Chapter 11

-Moving Forward

Crisp morning sunshine breaches the windows of the dimly lit apartment, shining directly on the young boy's face. He tosses and turns in his sleep just as the light pans from his chest to his eyes, causing them to open. Shizake glances around with hazy vision, trying to fight the sleepiness. Blinking a couple of times, everything becomes crystal clear as he stares up at the white ceiling. Events from yesterday play in his mind, repeating like a never-ending slide show. That feeling, the one from last night bubbles deep in his gut, festering at the cold insides. The Uchiha stares confusedly at the ceiling, attempting to comprehend the unknown feeling. A sense of easiness washes over him, hugging him like a warm blanket. Momentarily he is able to forget all that hatred that chars away at his scarred heart. He then rolls on his left side, a picture frame on his nightstand being the first thing he sees.

Instantly, that serenity is shot down, replaced by the deep rage that has a never-ending source of power. Shizake looks upon each and every face on the photo, a family portrait of his mother and father as well as Sasuke's family. The face of everyone except Itachi, Sasuke, and himself seem to crack. Shizake blinks a couple of times unsure of what just happened. Must still be delirious.

The boy swings his feet out of bed, placing them on the cold hardwood floor. Cold just like his heart. Although, last night was a reminder that something else still exists. Sakura... how did you make me feel that way? Shizake shakes it off, drowning the thought in the darkness of hatred.

I have to meet with Azumi today... I need to learn more about Itachi. If it's even him they've found. They wouldn't be able to mistake that Akatsuki robe though. Hmm...Akatsuki. I should find out more about that now that I'm in the position I am. Can't get too close though... they are S rank criminals after all. First things first, I need to go meet with Tsunade and debrief yesterday's mission.

*

Nitatchi stands outside of the Hokage building, donning his raven mask. He hugs his cloak close to his body, protecting himself from the freezing temperature. A small figure lands before him, her soft strawberry blonde hair bobbing downwards as she comes to land.

"Hello Toshi," Nitatchi calmly says.

"Goodmorning, Shozen. Hm... usually Shizake is here before me," She replies.

"You're right about that... he must be running late or something."

"Perhaps..."

Fifteen minutes goes by before the captain lands, donning a brand new dragon mask. He walks up to the building, placing his back to the wall and leaning on it. He too hugs his cloak close to his body, fighting to keep himself warm. Toshi and Nitatchi stare at him from behind their masks, wondering what took him so long.

"Had to stop by the armory and get me a new mask and armor set," Shizake tiredly says.

The last to show as usual is Shītto, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, guilty of his tardiness.

The four of them look at one another before nodding and walking up the stairs, heading up to the Hokage's office. Toshi and Shītto take lead, leaving the other two in tow behind them. Nitatchi turns his head to look at Shizake, nudging him with an elbow.

"Hey pal... how'd things go last night?" The Hyuga teases, grinning widely behind his mask.

"Tch...you little...it was fine. Things went fine." Shizake replies, flustered.

Nitatchi chuckles, "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

"What are you laughing about Shozen?" Toshi curiously asks as the squad continues up the building.

"Uhm...nothing...just laughing at my own joke, hah..." Nitatchi responds, trying to cover his ass.

"...You're a weird Hyuga."

The Hyuga boy smiles, "I resent that!"

"Hehe, whatever."

Soon enough the team reaches Tsunade's door. Shizake knocks on it a few times before a muffled voice calls out for them to come in. Tsunade sits behind a large stack of papers, angrily looking at how much paperwork has amassed on her desk. Her assistant, Shizune stands to the side, holding lady Hokage's pet pig. The animal calmly sits there, warmly held in the arms of the black haired woman.

"Team Kari. You came back late last night, no?" Tsunade asks, setting down a folder and resting her hands on her chin.

"Yes ma'am," Shizake answers.

"Well, spit it out already. What did you find?"

"It wasn't a hideout at all, more of a prison where Orochimaru keeps...kept...his human experiments. The whole place was cleaned out except for one man. His name was Kankaku. Played innocent prisoner for a while before attempting to take us out, to be brought back as experiments for Orochimaru," Shizake explains.

