Darkness that's all there was. After he had ended the reanimation he was again taken to the cold embrace of death.
'I've finished what I set out to do, and now I've left Sasuke to Naruto. The only thing left to do is sit here in this void. How disappointing the afterlife seems to be.' He mused.
'Hmm what is that light?' He wondered seeing a small white light in the distance. 'I wonder where this will lead me.' He thought walking in the direction of the light.
When he got closer he realized the light wasn't actually far away it was just a small glowing orb of some kind and it seemed to be moving. 'Intriguing.' He thought as he followed the ball. There wasn't much else to do at the moment anyways.
He followed the ball for a time, and the entire time it stayed close to a meter away give or take. Then it just suddenly stopped and circled around the follower for a few seconds before starting again.
"Now why did you do that?" He asked not really expecting an answer. Regardless he started following it again and walked forward half a step before realizing a second too late that there was no ground there.
"You tricked me so easily... death seems to dull the senses instead of completely erasing them." He said with a dry chuckle which sounded weird coming from him. Or at least he thought it did,
"Oh well let's see where this takes me. Who knows maybe I have just cursed myself to an eternal fall. This might be what the Izanami feels like with a really short loop." All these admittedly pointless thoughts went through his head simply because there was nothing else to think about. He wasn't afraid to die he was already dead. He didn't mind the feeling of falling, and he couldn't even see the little light anymore.
Wait there's another light down there getting closer. 'I wonder-' He thought before everything went white.
When he woke up everything was blurry for a few seconds before his eyes adjusted. Years of experience and paranoia made him instantly activate his Sharingan and survey his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was what he was wearing. "Why am I back in this outfit?" He asked aloud.
He was wearing his Akatsuki garb. Completely black with red cloud emblazons across it. He also noticed he was wearing his usual clothes underneath it, and even had his pouch holding ninja tools.
"Ugh my head..." Came a voice from behind him. When he looked to where the voice had come from he drew a Kunai and slowly walked towards it. After looking around a tree he saw someone who he never thought he'd see again.
"Kisame?" He asked.
Kisame turned around hearing his name and a familiar voice. "Itachi... is that you?" He asked rubbing his eyes. "It is you, but how? You died long before I did." He said taking in his surroundings.
"I'm not sure... it may be a new form of the reanimation jutsu." Itachi said looking around again trying to pick up any chakra signatures besides their own.
It was about that time that he realized something else. "My vision..." He muttered. He could see perfectly clear again. With that thought in mind he needed to check if he still was able to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi closed his eyes and reopened them the classic red eye with three coma markings around the center was replaced with the three-pointed shape of his own Mangekyo Sharingan.
"What's happening around here?" He asked.
"What do you mean aside from the fact that we are somehow alive." Kisame asked looking to his old partner.
"My vision which had digressed to a state of almost complete blindness is now clear again." He said now looking around more carefully. When he looked in a nearby bush he saw another chakra signature, and when he went to take a closer look he called to Kisame. "Kisame. Samehada is over here."
Kisame walked over and saw the wrapped blade of his sharkskin. Picking it up he felt the blade radiate with energy in response to his chakra. "So you like me again huh?" Kisame asked the blade which seemed to purr in response.
"Kisame I'm not sure we are in the Elemental Nations anymore." He said looking into the night sky.
"What makes you say that?" He asked before looking up and seeing a shattered moon. "Well damn."
Howllllll
The duo looked to the source of the howl and saw multiple sets of red eyes staring at them through the darkness.
"I'm not sensing any chakra from these things." Itachi warned.
Kisame just smirked and rested Samehada on his shoulder. "Chakra or not if they attack us I'll shred them to ribbons."
Just then a wolf-like creature jumped out from the underbrush. The beast was pure black with white bone-like plates covering its body.
"I don't think Genjutsu will work on these, so I guess I'll have to get my hands dirty." Itachi said bringing up the Kunai in his hand.
"It's more fun to get up close and personal anyways." Kisame said with his shark-like grin.
The beowolf that first jumped out of the underbrush was now circling the two Akatsuki. As it did more beowolves came out joining the circle.
When he checked Itachi saw thirteen of them. Twelve were circling the ninjas, and one was waiting in the back. The one in the back was probably the leader judging by the superior size and plate growth.
