About a week passed and everything was seemingly normal. The shop had a group of rowdy travellers that had had a few drinks. You were rushing around the tables when the flap at the door lifted. You glanced over and saw a black cloak with red clouds. You walked over to the door and bowed, "Ah good evening. I'm terribly sorry that our tables are all full, but I can serve you at the bench outside." He nodded and slipped back outside. You grabbed your notepad and followed him out. He slipped his hat off and you realized that it was the same man that had come before. You glanced around for his taller companion, but he was nowhere to be seen. You forced a smile, trying to ignore the noise coming from inside.

"Good to see you again. Where's your friend?" He stared at you for a moment, "He isn't my friend." You sighed, "Ok...your companion then." He was silent for a moment and you figured he simply wasn't going to answer you, but he surprised you, "He...had something else to do, so...I decided to get something to eat here." You guessed that that was the best answer you were going to get from this cold man. "Well, I'm honoured that you'd come all the way back here. What can I get you?" "A double order of dango and sweet green tea." You nodded, "Sounds good. I'll be back in a moment." You turned away but his quiet voice stopped you, "Have we met somewhere before this place?" You glanced back at him. Was that why he'd been staring at you every time you'd seen him? You couldn't think of where you could have met him before now. "Not that I can think of."

You turned away and stepped back into the shop. You quickly got his order ready, and as you were walking back to the front you noticed that some of the other customers were becoming overly ruckus. As you walked by their table you subtly pulled the bottle of sake from the table, hoping that would quiet them down. You dropped off the man's order outside. You stayed out there for a moment to take a breather. The man raised an eyebrow at you, then glanced at the door when he heard a loud set of voices. You couldn't help but smile, "I told you that you weren't the first rouge's we've had here, and that you wouldn't be the last. Apparently those people in there are an entire clan of rouge's that are fleeing the land of Rice. They're much more disrespectful than you and your companion were. I'm hoping they calm down before they make Granny mad...I'd prefer to not have to hurt them..." The man stared at you for a moment, then nodded.

He took a bite of his dango and hummed. "You said that you make these?" You nodded, "Yeah." He took another bite, "They're very good..." You smiled and thanked him. He glanced at you again, "Tell me your name." You glanced at him, "That's a rather rude way to ask someone their name. You should tell me yours first." He hesitated, "It's Itachi." You hummed, "Itachi huh? I feel like I've heard that name before... My name is Y/n L/n." Right after you said your name you heard a crash and some shouts coming from inside, "Darn...looks like I need to intervene..." You walked inside to deal with the trouble makers.

~~~Itachi's POV~~~

Y/n L/n... I knew that name from back when I was in the Leaf. The name had belonged to a shinobi that had attacked and killed a group of the Leaf's allies that she was assigned to guard. I had been aware of the girl before that incident since she was one of the most highly skilled young shinobi in the village at the time. She had also been my only failed mission with the ANBU. I, along with several other Uchiha's, had been assigned to bring her back to the village, dead or alive. I had been the only one to locate her. But when we had fought, she had used a technique that even my sharingan had been useless against. To this day I didn't understand what had happened. Every jutsu I'd used had come back at me with even more force than I'd sent them with, but she never used a single handsign. All I really remember of her that day was the brilliant silver glow that came from her eyes.

The battle had gone on, with me becoming seriously injured, until it suddenly stopped. She was nowhere to be seen, the only evidence that she had even been there was the massive pool of blood. I had assumed at the time that the jutsu she had used had destroyed her body. The amount of blood left behind supported that assumption. But now...

My eyes shifted to the doorway where the woman had gone. She was familiar, though not exactly as I remembered her, which made sense since she had only been 9 when I'd done battle with her. It was only natural that nine years later, she would have changed and grown up. I could be wrong, and this woman having the same name could simply be a coincident, but the memory of her warning Kisame against behaving badly in the shop came to mind. Her eyes had flashed silver for a moment. It hadn't lasted long enough for me to get a good look since I hadn't had my sharingan activated. I returned my gaze to my food. If this woman was that girl, how had she survived the loss of that much blood? And how had she gotten here? Where our battle had taken place was a great distance from here.

I was mulling it over when I noticed Kisame come into view. He must be done with his errand. I could see his toothy grin as he approached, "I figured I find you here Itachi." I didn't react, just took another sip of tea. He sat on the bench beside me and reached for one of the sticks of dango. I shot him a glare and he rethought his plan of action. He moved to get up, "You're so stingy Itachi. Fine I'll go in and order." I could hear the noises from inside becoming louder and louder while I had waited so I had a good idea of what was going on in there. "I wouldn't if I were you." Kisame stopped in front of me and looked at me quizzically. "What do you-"

Right then, around 20 men came flying out the door along with an impressive gust of wind. Kisame and I turned our gazes to watch as they scrambled to get up, many pulling out weapons as they stood. The curtain flap lifted and Y/n stepped out, looking completely calm. She walked a few paces towards the men, plastering a closed eyed smile on her face, "That was rather rude of you. To come into our establishment, causing a mess, then threatening the workers when we ask for you to tone it down."

One of the men that had pulled out a weapon stepped forward, "How dare you? Do you have any idea who we are? We're the Zuka clan of the Rice!" Y/n smiled, "Formerly of the Rice. You burned half of your village to the ground and then fled like cowards. I know exactly who you people are." The man sneered at her, "Then you know that we kill anyone who dares to insult us!"

Kisame leaned down to murmur to me, "She won't stand a chance against all of them. Are we going to help?" I shook my head, "No. It's not our job to protect people who court death." Kisame sighed and resumed his seat beside me, "I guess you're right, but it kinda sucks that you won't be able to eat her dango ever again, since you said that they were the best you've ever had..."

I activated my sharingan and watched the group. Every single one of them had pulled a weapon now. But Y/n was standing there looking completely calm. She tilted her head, "You intend to kill me? That's funny. People far more skilled than you have tried and failed. Even the great Uchiha clan of the Hidden Leaf weren't able to bring me down, so what makes a group of pathetic nobodies like you think that they stand a chance?"

Both Kisame and I tensed at her words. Kisame turned to look at me, "Did she just say Uchiha?" I nodded and narrowed my eyes at Y/n, as the group of men launched themselves into battle.