The blonde haired village leader sets down the set of files on her desk before rubbing her temples with both hands.

"Anyways, he led a squad of some goons to attack us. We dealt with them swiftly, and I dealt with Kankaku," The Uchiha captain continues.

"Dead or alive?" The Hokage asks.

"Dead. He was troublesome, but nothing we couldn't handle."

Tsunade sighs, glaring down at her desk, "I am sorry I put you through that only to come out with nothing except a fight. I'll thoroughly examine the Intel next time."

"No need to apologize, lady Hokage. We have to follow every lead. Orochimaru is a dangerous threat who needs to be stopped," Shizake says."

"Thank you for being understanding. All you need to do for today is complete patrol route sixteen, then you will be dismissed."

"Yes, my lady," Team Kari replies in unison before exiting the Hokage's office.

After exiting the building, the team begins their assigned patrol route. Since there are several ANBU teams and such a large area to patrol, each ANBU squad gets assigned a patrol route to complete. Sets of teams are given regular schedules, the only thing more important being a mission. Patrol route sixteen takes them on the outer perimeter of the entire village, hugging close to the massive walls. The patrol remains quiet, the ANBU squad peering down at the village life below as they leap from rooftop to rooftop. Children gaze in awe every time they see the ninja fly by overhead.

"Kouen, I see something," Nitatchi yells out, peering down into an alleyway with his Byakugan.

"Take lead, Shozen," Shizake commands as everyone falls in line behind the Hyuga.

From up on the rooftops the ANBU squad sees several men backing a woman up into an alleyway. She clutches her purse, fearful tears running down her face as she continues to shrink back. The woman dons a nurse outfit, an obvious sign she works at the hospital. Her tired eyes and messy orange hair suggests she just got done with her shift.

The thug in front, a man with spiky black hair and hairy arms holds his hand out.

"Now, now...just give us your purse and there won't be any trouble," He says threateningly.

"P-please don't do this," The woman sobs, "I just got paid today...I-I need the money for my child's medicine."

"That ain't our concern lady now just hand over the purse."

The other two thugs rush to the woman's side, forcibly grabbing her arms as to hold her there to make her give up her valuables.

"Hand. It. Over." The thug demands, grabbing the strap on her purse.

Shadows leap down from overhead, knocking out the two men holding on to the woman. Both of them fall flat on their backs, taking the leader by surprise. He backs away, unsure of what just happened. He looks at his two henchmen, seeing a ninja with a bear mask on one side of the woman and another ninja with a regular but elegantly painted mask on the other side of her. In the blink of an eye, two more ninja drop down from the rooftops. One dons a dragon mask, the other a raven mask, and each with their respective painted designs.

"What is this?!" The man roars.

"The end of your days as a thug," Shizake calmly states.

"I don't have to take this shit, shadow clon-!"

The man's jutsu is interrupted when Shizake swiftly steps forward and grabs the two front fingers that form the hand-sign for the jutsu. With one quick and effortless movement, the Uchiha bends the thug's fingers back.

A crack echoes through the alleyway before a bloodcurdling scream follows it.

"AUGHHHHHHH!" The man screams in agony, falling to his knees while tears of pain roll down his cheeks.

"Toshi, Shītto, please escort this woman home. Shozen and I will take these guys to the ninja police force to be dealt with," Shizake commands.

Toshika and Kenta gently help the woman up, each placing a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. Her trembling stops once they exit the alleyway, realizing that she wasn't hurt and that her money is safe.

"Thank you," She begins to sob happily, "Thank you so much...!"

"It's our duty ma'am. We're here to protect the citizens of the village," Shītto answers, grinning softly behind his mask.

"We'll take you home, if you don't mind. We heard about what the money is for, we can escort you to the bank to cash your check if you would like. Then we'll take you home," Toshi warmly adds.

