimes before pressing her foot against the trunk of the tree and using it to turn and shoot herself in the other direction. She growled at herself under her breath.
You're wasting your own time, you only have so much before he comes darting from the village and you know he is fast.
So she ran without break.
She went through the forest for hours of shifting between all out sprinting, running and teleporting, trying to push herself to her destination.
At about the end of her first hour was when the burn tried to kick in but when she found herself at her second hour, she was able to grow used to it as it grew numb. Now at her third hour, she couldn't even feel her legs but her destination was coming into sight. She stopped short of the entrance of the village to take a breath and make sure she was coughing up blood from the pain and burning in her chest.
She felt a drop of sweat fall down from her hairline and she sat on the ground beneath a tree for shade to drink her water. She sighed tiredly, her face was flushed from how hard she pushed herself to get to her location.
I'll take a break before I sneak in...
She sat cross-legged as she pulled out an apple and an orange, trying not to let her stomach growl.
I forgot about breakfast...
She ate in silence, the sound of birds chirping and insects in the background of her break. She hummed to herself, drawing the courage to not go against orders. She was unafraid of failing because of her plan to be able to interrogate and assassinate the man was without a hint of failure. Her issue was making sure she would beat Itachi before he could catch her in giving the body in turn for bounty.
She sighed.
She hated doing dirty work and was sure that being a shinobi would not be a good position for her because she couldn't even do hand to hand combat. But for some reason, Danzo was always completely confident that she would get the job done quick and easy.
So instead of complaining, she buried her apple core and orange peels and stood.
You're getting lazy, you need to do better.
She cracked her neck before closing her eyes.
Freeze!
She focused her chakra and found her fingertips growing cool and her head spinning, causing her to breathe from her mouth. Soon, her breaths began to struggle but she simply switched to full nose breathing and found that the ache of the cold was slowing.
Opening her eyes, she rounded the perimeter of the gate for the village before fusing chakra in her legs and jumping over it. Landing, she found that the village was completely silent and that everything was going according to her plan.
So she relaxed and tried not to tense as she hopped from roof to roof, knowing that the odd pull inside of her was her chakra spreading itself across the land of the village.
Aiko has done this before and so she was not so shocked to notice that people were not moving or even looking at her. The time frame was frozen and she was left to explore.
But she did not have time.
She only froze the area of the village and so Itachi is still getting ready for if not starting her mission.
So she climbed the tallest building, lazily using chakra at the bottom of her feet to walk it.
You're goofing around, what's got you so relaxed?
She tried to ignore her thoughts as she swung her body into the window and sighed in relief when she noticed it was, in fact, Lord Mizuki's room. He laid in his bed frozen in his sleeping state and it caused her to smile to herself.
"I could take in his memories and kill him here, couldn't I?" She whispered to herself. It seemed like the easiest plan and so she proceeded to lean over and rest a hand on his head, knowing it would give her more control over what she had to see.
When he arrived, he knew something was wrong. He could sense it and not only that but he could see something was wrong. The gates of the village were fuzzy in the eyes of his Sharingan and it caused him to want to deactivate them. But instead, he got closer and sat in a tree.
He focused the crimson eyes only to catch on chakra point in the entire village. He found himself frowning beneath his mask as he recognized the odd chakra signature.
Why is she here?...
He growled to himself when he found that all he could focus on was Aiko's chakra signature while everything else blurred.
She's in the center of the village, at the top. She's at my mission point.
He thought better than to interrupt the girl in her mission even if it affected his own. He was aware she was a strong opponent in ninjutsu and that it probably tied into her chakra.
Her presence is large... Far larger than usual, she must be in the middle of a jutsu.
So his thoughts were to patiently wait for her to finish so that he could hunt her down and question if she had, in fact, ruined his mission.
I am an Anbu, if she effects my mission, this means that I am unable to let her get in my way.
But I don't want to kill her...
Itachi sighed, tired of all the conflicts arising and only wishing he could rest through it all.
But resting meant that everything fine and falling swiftly into place.
Nothing was going okay and nothing was fine. He couldn't even contemplate his own future and it wasn't his choice. He knew the future of his clan, the one he prayed would settle this feud with their village and move on from the anger. To calmly express how they felt to the Hokage and find a solution. He wished everyone could settle things peacefully and not spread him so thin that he felt like he was going to break.
His heart was pounded and he was shaking as his breaths came heavy due to his thoughts getting so sad and upset.
He felt so alone and wished peace was more capable and reachable in this world because it was starting to scare him.
It terrified him of the things he would have to do.
It sickened him.
So he tried to breathe through his nostrils when pain tinged his lungs and he waited silently for Aiko to leave.
I'll deal with this first... Then I'll question Aiko. If I can break her down to simplicity, then I would be able to understand at least something that wasn't my misfortune.
A bitter smile laced itself on the Uchiha's lips before he noticed Aiko's chakra presence moving.
I can't show too much mercy because if she gets away and causes my mission to fail I could lose my chance at loyalty. Then Sasuke won't be safe... I have no room for failure.
So he watched as she jumped from each building and over the gate before taking off. He took a breath, readying his Sharingan before he followed her into the woods.
Aiko could have sworn that her heart had stopped beating as soon as she sensed his presence. She could feel his presence before she could notice his chakra presence and it caused her to panic.
When did I start panicking? I never panic.
She growled at herself, something was changing who she truly was.
"Aiko."
She looked up to see the Uchiha before her instead of behind. There was a distance but it was long enough to guarantee she would be able to get past him. So she relaxed her body, even though she carried a grown man on her shoulder.
"You are aware that if you stand in the way of my mission, I won't hesitate?" It was supposed to be a question for the girl but she only wanted to chuckle inwardly.
"Aren't you hesitating right now, li-ttle wea-sel butt?" She broke the nickname down slowly in a drawled tone that mentally made her cheer. She was starting to fear that the far too playful and childish persona she took on was getting to her.
She was usually confident and constantly made smart remarks bit instead she found herself bouncy and bubbly. Though she was happy in moments like meeting his little brother and others, and that happiness was true. But she wasn't used to letting it overturn her thoughts with worries and fears. When she suppressed herself too much, memories resurfaced.
Itachi's eyes narrowed.
So this was who she was...
He looked at her through his mask and was irritated that he couldn't see her face.
"You're an Anbu." He stated though it was supposed to be a question and so she nodded. So it led him to question who sent her on her mission and why was she stopping him.
But he didn't, he didn't have the time.