Izumi's POV
"Izumi..." Kakashi Sensei muttered looking almost concerned beneath his mask as he stared at my shaky form, "Are you sure...?"
I grimaced lightly frowning at his response, "I wish I could've told you the news myself..." I sighed wiping away any moisture that had clung to the corners of my eyes, "It's alright, Sensei. It's better that I tell the truth..." My arms settled in at my sides seemingly gaining strength as my hands balled up into tight fists.
"The truth?" Naruto and Sakura murmured sporting inquisitive stares.
"Yes." I nodded solemnly meeting their eyes cautiously as I begged the words to come without leaving me with too much damage.
"Wait!" Kakashi Sensei!" Said urgently cutting off my confession as he stuck out his arm in front of the rest of us, "We've got company..."
Naruto's POV
A shadowy figure appeared before us earning a wide-eyed stare from me as I instantly recognized the cloaked man. Itachi Uchiha. Even in my distress I managed to flash a quick glance at Izumi. She was still trembling from her near confession and the way her eyes locked onto the red clouds scattered around his cloak could only be described as fear.
"Who?" Sakura asked staring at the man before us quizzically. She hadn't been present at our last encounter with the akatsuki.
"Right from the beginning..." Kakashi Sensei wore an excessively serious expression
"This guy... Those eyes..." Chiyo broke in...
"Itachi Uchiha I growled glowering at the raven-haired man's face.
Sakura's eyebrows knotted together, and her lower lip dropped as the identity of the man was revealed to her, "Itachi..." Chiyo hummed as though waiting for the memory to come to her, "Ho, this is... the child who killed his entire family...?"
"It's been awhile..." Itachi noted ignoring Chiyo's remark, "Kakashi, Naruto, and Izumi..."
"you bastard..." I whispered softy before my expression turned to a fierce snarl, "Not just me, but even, Gaara?!?" I pointed at him feeling my rage take over, "I'll beat you all down!!!"
Itachi moved slightly earning a wide-eyed expression from Kakashi Sensei, "Everyone, don't look into his eyes...!" The jonin ordered throwing his arm out to the side, "it's dangerous!"
"Well, Sakura scowled eyes to the ground, "What should we do?"
"Judge his movements from the movements of his body and feet." Kakashi Sensei answered after a moment's thought, "Itachi's Jutsu is an eye jutsu... In other words, it's a dojutsu. You'll be fine if you avoid eye contact." He assured.
"That's difficult..." the pink-haired girl muttered grimacing.
"Hmm..." Chiyo hummed doing as my sensei had said, "It's been a long time since I've fought against the sharingan..."
What should we do?" I asked urgently to the two eldest members of our team.
"'If it's one on one, surely flee'" Chiyo quoted, "'If it's two on one, take the rear."
"What do you mean?"
"It it's two on one... Even if one is caught in the genjutsu, there's one more to go behind the opponent. "She explained as calmly as the situation allowed, "Even if that's impossible, they can help their partner by canceling the genjutsu themselves." She continued, "That is if there are multiple opponents, one person can divert... and the other can move behind, to the sharingan's blind spot, and attack..."
"I see..." Sakura breathed in realization.
"Yeah, the old hag is useful." I grinned in agreement.
Kakashi Sensei broke in with another round of information, "Well... that's alright for normal level genjutsu, but... in this case... it will be a little more trouble..." Even with his mask on it was easy to see the unease in my sensei's expression.
"What do you mean?" the sand village elder inquired making a quizzical expression.
My sensei replied quickly looking less than thrilled about our present situation, "He uses an eye jutsu that surpasses the original sharingan, the mangekyou sharingan." He said to Chiyo with a sour face, "If you are struck by that eye jutsu, there is no cancelling the effects of it."
Us three students fell silent as Chiyo uttered, "A troublesome person... What in the world is he...? At her disbelief in the man before us.
"Is it alright for me to be here?" Izumi finally spoke, "I mean..." she turned toward the silver-haired man.
"Of course, it is." He answered gently, but sternly, "Believe in yourself, Izumi. After all this time you haven't changed, and I know that you're a lot stronger than we were the last time we fought together."
"Well, I'm glad someone believes it..." She sighed looking uncertainly at the cloak ahead of her, "Because that someone is never going to be me..."
Izumi... I looked at her sullen face tempted to give her hand a quick squeeze, what happened to her...? She used to be so confident in what she could do...
