You were fully recovered three days later when Granny's son and his kids came home. You could finally breathe a sigh of relief and have some help with serving customers. You were cleaning up a table from a larger group when Granny's son came over to you, "Good work Y/n. I'll finish up here, so why don't you go take a break?" You smiled and agreed, grabbing yourself some dango and tea.

You decided to take your break on the bench out in front of the shop. You were staring up at the sky and chewing on the dango when you felt the approach of several strong chakras. They approached slowly. Possible customers? You could recognise some of the chakras and when you finally looked down from the sky there was a group of nine people, all wearing the same style of cloak. You recognized Itachi and Kisame within the group.

Your eyes darted between all the people wearing the cloaks and a smile began to tug at your lips. You'd thought it was interesting for Itachi and Kisame to be dressed in matching clothes, but to see nine people dressed the same was nearly comical. You tilted your head in greeting, "Good afternoon. Did your softball game get let out early?" (Softball teams consist of 9-10 people so I couldn't help myself) Itachi let out a sigh, and you could feel several of the people begin to glare at you. Most people would likely feel intimidated by it but it only made you want to laugh more. You managed to hold it back, slowly realizing that these people probably weren't here to be customers. You had better take them seriously. One person stepped forward and looked like he was about to speak, but you held your hand up, "If you wish to speak with me, then please take your hat off. It's only polite."

Several people in the group exchanged looks like they couldn't believe that you'd spoken to person like that. The person that had stepped forward hesitated, then slowly reached up and pulled their hat off. He had an impressive amount of piercings on his face and his eyes had a strange ripple pattern. He stepped forward again, "Itachi has informed us of you and your skills." You glanced at Itachi. So he'd actually paid attention to your fight...but most people wouldn't have thought much of a fight like that, unless they had some way of reading into jutsu more than the average person. Your gaze returned to the man you assumed was the leader. You decided to play dumb, hoping that Itachi had only been guessing at your abilities. You smiled and reached for another stick of dango, "Ah yes. My skills are legendary around these parts so I'm not surprised. Would you care to try it yourself?" Then man's eyes narrowed and he reached for something inside his cloak. You assumed that it was a weapon, but you lifted the dango, holding it out to him. His face turned blank with confusion. You smiled, "I mean, I do make some of the best dango around. My skills at making dango are completely unmatched."

One of the people in the group let out a snicker, before covering it with a cough and regaining their composure. So at least one of them had a sense of humour. The man in front of you seemed thoroughly unimpressed, "Those weren't the skills he was speaking of. He told us about your fighting skills, about a unique jutsu you use." Your smile fell slightly, but you kept it from falling completely, "Unique jutsu? I don't use anything like that. During the fight he witnessed, I just happened to know how to counter the jutsu used against me and I also knew a more powerful version of that jutsu. It's not a unique talent." The man tilted his head, looking almost irritated now, "You didn't use any handsigns. Itachi knows a great deal about you and your jutsu, and the fact that you are a rouge shinobi from the hidden leaf. Named a criminal for the act of killing allies of the hidden leaf, claiming that they were going to betray your village."

Your smile fell completely and your eyes widened. How could he know these things? You'd been careful to not reveal yourself to people here. Granny was the only one who knew your full story, and she'd never even told her own children about it. You glanced over at Itachi, and he was pulling his hat off. His eyes were closed while he pulled his hat off, but then he looked up at you and you were met with the red eyes that had haunted your dreams for years. You leapt up and turned to run.

No wonder Itachi's name had seemed familiar! He was Itachi Uchiha! But what was he doing out here, with a group of rouge ninja of all people. Was he here to bring you back to the village? The fear that ripped through your body caused your eyes to activate instantly. You sprinted for the trees that laid nearby. You couldn't allow a fight of this calibre to happen close to the shop. You didn't need to look to know that the group was pursuing you. You could feel all nine chakras following closely. You gathered some chakra in your palm, changing it to your wind nature. You entered the trees and as the group entered the trees you whirled around, slicing your hand through the air, releasing a blade of wind that sliced through the large trees that surrounded the group. The trees toppled to the ground where they were standing. Had you gotten them? You stared as the dust began to settle, making handsigns for your next jutsu just in case. You were about to make your last handsign, but hands gripped your wrists and forced your hands apart. You suddenly found yourself staring into the red sharingan of Itachi. He'd dodged your attack. You shouldn't be surprised. He was an Uchiha after all. He was holding your hands, making it impossible to use them. Itachi's face was close to yours, "You shouldn't launch into a fight you can't hope to win. Especially since we aren't here to fight you. We want you to join us." You narrowed your eyes at him and leaned closer, "Why the hell would I join you?"

He lifted your left hand and angled it to show off the ring that clung to your little finger, "You tell me. You put the ring on. All of the members have rings like these." Your eyes locked on the little ring, "So that's why you left it with me..." Itachi's gaze was locked on the ring. This was your chance. You pulled your head back and swung it forward just as he turned to look at you again. Your forehead connected with his nose, hard. You then ripped your hands from his grip. You jumped backwards and moved to make your handsigns again, but stopped. You glanced around. You were completely surrounded by the nine people, and every single one of them had handsigns up, looking ready to attack. Your jutsu was good, but to reflect that many jutsu's...you'd lose consciousness almost instantly.

The man with the piercings stepped towards you again. You pulled your metal chopsticks from you apron again. You twisted them in the middle and they extended into razor sharp, narrow swords. The man stopped a short distance from you, "You're innocent aren't you?" Your eyes widened. What had he said?

"You protected your village by killing those people all those years ago. You were able to delay the fires of war from rekindling, but for only a short time. What would you say if you were given the chance to bring peace to this world, permanently?" You raised your head slightly. Peace? Permanent peace? Was that even possible in the shinobi world? Granny's request echoed in your mind.

You lowered your swords slightly, "You have my attention. Start talking."