POV - Hangetsu:
"Han! Han! Please! I need you to wake up!" someone shouted as they shook me vigorously.
I slowly opened my eyes. Auburn hair was dripping onto my face, blocking my vision. It was long and silky smooth. "Lady Y/n?" I said, pushing the hair aside. I blinked and then rubbed my eyes.
"No. Han. It's me, Mei. Y/n's nowhere to be found!" the woman, who reminded me of Lady Y/n, said. She wore an anxious expression. Sweat was dripping from her forehead.
Burying her face in her hands, she hesitated. She tried to speak up, but she couldn't. "No... This can't be happening... No... She's alone somewhere."
She removed her hands, revealing her teary face. "I thought she would be here."
I didn't know what she was talking about. Lady Y/n was just here. The last thing I remember was holding onto her, laying on her back. She must've put me down. She's still here, though. Right?
I straightened myself, sitting up. "What are you talking about?" I laughed nervously. "Lady Y/n was right here. She was carrying me just a few minutes ago." I scanned the area around us. I held my breath.
She wasn't here. No. She had to be here.
She is playing with me. "It's not nice to hide, Lady Y/n!" I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth. "We know you're here."
No response. "She's playing around..."
"Han..." Lady Mei placed a hand on my shoulder. "She was not—"
"No! She's here somewhere I know! She has—" I choked up. "She has to be here! The Akatsuki couldn't have. No. No." I chuckled, slowly tearing up. The tears kept coming. And I couldn't stop them. I tried convincing myself something that wasn't true.
Lady Y/n wasn't here. I knew that very well. But, I kept denying it.
"Lady Mei, please tell me she's here!" I begged her.
She shook her head. Her hand's grip tightened on my shoulder then loosened. "You were the only one here..."
I grabbed my hair, pulling my head down to my knees. Lady Y/n was gone. She was going to die. The Akatsuki was going to kill her. I didn't know what to do. I felt like I was going insane.
Lady Mei tried to comfort me. But, she was unhinged too. And I could tell she was having a worse time than me at coping.
I gathered my courage, trying to say the thing I feared. The very thing I was hoping wasn't true. But, alas I knew it was the only possibility.
"The Akatsuki... they've taken her."
"What?!" Lady Mizukage gulped. The men that accompanied her gasped.
POV - Y/n:
I opened my eyes, peeking at Itachi's face. I felt snuggled—oddly warm. Itachi was holding me tightly in his arms. Unconsciously, my arms were fastened around his neck.
I was wearing his Akatsuki cloak. I didn't know when he had a chance to put it on me, but I thought it was kind of him. I didn't think he was the type to treat someone this nicely.
Then again, this was only one kind act. But, something about it—something about him... It felt different. He respectfully held me, avoiding touching my butt or bosoms.
He wasn't who he portrayed himself to be. The person everyone saw—the emotionless criminal—I didn't believe it was him.
"Hm. You can stop gawking," he said, still looking ahead. He didn't take a second to look at me.
"Huh? How'd you know?"
"I just did."
I rolled my eyes. "Sure."
He smiled at me. I blushed, captivated by how genuine it was.
He removed his hands from my waist and unfastened my hands, dropping me directly onto the ground. "Walk yourself since you're awake." He and Kisame continued to walk.
Nevermind. He's not emotionless. Just a douche.
"Hey! How dare you disrespect me?!" I yelled. I got up but instantly fell back down. My legs were aching.
"Itachi. Don't be so reckless. What if she tries to run away." Kisame scolded. He stopped and walked back to me.
"She's too weak for that," Itachi said, crouching down to meet my face. "Isn't that right?"
"I can still strangle you." I smiled angrily. My left eye twitched.
"Nah, you're too weak for that too," he said, picking me up once again. He grabbed onto my hips making me blush even harder this time.
"Watch where you're touching!" I shouted. He was lowering the standards I held for him. But I was still drawn to him...
"Sorry!" he blushed. "Didn't mean to do that."
"Yeah this energy is making me uncomfortable," Kisame smiled sarcastically. Speeding up, he walked ahead of us.
I chuckled.
This was strange. I was joking and having fun with people who could be leading me to my death. Didn't they plan on selling me to the black market? They would eventually have to kill me. And yet, I was so comfortable with them. Was I an idiot?
