Playing with the wolves
“Scared, ‘Tachi?”
“Extremely.”
“Still think this is a good idea?”
“It’s too late to start questioning it now.”
Itachi isn’t wrong- they’re already halfway across an inky-black, ice cold lake that serves as the gates to Amegakure.
“Whatever you say, Itachi. After all, the worst that can happen is we both die!”
He laughs as he says it, even though neither of them think it’s very funny.
“So uh- remind me what’s going on here?”
“According to Danzo-sama, or what’s actually happening?”
“Both is preferable.”
“Danzo-sama thinks I’m going to meet with Hanzo of the Salamander, to discuss the organization that’s been lurking around the village. In reality I’m going to meet with that organization itself.”
“Sounds crazy.”
“It is, yeah. Will that be a problem?”
Shisui flashes his trademark smile, tousling his curly hair about when he laughs and shakes his head.
“Hey hey, I never said that. As a matter of fact, it sounds like my idea of a good time.”
“Just remember that, whatever happens while we’re here, we don’t speak a word beyond what we’ve agreed.”
“Yeah, got it. It’d be pretty bad if we went to all this trouble just to fuck everything up, so don’t worry- my lips are sealed.”
He extends his hand out toward Itachi, hooking their little fingers together.
“I promise, ‘Tachi. We’re gonna make this work.”
“It has to.”
They set foot on the marshy ground at the other side of the lake, staring at the labyrinth of pipes, stairs and platforms looming over them. The rain pouring down relentlessly serves as their companion as they enter Amegakure.
“Pretty sure I was in a place like this in my dream last night,” Shisui half-jokes, sloshing through the flooded main street to distract from the watchful eyes of the villagers they pass. “It doesn’t look real.”
“Yeah,” Itachi mumbles, eyes fixed on the little origami angels hanging from every shop window.
Up endless sets of stairs they go, over narrow bridges and steel platforms. And as they go, the sensation of being watched follows them- and not just by distrustful villagers.
“...you feel like a bug under a microscope too?” Shisui asks, in a hushed tone.
Itachi nods.
Before they can cross a grated bridge separating them from the largest structure in the center of the village, a pair of Ame Chunin block their path, folding their arms stubbornly.
“Hey what gives?” Shisui demands. “We’re supposed to be here, ya know!”
“He is,” the older Chunin says, nodding in Itachi’s direction. “You’re not. You don’t go any further.”
“Eh? But what do you-”
“-It’s fine, Shisui-nii,” Itachi interrupts. “Please wait behind, I’ll be ok.”
“You sure about that, ‘Tachi?”
Itachi’s heart flutters uncomfortably inside him. His stomach ties itself in knots. He’s terrified, and still-
“I’m sure.”
Shisui frowns. He looks over his shoulder, then up at the endlessly gray sky.
“...If you say so. I think I saw a teahouse back there anyway. I’ll grab us some food and wait there, alright?”
The two Chunin make a small sound of approval, stepping aside to let Itachi pass, then following right behind him.
Itachi hates how closely they follow, even more than he hates the overwhelmingly claustrophobic vibe this village is giving him. He’s a caged bird, and these people are the humans keeping him captive.
He reminds himself that he’s the one who suggested to Danzo that he come here in the first place. This entire endeavour is his idea, and as such he has to see it through.
They follow him to the base of yet more stairs, leading up to a set of heavy double doors, watching as he climbs to the top, and reaches for the polished silver door handles.
Holding his breath, Itachi steps inside.
Low, red torch light illuminates the interior, where two people are standing. One, he immediately knows is Orochimaru. The other is far smaller, looking closer to Itachi in stature even though he knows that he’s closer to Orochimaru in age.
Fiddling with a lock of messy crimson hair, the smaller person is the first one to speak.
“Aww, would you look at that- the little lamb really has come to play with the wolves.”
Without Shisui beside him, Itachi feels as though he’s walking into the gaping maw of this building totally naked. He steels his nerves as best he can, fixing his eyes on the redheaded man’s forehead rather than looking him in the eye. The torchlight throws a deep shadow across his face,
He doesn’t respond to Sasori’s (his name is Sasori, right?) barb, because he doesn’t want to give him the impression it got under his skin.
“Happy you could make it, Itachi-kun.”
“It’s good to see you face to face again, Orochimaru-sama.”
“You as well- I see you’ve not gotten very much taller, though.”
Orochimaru is only teasing, of course, but it still makes Itachi bristle up. He swallows that down, however. It would be bad if he retorted to something so petty, so soon.
“We’re being watched, aren’t we?” he asks, instead.
“That’s right. Will that be a problem?”
“No. I figured we’d be watched, even if it’s not who I was told might be watching.”
He hears his voice echo back to him, off the cold, bare walls around them.
“What do you mean by that?” Orochimaru’s red headed companion asks, with a thin eyebrow raised.
“I had been told I was to meet with Hanzo of the Salamander- but he’s not around anymore, is he?”
“Hm. How’d you figure that one out?”
“He hasn’t been seen for years. Even for a hermit, that’s strange- and not a glimpse of his wife or his child in any of that time. Call it a lucky guess.”
“I suppose Shimura said that much?” Orochimaru asks, putting a hand between Itachi’s shoulder blades and guiding him along a pitch-black hallway.
“He mentioned it was strange,” Itachi admits, “but he doesn’t suspect that they’re dead. He said that Hanzo is- well, was- paranoid, so he assumes they’re keeping their heads down so they aren’t a target. But that doesn’t sit right with me- no matter how paranoid you are, someone would’ve seen you sometime.”
Sasori cocks his head, observing Itachi like he was some exotic animal on display.
