Shinju is seated on a rock, dwelling on her encounter with Kakuzu. She knew their paths were bound to cross eventually but she wasn't as emotionally prepared for it as she previously thought. The light breeze tangles itself between her lavender locks as she absentmindedly stares down the road.

"Yo Shinju!" Kay calls out in excitement, catching the preoccupied woman's attention. The red head pulls her scroll to show her accomplishment. "Check it out! I successfully got the scroll and went up against none other than Kisame Hoshigaki!" 

"Wait a minute, Kisame? From the akatsuki?"

"The demon shark himself! The guy's even hotter in person and the rumors about his man meat don't do him justice; he could do some serious damage with what he's packing." Kay grins, reminiscing on the peeks she took at his clothed lower region. Kay picks up on the odd look Shinju's face holds. "What's up with you?"

"I had a run-in with an akatsuki member too; Kakuzu. He told me their leader sent him to kill me and take back the scroll I stole." She informs.

"Kisame told me the same; his leader sees us as a threat to their standing in the underworld. Plus, our leader has been purposefully destroying a lot of revenue for them to take them down a peg." Kay runs a hand through her locks as she sighs heavily.

"Yeah well, she's never been one to play fair; she'd do whatever it takes to get ahead. Now they're doing whatever it takes to protect their flow of business." Shinju surmises.

"If that's what they are doing, wouldn't that mean that Pein's sent someone after Shay then?" Kay questions as she casts a glance in Shinju's direction. Shinju returns it with a look of shock.

"Shit, we need to get moving." Shinju orders as she sprints off, Kay follows suit.

"Relax, whoever he sent I'm pretty sure Shay can handle them." Kay smirks, catching up to Shinju.

"I don't doubt that." Shinju agrees "But who is it?" The purple haired woman thinks to herself

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shay makes her way through crowds of people as she tightly clutches her bag; she already retrieved her scroll. The village was currently holding a festival. With the all excitement going on, the guards weren't too hard to deal with. The sound of joy filled laughter and music passes through the air.  The raven haired woman strolls along the dirt road, passing the happy villagers. Shay prepares herself for the second half of the mission; destroying the village.

The task Shay was given didn't really have anything to do with missing money or double crossing; it was a case of wounded pride. The young woman's leader offered protection to the village's leader, they declined and took protection from the akatsuki instead.

Shay's leader wanted her to show others what happens when you turn her down; the mocha skinned woman found this to be an unreasonably ridiculous use of her abilities. The mere thought of all the lives' that were soon to be lost made Shay's stomach turn, she didn't kill people for the fun of it; it was just another part of the job. She loathed her leader, she was intolerable and annoying, everything had to be her way. A presence brings Shay out of her thoughts, one different from the many people she was surrounded with.

Passing through yet another group of people, Shay focuses on the presence that was quickly closing in on her. The brown eyed beauty walks to a desolate location, her new shadow following closely behind. The rogue ninja stops when she feels she's far enough from prying eyes. 

"I have to say, you're a persistent one. I couldn't shake you." She admits.

Shay turns to face her stalker who stands a few feet away from her. Shay expected it to be a petty thief but not him. It was a none other than Itachi Uchiha.  Said woman studies the emotionless (and handsome) male before her in hopes of predicting what he's planning; this proves to be pointless. Itachi does the same, he looks for a way to knock her off her game. What better way to do that then take a shot or two at her?

"You're the one I've been sent to deal with? I'm actually wondering if my traveling here was even worth the trouble. This should be easy." Itachi's ruby orbs discreetly scans Shay's visage and figure, finding it all appealing to his eyes.

"I see your cockiness knows no bounds. You shouldn't celebrate early, that tends to spell out an early defeat." Shay advises, unfazed by his insult.

"Lecture someone else who cares to hear what you have to say. If I were in your shoes, I'd be more concerned with what's about to happen to you." Itachi warns her."If you give me the scroll now, I will see to it that your death be quick and painless." A kunai appears from the sleeve of the Uchiha's cloak.

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to tremble in fear of you, the big bad Uchiha? I hate to break it to you but I don't scare easily." Shay chuckles as she takes on a defensive stance.

"Planning to face me head on? You're either overestimating your abilities or you're foolish." He comments "Nonetheless, your feeble attempts at defeating me should prove to be entertaining."

The two stare at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Going first, Shay flings a kunai at him, Itachi easily deflects it with one of his own. Charging at him, Shay throws a fist at Itachi; said male blocks her fist with his hand and returns with a roundhouse kick.

Shay manages to block the powerful kick and flips backwards to distance herself from her opponent. Using his sharingan, Itachi is able to predict the dark haired woman's next move. Shay casts a group of shuriken at Itachi. Busy evading the weapons, the Uchiha fails to see Shay coming at him again. Pulling her katana blade, the fierce beauty leaves Itachi no time to react; she catches strands of silky hair and Itachi's cheek. Instinctively grabbing his wound, Itachi jumps backwards. 