༄༄༄༄༄༄༄
It started to rain, so we took shelter in one of the Akatsuki hideouts that were nearby.
The hideout was a cave. It was dusty and unkempt. It didn't look like anyone had been there in ages.
Itachi took me deeper into the cave. Then he lowered me to the ground, placing me onto the cave floor. I laid back on the cave wall that was behind me.
"Thank—"
Without warning me, he tightly grasped my hands. I blushed heavily. He grabbed a rope, tying my wrists against my biceps.
"What the hell?" I couldn't extend my arms. They were restrained.
"It's to make sure you can't make any hand signs. We don't want you escaping."
"And here I thought we could be friends. Guess you do want me killed."
"I..." he uttered, looking up, then back at me. He made his tone more serious and assertive. "I could care less about what happens to you. Need I remind you that we're going to sell you for your bounty."
"Am I that much of a threat that you have to restrain me?" I smirked. "Are you scared to fight me, little boy?"
Itachi chuckled. "No. It's just a precautionary measure."
You didn't answer the question, though. I smirked.
I was sure he'd just acknowledged my strength. It made me feel good but at the same time, it reminded me of why I was captured in the first place. If I didn't do anything to escape now, I would die. I knew my last stop could be a collection agency.
"Anyway, you can rest for now. At least until we have to move again."
POV - Mei:
We checked the area nearby, searching everywhere to find my sister. I didn't know where she could be, but I was hoping she hadn't gotten far. Idiot! You fucked up again!
I was disappointed in myself. I let Y/n slip through my hands. If only I hadn't gotten drunk that night with Toshiro. My sister was going to get killed because of my mistakes.
I didn't stop dad from marching to his death, but I could've stopped her. At least I could have kept her in check. But I didn't. I wasn't hard enough on her.
"Lady Mizukage, please talk to me," Hangetsu said, trying to muster a smile. It was a weak smile and it wasn't genuine. It was filled with pain and worry. He could sense I wasn't doing alright.
"Han. I'm really afraid. It's all my fault she got captured." I cried, trying my best to stay strong. It wasn't working.
Han let out a nervous laugh. "Your fault? Lady Mizukage... it's all my fault. I failed to protect Lady Y/n. She's going to die because of how weak I was."
I frowned. "Please don't blame yourself." Even though we were pacing through the forest, I was able to place my hand on his cheek. "We'll find her... she'll be okay."
He gave me an insincere nod. "I hope so."
POV - Y/n:
Days had passed by and we had finally set out to go somewhere else. I was relieved since it would give me a better chance of escape and there was nothing to do in the cave.
In a way, there's nothing I can do now either. My arms are tied. Literally.
"Thank goodness. It was getting claustrophobic in there." I said.
It was a sunny day and we were walking on a path next to a flower field. Kisame was walking in front of me while Itachi was trailing behind me. I was sandwiched between them. They had done this purposefully, to make sure if I did try to run, they'd be able to catch me.
"So... where are we going?" I asked.
"We're going to the next Aka—"
"You don't need to know." Itachi cut off Kisame. "It's not a good idea to share too much information with her, Kisame." His tone was stern.
I frowned.
"Remember, she's just..." Itachi paused. "Bounty."
"Call me bounty again and I'll kill you." Bloodlust oozed from my body, seeping into my aura.
I hated talking about my bounty. Imagine how much I hate being addressed like that. I've told everyone many times that my bounty is irrelevant. They'll never learn.
Kisame and Itachi didn't try to say anything in response. Instead, they continued to walk in silence.
༄༄༄༄༄༄༄
I could hear the sound of a bustling village nearby. I'd almost forgotten what it was like since we had been traveling for so long.
I stretched out my arms. Itachi had just untied them earlier. My arms had imprints from the rope they had used to tie my wrists against my shoulders. If Itachi hadn't untied my arms, they would've fallen off by now. It took a while to awaken them since they had fallen asleep.
Itachi and Kisame sent me out on a mission. Or at least I'm assuming that's what this is. They wanted me to go into the village to get some food and supplies. I also need to find if there is a place we could possibly stay. There was still a day or two walk till we would reach the Akatsuki hideout they wanted to go to.