“Your pet Uchiha is pretty clever.”
“Well of course he is. How else would he have caught my interest?”
Don’t talk about me like I’m a puppy, Itachi grumbles in his head.
He squints when Sasori opens a door into a more well-lit room.
“Ah, just in time.”
The woman already seated at the low table, in front of a fresh pot of tea, might be the most beautiful woman Itachi has ever seen.
(not including his mother, of course.)
Delicate hands rest in her lap, pretty amber eyes regarding Itachi with a look of vague surprise.
“This is the boy I told you about,” Orochimaru says. “Itachi-kun, this is Konan. She more or less runs the show around here these days.”
Not knowing what else to do, Itachi bows.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he mumbles.
“...You’re very young,” Konan remarks, a note of sadness in her voice.
“Itachi-kun is the precocious sort,” Orochimaru tells her.
Itachi follows his lead, as the three of them sit at the table with her.
Konan fills up three teacups- Itachi takes mental note that Sasori doesn’t receive one, nor does he seem interested in it.
The warm tea is welcome after the chilly rain outside, so Itachi keeps his hands curled around his cup. He makes sure to inspect it thoroughly before he drinks it, making sure it looks, smells and behaves the way an untampered cup of tea would. He takes a cautious mouthful, and it tastes like ordinary tea, so he decides that he can trust it.
“So he’s supposed to be the new contact between Hanzo and Konoha?”
“That’s right. Although Itachi-kun has already figured out the reality of our situation.”
“Did he now?”
Danger. Itachi is treading into treacherous waters now, and he knows it. But Orochimaru seems completely unruffled, so he’ll try to act the same.
“And has he told anyone else what he’s figured out?”
Konan directs the question at Orochimaru, but Itachi knows it’s best if he answers.
“-Only my cousin, Shisui,” he says. “Because I trust him not to tell anybody who doesn’t need to know.”
"Ah yes," Sasori interjects, with a smirk. "The lamb's got himself a guard dog now."
Itachi ignores that, even though he's sure his face turns red from embarrassment.
“Hm.”
The woman keeps her eyes locked on Itachi from over her teacup, still trying to figure out if she can trust him or not.
“Let’s cut to the chase then,” she says, setting the cup down more forcefully than she should. “Since you already know too much- what’s your endgame here?”
“Whose side are you on, boy?” she demands, more forcefully this time.
Accompanying that is more of that uneasy feeling of being watched by some unseen entity. Itachi furrows his brow, unsure of what she means.
Ah. now that’s a question Itachi knows the answer to.
“My own,” he replies.
Whatever (whoever?) is watching him puts a pit of fear into his stomach, but he presses on.
“I’ve realized recently that people around me have been lying about their intentions. What I want to do is to uncover the truth of things for myself, so I can keep my brother safe. That’s all.”
Konan seems to accept this. Her demeanor relaxes a bit; Itachi doesn’t let himself do the same.
“So, will you be informing your village of what you’ve confirmed today?”
“I don’t see a point. Unless you wanted me to speak up?”
“We would rather that particular bit of information stay between us.”
“And your cousin?”
“I trust him with my life. I promise you he won't say anything he shouldn't."
“Fair enough. And what about you?”
Itachi drums his fingers against the tabletop, thinking his answer over carefully.
“I guess you’d call me a double-agent now,” he replies. “I fully intend for Danzo-sama and Sandaime-sama to believe I’m loyal only to Konoha- at least until I decide whether or not they’re worth it. Until then, I'll tell them what I think they need to hear, nothing more."
“And if they’re not?”
Itachi smiles, just a bit- to everyone’s surprise, but most of all his own.
He doesn’t know why he’s smiling. He’s never been this scared- even when his team had been attacked by that strange masked man. He’s potentially betraying his entire village, doing something that, if he gets caught, will surely see him hanged.
And yet he smiles.
“If that were the case, I would hope I could count on Akatsuki to help me correct the problem. Orochimaru-sama said you may be interested in that.”
There’s a hush in the room, aside from the crackle of the torches.
A strange feeling fills the air. Itachi can’t place his finger on it, though he’s pretty sure it’s not entirely a negative one.
Konan hums, finishing her tea off and pouring another cup.
“...Orochimaru was right,” she says, an unidentifiable something in her voice. “We’re interested.”
“‘Tachi!”
Shisui leaps out of his seat in the cozy little teahouse, sprinting to meet him at the door. The shopkeeper watches them from behind a small glass partition.
“What happened? How’d it go?”
Itachi makes a noncommittal sound.
“Better than I could’ve hoped,” he answers.
Shisui takes hold of the younger boy’s hands, squeezing them tight.
“You’re shaking.”
“Because I’m nervous.”
“Well, c’mere and sit down. This place has the best daifuku I’ve ever had- that’ll cheer you up right?”
Itachi complies, taking a moment to bow at the elderly shop owner. The woman gives him an approving half-smile, and a bow back.
Shisui practically shoves one of the daifuku into Itachi’s mouth, watching the never-ending rain outside.
“Ya know, this village isn’t all that bad once you’ve been here a bit. I wouldn’t mind coming back sometime soon.”
“I’ll probably have to at some point,” Itachi remarks, between swallowing what’s in his mouth and immediately going for another. “By then I hope they’ll trust you to accompany me as well.”
“No kidding?”
“I don’t kid, Shisui-nii.”
“Right, right, sorry.”
A gust of wind outside rustles the origami angel in the window.
Itachi wonders if he should feel guilty for what he’s done, and for what he’s said. Maybe that’ll set in once he’s got to report back to Sarutobi and Danzo.
He’ll worry about it later.
There's always time for worrying later.