Izumi's POV
I don't understand how they can have so much blind faith in a creature like me... I gave a quick glance at my teammates and then turned my eyes towards Itachi's feet.
"That's Kakashi for you..." Itachi remarked obviously impressed by the other sharingan wielder before him, "That, after been affect by my Tsukuyomi only once."
The silver-haired man obliged to him for a moment presenting what else he had gathered from their previous encounter, "That's not all... After you used that eye jutsu... you became weary and immediately left the fight. Besides that fact that it requires a considerable amount of chakra, it also presents a great risk to the eyes, doesn't it Itachi?"
"Well analyzed..." the akatsuki admitted stoically, "Given that you have only fought me once..."
"Tell me, Itachi?" Kakashi Sensei taunted grabbing at his headband, "How far has... Your eyesight deteriorated?" he thrust it upward revealing his own sharingan.
"Kakashi impossible you..."
"Well, last time I was unprepared, but I'm not like that this time!" Kakashi announced with a strong sense of confidence, "This won't go the same as it did last time!"
Naruto smirked feeling a sudden burst of energy himself, "If you're thinking that I'm the same as before as well, you're making a huge mistake!"
"Naruto, I'll handle him..."
Naruto's face clenched into an annoyed expression, "What?" He grumbled lowly, "If I don't get to fight again, then where's the teamwork?!?"
"No, this time I want you to cover me." Our sensei explained quickly, "Really, I want to say, 'hurry ahead' brashly, but... even with me as his opponent, I can't handle him by myself."
There was a shift in the wind and Itachi moved his ring bearing hand, "We'll kindly ask you to come with us." He said in his deep voice, "Naruto... Izumi..."
Naruto gave me a curt look causing me to avert my eyes and lightly bit into my lip mouthing a quick, 'I'll explain later.'
"You'll have to face me first." Kakashi decided rushing forward.
Itachi easily blocked my sensei's attack as I created a wood clone donning a long katana as I did the same preparing our blades deep into his neck and chest, "You think I've gone through so much just to be captured by you so easily?!?" my voice was a shrill cry as my blades connected earning a poof from the older Uchiha as his shadow clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke, "What?" I breathed throwing a glance back to see my comrades motionless on the ground, "Guys...? Naruto... Sakura... Sensei... Lady Chiyo...?" as I turned back around my eyes burned into my raven-haired opponent, "You prick..." I returned to my barrage of attacks throwing a dozen shuriken and kunai at the man, but it was all useless as he disappeared into a mass of crows, "I really must be slipping to fall into a genjutsu Uchiha or otherwise..." Dang... Can't break free... I gasped out as two ninjas appeared behind me, "No..." my eyes were met with mint green hair and raven hair, "You two can't be here..." I shook in my sandals a tear dripping from one of my eyes as moisture gathered in the other. My heart trembled in time with my shaking as my mind clouded over in a thick fog, "You two shouldn't be here..." I repeated locking my hands over my ears, "I don't need you anymore...!"
"That's not true..." Fu and Sasuke sang in an eerie harmonious tune, "If you didn't need us, we wouldn't be here..." They plunged their hands into my chest and started to pull.
"Uhn..." I groaned out as my heart pulsed even faster. A bit of blond hair poked out from the gaping hole in my chest followed by a flutter of orange material, "That's...!"
"Izumi..." Naruto's bright voice echoed from within my chest as he was pulled free from the cavity, "What did you do to these two...?" he questioned sounding more disappointed than I had ever thought possible, "Is this what you'll let happen to me? What you're going to do to me?" I gulped as his fingers looped around my throat and squeezed in a vice grip like hold, "Will you claim you don't need me anymore when I'm gone? When you've ruined me?"
"Izumi!" Sakura held onto me as she freed me from the genjutsu.
"Are you two alright?" Kakashi Sensei asked alarmed as he dragged himself to a stop.
"It was genjutsu... It's alright now..." Sakura added with a breath of relief.
"It seems he doesn't just use eye jutsu..."
"Right." My sensei agreed, "It's finally time for the last battle. Put your all into it Naruto!"
Yeah, the first chapter I've actually written since being back! I got pretty into it too! Amazing... I haven't had this much inspiration in such a long time. I'm so happy! Anyway emotions aside I'll try to release chapters about once per week, but no promises since I do have other obligations. Welp, until next time!
-- Amy