"It's nothing personal Uchiha but I've got a job to do." Shay speaks as she adjusts her grip on her blade.

In truth, Itachi didn't want to have to fight Shay; he hated senseless violence of any kind. He was hoping his bad guy act would at the very least have shaken her a little. He had no such luck, the look in the girl's dark brown eyes told him that she wasn't backing down. More blood would spill if they kept the course they were going. He had no other choice, he was left with that option...

Pulling another kunai, Itachi runs at Shay. Shay meets him halfway, the sound of cold steel clashes against one another. The silent pair are locked in a battle of strength, one trying to force the other off balance. Itachi takes this time to now put his plan in effect. Crimson orbs lock with brown ones, sentencing one to a twisted world of dreams that most would never believe could be conjured.

Opening her eyes, Shay wakes to see she stands in a place she knew well; the compound she grew up in.

Everything was just as she remembered: The delicious scent of her favorite food, the light hearted laughter had by all and the loving faces of her fellow clansmen. In an instant, everything changed; the peaceful ambiance changes when soot floats into Shay's view. Said woman nearly chokes on the fumes cause by flames that swallow everything in its path. Her home was burnt to the ground and the bodies of her clansmen lay around; some were brutally slain and some were burnt to a crisp.

The sounds of sobbing and whimpering are heard; Shay turns to see herself as a child. Reaching out to her, Shay's younger version lets out a fear filled screech as flames swallowed her entire being whole. The flames shoot out and attach themselves to the forenamed female's body before she could move. As she struggles to keep her wits, a large group of crows descend from the sky and form to be Itachi.

"Just as I predicted; you failed."

"Did I?" She inquires as she raises an eyebrow. Hands sprout from the ground and tightly wrap around Itachi's ankles to hold him in place. "You didn't think I'd let you place me in one of your genjutsu without a plan did you?" The flames that threatened engulf her vanish completely.

The Uchiha male feels his heart speed up when more hands come up from the ground to grab him. He then looks down to see that the ground was no longer a solid surface; it was a river of blood that was rising very quickly. Itachi's anxiety heightens greatly when he hears the sounds of his fallen brethren call out to him followed by their blood curdling screams. He looks to Shay in disbelief, she stands there watching him sink.

"You're not the only one whose good at mind games Itachi. You've made it far too easy to for me screw with your mind. Here's the difference between you and I; I've made peace with my past, you haven't. Because of this, you're literally drowning in it." Shay speaks calmly while Itachi struggles to keep his head above the crimson liquid. He can't even manage to get a single word out without choking on the blood that he spilled so long ago.

For once in his life he wasn't in control and he had no clue what to do. In all the situations Itachi had faced, this one was the worst. For once in his life, he was terrified...

"I told you your cockiness would be your downfall," Was the last thing he heard before he was pulled under.

Back in reality, Shay stares down at Itachi. His face twists into one of great pain. Guilt eats at Shay as she turns away to finish her mission.

Closing her eyes, the young woman focuses all her energy into the palm of her hands; she kneels down and simply touches the ground. With the large sink hole that was forming, the woman only had a small window of opportunity to escape. Running the opposite direction, Shay stops to look back at Itachi. Sighing heavily, she hurriedly runs back and drags him from the area before they're both killed.

Reaching the meet up point, Shay spots Shinju and Kay waiting impatiently.  The pair release a sigh of relief when seeing their partner.

"Thank Kami, we were starting to get worried." Shinju voices in concern as she watches Shay lay the unconscious male down. "And is that Itachi Uchiha?"

"ThWhy didn't you leave his ass to die?! We'd have one less headache." Kay grumbles.

"It doesn't matter. The job is done which means we are as well." Feeling faint, Shay falls to her knees and grips her forehead. Shinju and Kay are immediately at her side.

"Are you good?" Kay asks, placing a hand on Shay's shoulder.

"Yeah, our battle took more out of me than I originally thought. But I'm fine;  just a little light headed." She reassures them.

"Are you sure?" Shinju rubs the drained woman's back.

"Yes. Let's go before he wakes up." Shay advises as she stands up with the help of her purple haired friend. The two begin to walk on, leaving Kay to lag behind a bit.

"He doesn't look like he's getting up anytime soon." The red notes, studying his grim expression and catching up to the others.

Obito appears and wakes Itachi from his nightmare. The aforementioned male frantically looks around in search of the creator of his mental hell.

"She's gone, so is the scroll and village." The masked male informs him. He gives Itachi his back. "Go meet up with Kisame, I must speak with Pein on our next plan of action." In the blink of an eye, he was gone as quick as he came.

Itachi does as he's told and heads out. He was so confused. The beauty had the perfect opportunity to end him in his vulnerable state yet she didn't take it.