TBD - Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 5

I feel my heart stop, then almost jump out of my chest when I feel a prodding sensation in my mind. It quickly becomes an agonizing, stabbing pain. Itachi's eyes flash behind my closed eyelids, and there's more hate and danger there than I can fathom.

My memories start to flash by me in a blur, the pain making it impossible to try holding my ground against the Uchiha prodigy shifting through my brain. Every minute, every second of my life speeds past, watched by a livid Itachi and a hazy me.

The time my little brother busted my lip with a bat. The one year I took dance and messed up my ankle during the final show. When my little sister was born and how we moved to a different state immediately after. When my military uncle came to pick the three of us up from the hospital after Mom and Dad got into a bad wreck. How I found anime and books as an escape from how useless life felt. Eventually, more recent memories start. The complete and utter infatuation I developed when I started watching Naruto and deemed it my favorite everything. The nervousness I felt when I sang the national anthem for one of the school's football games. My developing fangirl-ness at everything and anything Uchiha or Akatsuki.

Abruptly, it all ends with my falling asleep on my floor while watching Naruto AMVs on YouTube. The pain also stops, but the aftereffects make my vision hazy and give me a nauseous feeling.

Itachi's face is blurry to me, but I feel as though he's not entirely sure how to process what he's seen. He now knows me more intimately than anyone has any right to, and he's known me for two hours, max.

As I'm still getting over the mush that is my brain, Itachi releases the mindfuck no jutsu and I'm back in my cat body, headache still present.

"Anata wa kanojo o tsureteiku," Itachi says, and I'm handed off to Kisame. The shark man smiles toothily at me before speaking.

"Nande? Anata wa neko ga sukide wa arimasen ka?" There's a hint of antagonistic glee in his voice, and it reminds me of how my siblings would bicker over their toys.

The Uchiha ignores his partner, and starts walking. Kisame follows, rhythmically running his free hand across my fur. I start to quietly purr, and I end up drifting into a dreamless sleep.

~0~0~0~

The sound of rain wakes me up.

Kisame tries to shift me around so that the sleeves of his cloak cover me, but I use the movement to slip through his arms.

He half-heartedly tries to grab me, but I hiss lightly and follow Itachi. After I make it clear that I'll stay close, the shark man raises one brow in amused skepticism before following. At some point he starts talking, but I don't really pay attention. We soon reach the rain, and though it's pretty cold, I welcome it.

Staying close to the two, I start to pounce, jumping from puddle to puddle. The downpour is enjoyable, refreshing because of how warm my fur keeps me all the time.

I hear Kisame laugh before saying something to Itachi, and when I look back, they're both eyeing me. Itachi has his usual blank face, Kisame has a more-amused-than-normal grin. I flick my tail at them before going back to the quickly growing puddles.

We soon enter Amegakure, and the people are all smiles for the pair. No one notices me, however, until a small boy tries to grab me.

Kisame steps in front of me, then addresses the crowd. All I know is that he says something about me. No one tries to touch me after that.

We make our way to the bottom of the Akatsuki tower, the villagers becoming more and more scarce the closer we get to the building. When we reach the bottom, it seems as though this part of the village is all but abandoned. Itachi says, "Koi," and gestures to me. I pad over to him, my fur dripping wet, and he picks me up before the three of us shunshin into the base.

The Pein path of Yahiko sits at the desk we appeared in front of, and he glares at me when he notices his members have brought back an additional surprise.

Itachi unceremoniously drops me to the cold metal floor as he begins what I assume to be his mission report. I stay as still as I can so as not to spread the water or slip on it.

Soon, I regret my choice to play in the rain, because I cannot for the life of me stop shivering. In my human body, I actually preferred the cold, but it seems this form can't take it very well.

Under the table, where only I can see, Pein snaps his fingers. I pad forward warily, unsure of what he wants with me.

I sit in front of his beckoning hand, and unexpectedly sneeze as he reaches for me. He picks me up and sets me on his lap, slightly cradling me, and I immediately feel warmer.

It takes me a moment to realize he's probably using chakra to create the heat, and I purr contently as I slowly but surely warm and dry. Pein and Itachi continue to talk over me and the desk, and I hear familiar terms throughout the conversation, including Naruto, jinchuuriki, Jiraiya, and Konoha.

Eventually, Pein asks about and gestures to me, causing Itachi to go quiet. Pein orders Kisame to leave before another word is spoken.

After the door is shut, Itachi says something about genjutsu, and the next thing I know, the three of us are back to the grey emptiness.

"Hi, Nagato," I say, poking my hand out of the sheet to wave at him.

~0~0~0~

Anata wa kanojo o tsureteiku - you take her

Nande - what

Anata wa neko ga sukide wa arimasen ka - Do you not like cats?

Koi - come here (in context: come hither you stupid cat person we have work to do)

Hey, guys! Random burst of inspiration to write the next chapter. And maybe a few more if this feeling doesn't fade too quickly... Anyways, I want to know: Who do you think is bad, and who is good? What do you think Itachi is thinking? Or Nagato? How will he react? Also, this story is only titled TBD because the title has yet to be determined 0-0. Do you guys think I should keep it as it is, like the canon plotline has yet to be determined, or find a legitimate title? If it's the latter, I'd appreciate some suggestions.

Vote! Comment! BE AWESOME!

~ Legend 🖤