It was a foolish decision on Kisame's part for letting so much information slip. Even though they were trying to maintain complete secrecy, I knew most of their plans. I even knew where the Akatsuki hideout was located.
It was also risky to let me roam around freely. How are they so sure I'll fully adhere to all their rules while they're not watching? I could run away or escape right now if I wanted to. They weren't anywhere in sight.
I could expose their location to the Hachō Village—the place I was going to right now. That could foil all of their plans. Or it could hinder the items on their schedule.
But for some reason, I didn't want to do that. I was considering abiding by their rules. I don't know what I was thinking. Some part of me took a liking to them and I enjoyed their company.
There was so much more excitement, something I craved dearly when I was confined in Kirigakure. I liked the unpredictableness... Itachi's cold and cocky demeanor... Kisame's sarcastic and humorous remarks. I wasn't ready to give them up.
I came to the decision that I wasn't going to try to escape. At least not yet.
༄༄༄༄༄༄༄
"Ohayo!" a person at the front gate of the village greeted me.
"Ohayo gozaimasu!" I bowed.
"Welcome to the Hachō Village!" he said. He looked like a shinobi. He was most likely one of the guards. "Are you a foreigner?" he asked, trying to scan my outfit to find my headband.
Since I had broken away from the Hidden Mist, I had slashed part of my headband. It was a way to signify disapproval of my treatment. But I didn't want him to know I was a rogue ninja, so I covered my headband with strands of my hair.
"Yes, yes. I'm from Kirigakure. I'm just here to restock for my journey." I said, laughing nervously.
"Oh, I see. I hope you have a nice time at our village." He smiled and moved out of my way. He let me pass and enter the village. Wtf... he didn't recognize me?! Oh my god. For the first time, someone didn't recognize me. And it seems like the Hidden Mist hadn't announced that one of their ninjas had gone rogue.
This was a good thing because it meant fewer people were looking for me. And, not as many people know about my bounty. I guess my bounty is just a big thing in the Hidden Mist Village and among criminals. That's still concerning, but it's better than having the whole world know who I am.
I looked around this new village. It was my first in a village other than Kirigakure. It was very different. For one, there was no river. It looked much smaller too. I'm guessing less than six hundred people lived here.
The village was less developed. This is probably because Kirigakure is a faster-growing city and needs to develop quickly. Regardless of all of that, it was still beautiful. The people were energetic and lively. It looked like most of the people living here knew each other pretty well.
Okay. What do I need to do?
The first matter at hand was to find a hotel or someplace we could stay for the night. We needed to rejuvenate and get ready for tomorrow's long journey. Then I needed to find some food to take back to them. Let's see how much money they gave.
I counted the money in my hand. One hundred... One hundred and five ryō? I can't buy a good meal with this. Do they expect me to use my own money?
I dug into my pockets. No! They did not loot me while I was knocked out! I made my hand into a fist. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, you'll be sorry for taking my money. I smiled maliciously.
I looked at the money in my hands. I sighed, gripping the cash tightly. It was wrinkled.
I noticed a group of people crowded around a corner of the street. Naturally, I was curious. So I needed to get a closer look.
A boy cupped his hands. He shook his hands together. I could hear the rattle of dice in his hand. Everyone eagerly waited. They were silent.
The boy opened his hands as the dice came flying out. The dealer counted the dots. "Aw... Sorry. Maybe next time." He tried to sound sorry, but he couldn't hide his smile.
Gambling bothered me. And the dealers pissed me off. But I was going to participate anyway because I needed more money. And I wanted to smack that grin off of the dealer's face. I'm sure he wasn't scamming or anything. But I still didn't like the vibe he was giving.
"Would anyone like to try?" he asked.
I pushed aside two people who were in front of me. "Me." I pointed at myself.
"You don't look like you're from around here," he said.
"I'm not. But I know I'll be able to beat you at this game." I claimed confidently. I raised my foot, resting it against the table.
"You seem cocky."
"I am, because I'm just that good."
People shook their heads. "If we can't beat him, how does a foreigner expect to?"
"This is going to be embarrassing for her." Someone in the crowd facepalmed.