Chapter 125

"How do you figure?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the floor, eyeing a crack in the concrete, "Understandably she fears the other members of our organization—my concern is that her fear will provoke the seal to slip, which would cause a problem."

"Could we removed it from her?" Kisame offered, "We could seal it before we go."

Itachi shook his head. "I had her looked at a couple days ago."

"By Flower-chan—Konan?"

He gave a nod in reply, "She said that while the Jinchuuriki no longer is in danger of dying from malnourishment, her muscles are unused and mostly deteriorated. The strain of extracting the demon would only tear her body apart."

Kisame crossed his arms impatiently, "Is that such a bad thing? As long as she won't die the instant it starts being removed, we should be okay."

"She does not know what will happen. If Nariko dies before it is totally removed, the Weasel will most likely die as well," Itachi responded, "I personally believe that this could also lead to an imbalance in the statue, as the other captured ones become more alert during the process. It could cause difficulty for us if they were to escape."

Kisame grunted, and then after a pause, added: "Well, I know she's afraid of a number of us," he said with a smirk, both of them aware the Nariko avoided the Mist ninja as often as she could, "But she doesn't seem to mind Flower-chan. Get her to take care of the girl."

Itachi said nothing in reply. On the edge of his awareness, he could sense Nariko's unguarded chakra returning in the immediate vicinity—he should not be able to sense that chakra, unless something had provoked the Rokubi.

"Look, she's coming back now," Kisame said, picking up on the unique signature as well, "Read the mission file—we won't be leaving for couple more days, you have time to get things sorted out."

He nodded in reply, "I will talk to her about it, and see what can be done."

Kisame nodded, proceeding towards the door, "Keep me notified."

It was then that the door burst open, and a very nervous-looking Nariko entered. She squeaked at the immediate sight of Kisame and stumbled to the side. Both men turned and looked at her. She flushed in embarrassment and wrung her hands nervously.

"I'm sorry, Itachi-sama," she muttered anxiously, "It's just that… Hidan-sama was coming this way and I…"

She trailed off, shuffling nervously on the spot. Out of all the Akatsuki members, Hidan scared Nariko the most because of the incident with the ritual. Itachi wove his hand at her dismissively, nodded at Kisame before turning to the unfurled scroll in his lap. Without a further word, Kisame exited the room, leaving Itachi and Nariko alone.

"I really am sorry, Itachi-sama," she spoke after a moment, "I know you told me to leave, but…"

"It matters not," he replied automatically, his attention turned to the information on the scroll instead, "We were finished talking."

"Oh…"

She sat in the corner quietly for a while, not saying anything, but observing him quietly. He ignored her, focused instead on the mission briefing—Shichibi, the Badger was looking to be a difficult mission indeed. He did not want to go, mostly because of the annoyance of the mission rather than his concern for Nariko's unstable state. While it was a concern to him, he was using her more as an excuse not to go. Unfortunately it looked like they would need him along on the mission as it was. Not only were he and Kisame to capture the Jinchuuriki, but they were to stop by a hideout in Rain to inform the subordinates there that they should prepare for a move sometime around November. The Land of Earth, where they were currently located would be too cold in the upcoming winter, and they would migrate down to Rain to wait it out. Both messenger boy and retriever—he did not like being Akatsuki's pawn.

After a minute, Nariko cautiously approached him and sat next to him, looking down at the page over his shoulder. He cast a glance at her, but otherwise ignored her. He rolled up the first scroll and opened the second, reading up on the known information about the Jinchuurki who harbored the Seven-Tailed Badger, liking the sound of the mission less and less as he became aware of it's location. The host lived on the edge of Kumogakure, which was deep in the Land of Lightning's heartland. If they did not have to stop at Rain first, it would be faster for he and Kisame to go by sea.

"Itachi-sama?"

He looked at her in response.

"I know they're pretty," she said, reaching out and tracing a couple of characters on the page with her fingertips, "but I don't understand why you stare so intently at them. Do you really find them that fascinating?"

He blinked in surprise for a moment, and then he slowly began to realize that she could not read—or probably had never even heard about reading either.

"Each one represents a sound," he told her without emotion, "Put together they form words. I am reading about the issue Kisame spoke to me about."

She looked at him in surprise. "Really?" she asked in wonder, and when he nodded, her eyes lit up, "Itachi-sama…? Would you teach me? Please?"

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