With a final howl the beowolves leaped at the duo who just stood back to back waiting. The closest of the bunch was knocked out of the air and pulverized into the ground by the tip of Kisame's sharkskin. He then lifted the great sword and swung it horizontally at two of the other beowolves knocking them back. The bandages on Samehada started to rip showing its spiky exterior. The next unlucky beowolf was shredded by the blade.
Itachi was tracking each of the movements from the wolf-like creatures and keeping an eye on the one in the back. When the first beowolf came near him he avoided the creatures claw and sliced its neck with his Kunai. The dead creature's body started to fade away, and realizing these things weren't much of a threat he decided to try and see if some of his jutsu still worked.
In a blur he made the hand signs and put his hand to his mouth. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He said before blowing a large ball of fire at the beasts. Another four had fallen, but one was still clinging to its wretched life, and trying to swipe at him again. The wolf was met with a Kunai into the eye piercing its head and killing the creature.
Looking back Itachi saw that Kisame had finished his part of the pack too. All that was left was the Alpha of the pack. Instead of rushing in and dying like its kin the beast started to back away from the duo.
It made it a few feet before Kisame yelled. "Oh no you don't! Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
A water shark that appeared out of nowhere chased down and exploded on contact with the wolf effectively killing it.
"Well that was somewhat disappointing. What were those things anyways?" Kisame asked.
"I'm not sure, but if we want to learn more about our location and those creatures then we should find some kind of civilization." Itachi said.
"That sounds like a good idea lead the way." He said.
Itachi just nodded before jumping into a tree and climbing to the top of it to look around.
"Alright I think I see a city off in the distance." He yelled down to his partner. With that the two started jumping through the trees towards the city.
As they were traveling Itachi spoke up. "If my hunch is right and we are no longer in the Elemental Nations, but some place new then what are you going to do?" He asked.
"I'm really not sure I suppose the first thing to do would be to observe this place. I joined the Akatsuki because I wanted to see a world without lies, so if need be then I will continue down that path." He said after a moment.
"A world without lies would be a nice change of pace." Itachi agreed. "If you need help in this pursuit of yours then I will help you."
"Thanks, I appreciate it, but what about you? If we are in some new place what is your plan of action?" He asked.
"I don't know either. My sole purpose in the past was to protect the village and worry about Sasuke, but if we are somewhere else then I don't know what I want to do." He said.
"So you did lose on purpose. I suspected as much. Another lie it seems." He said before stopping.
Itachi stopped with him. "If we want a world without lies then we should first promise not to lie to each other." Kisame said.
"I agree a world of truth built upon lies won't succeed, so I will accept that promise." He said. "First we need to figure out where we are, and the fact that we were once dead isn't the most believable idea, so we may be forced to stretch the truth a bit."
"You're right... Well the first thing to worry about is gathering information like you said. My dream can come a little later." Kisame responded.
"It's not your dream really. What you have is a goal, but a goal shared by multiple people becomes a dream, so it's our dream." Itachi said with a small smile.
"Don't get all philosophical on me let's just get to that city." Kisame said with a grin.
With that said the duo silently approached the city hopping form tree to tree until they reached the outskirts of the city. With a nod to each other they went into the city this time on foot.
Since it was dark out there weren't many people on the streets. Just from first glances Itachi and Kisame could tell that this place was more advanced than the Villages they had come from. "This might take some getting used to." Kisame commented looing around at the tall buildings.
"You're right which is why we should start now." Itachi said looking towards one of the shops that were still open. "Come on let's look inside this shop."
Kisame grunted in affirmation and followed. "From Dust 'til Dawn interesting name." Kisame added offhandedly.
As they were approaching something came out one of the front windows, and when they looked closer they saw it was a little girl... carrying a massive scythe standing on the body of a guy dressed in black.
Itachi activated his Sharingan and looked to the two. "Interesting." He said aloud.
"What's interesting?" His partner asked.
"Chakra usually comes from within the body, but they are surrounded by something similar to chakra on the outside. It almost looks like a small shield." He said looking at the differences between the two. "Those energies also seem to differ between individuals since the girl's shield looks to be red while the guys who just came out, and the one on the ground seem to have smaller shields of different colors."
"So what does this mean?" Kisame asked.
"I'm not sure yet, but for now we don't need to interfere." He said watching the girl in a red cloak easily take out the armed men. "She isn't killing any of them." He observed.
