Chapter 40

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"One, two, and three--wow! How does that feel, seeing for the first time in three and a half years?" 

"Strange. It's like taking everything back all at once," Qui replied honestly, letting her vision focus to see two members of Akatsuki before her. Neither looked very human.

Kisame and Zetsu had removed the device blocking her eyes and ears, allowing her eyesight and hearing return to her. The surgeries she had gone through were a success and her near-perfect vision was proof of that. 

"You must be Kisame-san and Zetsu-san of course. I can tell which is which from the vibrations of your steps." 

"She's awake. We'll go tell Leader. Stay with her," Zetsu said, ignoring her greeting. 

Kisame and Qui watched the strange ninja leave before turning back to each other, curiosity deep in their eyes. Qui was fascinated by how his resemblance to a shark was far more prominent than a human.

"Hiya! You look like a mini-Itachi-kun, 'cept his hair is black and yours is blue." 

"Itachi? Oh, we're super distant relatives," Qui said mildly. "Where is he?"

"Standing guard. Are you related to Itachi-san? Why are ya looking for him? If you're expectin' a nice older brother, I can tell you he ain't interested. 'Itachi' and 'nice' don't go together. I'm sure you know all about the Uchiha Massacre if you know you're related to him." 

Qui narrowed her eyes and dragged out an ugly, distorted smile. "I know. I don't want anything to do with him. For some reason, being in close contact with someone who has a desire to end my life doesn't sound very appealing, now does it?"

Kisame cocked his head to one side to think. "You sure hate him. Do you want to kill him? How about ya slice off a limb or two?" 

Qui laughed but shook her head tiredly. "Nah, I'm not a revenging trigger-happy type of girl. That's Sasuke's job."

"Oh, you know Itachi's little brother, eh?"

"We are ex-teammates. He invited me to come join him on his little adventure of revenge, but I'm not the fighter type. I like studying and researching more." 

"Well, just a little warning, don't try to do anything that will go against Leader's orders or I'll hafta kill ya. I think you're nice enough and not too weird, so try your best to stay alive!"

"Hurray," Qui responded. "By the way, have you seen--" 

"You can seeeeeee!" Tobi yelled, running into the room and seizing Qui by the waist then promptly tossing her upward. He caught her joyfully and swung her around. "You're up!" 

"I'm up, yay! What's next?"

"Training! I gotta teach you this new jutsu! It's super cool and really effective!" Tobi exclaimed, picking her up under his arm and marching outside. 

Without concern, Tobi left the base and headed right outside where Itachi stood, emotion absent from his face. 

"This is Itachi-senpai--say hello!--and this is Qui! Say hello everybody!" 

Qui was dropped to the ground and promptly faceplanted, while Tobi jumped up and down, waving his arms and hands wildly. "Isn't it wonderful? We've got Itachi-senpai to train with you!" 

"Ah yes, let's get an unfinished clan killer train me. I'm sure he won't try to end me while we fight. Of course, that absolutely won't happen. Yes, I can totally trust him not to end my life," Qui sighed, shaking her head. 

"By the way, Itachi-senpai really wants to kill you. You better run!" 

Qui instinctively threw herself back, just in time to avoid the eight kunai skewered into the place she once was. When she looked back at her new opponent, she could tell Itachi definitely wasn't holding back. He was coming to fight her intending on ending her once and for all. 

Qui stared at her opponent. Concern was biting away at her nerves. "Mhm. I can see that he wants to. I'm good as dead. I'm done for." 

Back in Konoha, more meetings were held regarding the Kurisani Case. 

"Does this mean Itachi will try to kill her as well?" Naruto asked urgently. "Does he know that she's part of Uchiha Clan? What about her mom? Is her dad okay?"

"If he doesn't know, he won't try. Now that he knows, he might. The Akatsuki have her and they'll push her to the limits in an attempt to gain control of her growing power. It may be unstable and unusable, but if they're smart, they'll have another incredible weapon on their hands," Kakashi Sensei muttered. 

What no one in Konoha knew, was Itachi was unable to kill Qui due to an agreement he had with someone outside the Akatsuki. Oh, he absolutely wanted to kill Qui, knowing her potential and worth was extremely destructive.

A man stared unwaveringly back at Itachi who wore his ANBU uniform, the weight of emotion on his shoulder dragging him towards despair. Itachi wished there was a better way to avoid this massacre, but he had no choice. 

"Don't touch Kurisani Qui, and I won't kill your little brother Uchiha Sasuke. That sounds fair enough, doesn't it?" 

Itachi and the masked man watched the silent village below them slowly lulling off to sleep. Sasuke wasn't home yet. Itachi pleaded in his heart that his brother would be alright. He slowly exhaled when he saw a small boy racing down the streets.  

He was a double-crosser--no, a triple-crosser. He swore to protect Konoha and, in exchange, he was to kill everyone under the Uchiha Clan. He was able to save Sasuke's life, and now he had another deal to make with his second partner. As if Madara wasn't bad enough. 

Judging the faintest whiff of a new scent, Itachi could tell his partner-in-crime had recent contact with "Qui." Itachi didn't know this person nor why his partner would want him or her. All he knew was when his partner was interested in someone, he would go to great lengths, ignoring morals, to get that person. 

Itachi didn't want Qui to fall into the wrong hands. If he were to be unable to do that, then at least he would end her. She was dangerous and must be stopped. She wasn't ignorant of the future before her.

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