The woman wipes the tears from her eyes, nodding thankfully in agreement. Shizake and Nitatchi watch as the three of them continue down the street, disappearing around a corner. With no time to waste, they tie up the three thugs and proceed to the police headquarters.

After quickly knocking out the route, escorting the woman home, and taking the muggers to the police, everyone heads their separate ways to go off and relax somewhere. Shizake heads toward one of the many parks, eager to meet with the purple haired girl he has planned to meet with. He finds a bench to sit on, relaxing his tired muscles from the patrol. Around him, children run around the playground area, each of them wearing heavier clothing to protect from the cold that still remains. Although the snow has stopped, cold fronts keep making their way from the north and through the land of fire.

From a distance, Shizake spots a purple speck coming down the horizon. Once they get closer, he confirms that it is indeed Azumi. She immediately spots the black haired boy sitting on the bench, recognizing the signature spiky Uchiha hair that runs down his back.

"Hello, Shizake!" She cheerfully says.

"Good afternoon, Azum- Since when did you wear glasses?" Shizake asks.

The girl, surprised at first, reaches her hands up to her face, touching her eyewear, "Oh! These are my reading glasses... I must've forgotten to take them off."

Shizake squints his eyes, "Hm...you look. Different."

A red glow envelopes the girl's upper cheekbones as she reaches up and fumbles around with her glasses.

"Oh! G-good different or..."

"You look nice."

"Th-thank you, Shizake."

"So lets get down to business eh?"

The two of them begin to discuss what exact information Azumi and her informants have on the Akatsuki member known as Itachi. They go over things ranging from last seen locations, dates and times, civilian sightings when asked for a description, and general info about Akatsuki as a whole and their members. Azumi explains that although they've been at work for a while tracking Akatsuki, they really don't know much about them. There's a short descriptions for very few members, only describing their looks and what village they deserted. A lot of info was gained back when Itachi and one of the seven ninja swordsmen named Kisame infiltrated the village in an attempt to grab Naruto and his nine tails.

I remember that day, or at least hearing about what had happened. Sasuke went there...to try and stop him. He miserably failed though...being put into a state of genjutsu due to the Mangekyō Sharingan. Sasuke was never the same after that day and honestly, I can see why. Perhaps that was the turning point that led him down the path to Orochimaru...

Azumi pauses, looking up to see the Uchiha lost deep in thought, "You okay, Shizake?"

"Yeah...just trying to absorb all of the information. Please, continue," Shizake answers reassuringly.

The purple haired girl slowly nods her head, pulling up the sleeves of her red hoodie. After the Itachi and Kisame ordeal, the Akatsuki remained pretty quiet. Not much has been heard about them since but everyone suspects they are lurking in the shadows, slowly putting something together. One of the other members they have intel on is a man by the name of Sasori. He's a puppet user from the Hidden Sand village and that's really all that is known about him. He has a relative currently residing there but she didn't have much on him either besides his family background.

Slowly but surely they go over the current information present. Eventually, Azumi finishes, explaining that that's all she really has on them. Shizake sits there in silence, mentally going over everything he was just presented with. So maybe... maybe I would have more luck trying to track other members...but that would take away from the resources and manpower currently going into Itachi. My gut tells me to stick to tracking Itachi so that' what I'll do.

"So, what will it be Shizake? I can give the order to go track other members or keep on Itachi. You already probably know the consequences of the options at hand here," Azumi asks.

"Hm... keep your men on Itachi. I think that's the best plan for now... eventually I ll want to investigate myself but for now, we wait," Shizake confirms, nodding at his own decision.

"Sounds good. Less for me anyways, now I don't have to give my unit different commands, hehe."

"Yes...thank you Azumi, for meeting with me today. You've helped relax my mind for now."

"Glad I could help. Hm, I have another meeting to attend so I'll catch you later, Shizake!" The girls says as she sands up from the bench and takes off.

Shizake watches as the girl disappears to whatever part of the village she's headed to next. He continues to sit there, pondering on his thoughts and actions.

No matter what, I'll find you Itachi... even if it takes me years...even if it takes me to my last breathe.