"What an interesting place." Kisame added. "What's the guy in white doing with that cane?" He asked.
"I don't know but it looks troubling." He said running towards the two. Kisame followed.
Ruby was having fun. She had just kicked a bunch of bad guy butt, and now the only one left was this guy in a dumb looking hat.
"Well Red this has been an eventful evening, but this" A sight at the foot of his cane flipped up. "Is where we part ways." He said firing his cane.
"Oh shoot!" Ruby said about to jump out of the way before a large skeletal hand appeared and blocked the shot.
The orange-haired criminal was trying to figure out what he was looking at. In front of the girl he just shot at was a skeletal hand covered in orange flames, and the arm attached to the hand lead back to a guy in a black cloak whose body was surrounded by a rib cage which was also covered in the orange flames. After seeing this thing in front of him he decided it was time to escape.
The thief ran to a nearby ladder and climbed to the top. Then he headed towards the designated pickup point.
Ruby looked at the fading hand, and the person who she assumed made it appear there. She then saw the thief getting away and decided to chase him. "Thanks." She yelled back.
"Well it looks like you can still use your Susano. How're your eyes?" Kisame asked.
"They feel fine… there's no strain like there usually is. My eyes are something I can look into later, but for now let's check out this shop." Itachi said walking into the shop.
"What about the kid?" Kisame asked.
"She seemed intent on chasing that man it doesn't really concern us." He answered.
"Then why save her at all?" Kisame asked with a grin.
"I'm not sure. I guess I just did it on a whim." He replied without looking to his partner.
When the two entered the store, the shopkeeper had just hung up the phone. Probably calling the police. When he saw the duo he froze.
Itachi's Sharingan seemed to be glowing, and it felt like he was looking into his soul. His partner was more physically intimidating with how large the man was, and that hungry look in his eyes left the shopkeeper shaking. He then noticed the large sword on his back and paled.
"H-how can I help you." He asked.
"I was wondering if you knew of any nearby bookstores or perhaps a library." Itachi responded.
"O-oh well the nearest bookstore I know of is Tuskon's Book Trade, and as far as libraries go the first that comes to mind is Beacon's school library." He said slightly relieved that they weren't looking to steal anything, or at least he hoped.
"Could you point us towards the bookstore?" Itachi asked politely.
"Mmhmm." The shopkeeper said writing out directions onto a sheet of paper. "Here you go, but it is probably closed right now, so you'll have to wait till tomorrow to go." He said.
"Thanks for the help." Itachi said taking the directions and heading to leave. Kisame gave one last toothy grin showing his sharpened teeth before following the Uchiha.
As the two headed in the direction of the bookstore they heard some shouting.
"Freeze you two!" Came a voice from behind them.
They each turned part of the way to see who was yelling at them. When they found the source of the noise they saw a blonde-haired woman wearing glasses who was standing next to the red-cloaked girl.
"Is this the one who stepped in and saved you before I arrived?" The blonde woman asked Ruby.
"Yeah that's the guy who helped me out."
"I see. I would like the two of you to come with me." She said looking to the two.
"And what exactly do you need us for?" Itachi asked.
"Someone wishes to speak to the three of you." She said somewhat impatiently. It wasn't very often that people questioned her nowadays.
"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that." Kisame said bringing his hand to Samehada's hilt. "Who wants to see us?" He asked.
"Fine if you must know right now then Professor Ozpin wants to speak with you." She said.
The cloaked girl had a starry look in her eyes at the mention of the name. While the two former Akatsuki just looked at her.
"That name doesn't sound familiar to me. What about you Itachi?" Kisame asked.
"No I can't say I've heard of this person." Itachi responded.
Glynda was just shocked. Who were these two? Ozpin's name was known across almost all of Remnant, and they had never heard of him. "He is the headmaster at Beacon Academy." She said looking for some kind of recognition.
Itachi nodded. "Isn't that one of the places the shopkeeper mentioned?" Kisame asked his partner.
"Yes it is maybe we can learn something from meeting him." He whispered. Kisame nodded and put his hand back to his sides. "Besides if it is a trap then we can just kill them and move on." He finished looking back to the blonde woman.
"Right." He said walking next to his partner.
With that the four walked over to the police station with Itachi and Kisame in the rear.