A Different Kind Of Journey

Author"s note: Hey there Readers!, I"m back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.

Special Short Chapter: The Other Side Of Life.

Life of as an Akatsuki member was not that simple and easy. Once you were a member of the organization, you"ll be branded as an enemy of fugitive for a life. It"s either you"ll end up being captured alive or just being simply end up dead. Once you become one with the organization, you"ll be placed on the wanted list on every place you went to.

At least for one Itachi Uchiha, He would always have a plan for almost every problem that plague him as an Akatsuki member. He was part of the organization for years now and He was used to living a life as fugitive, travelling from place to place and avoiding the every authority that blocked his way.

Right now, He, along with fellow Akatsuki member, Kisame found themselves in a small village somewhere in one of the provinces of the Land of the Fire. The village itself was simple and peaceful, its commercial district which was the located at the heart of village was the busiest and most alive in the said place.

The small village also had a small lake which was situated at the nearby forest.

The Two men, who were dressed in their civilian clothing, walked through the streets as they were looking for a place to stay, such as a simple Inn, for tkzdthe night.

"You think we"ll find and inn here Itachi? This is a small village that looks so suspicious in my eyes." Kisame said. He was always on the locked out for any possible danger and especially their heads were of Hillievereshe one"s every place they had been to. He just wasn"t sure about tknew. Could they probably know the ththeire givgiveawayss his blue skinned appearance.

Itachi could only sighed." Don"t worry Kisame-san, I"m sure that this village won"t recognized us." He pointed out. He would go on to explained that despite his friend"s famous blue skinned appearance, no one was seriously paying attention to him.

"Hmmm. You"re right about that." Kisame formed a question around his head. He was the famous blue skinned member of the Seven swordsmen of the mist and He wondered on why he wasn"t being recognized here, with a few exceptions though.

"Mommy! There"s a shark man walking in the streets!"

"I wonder if He can breath underwater?"

"I like his hairstyle! Reminds me of a Shark!"

Along the way, young kids started to noticed the blue skinned man and began to build a small crowd surrounding him." What the heck! These Kids are annoying!" Kisame complained. He was caught by surprised as he found himself being ambushed by a small crowd of children that began to play with him.

Itachi could only smile." You really are famous, Kisame-san." He commented.

Kisame could only whined for help as the kids were really being hard on him. Some were trying pull out his hair, some were touching cheeks and some were just staring at him wide in awe.

"Oh children."

After a little encounter with the kids in the village, the two finally set out to finish their goal of finding an inn. It was a little over in the afternoon and it took them quite a time on finding an Inn. When they finally stumbled upon one, Kisame could only rejoice as He can now finally sleep on a bed.

As night time finally came by, the two had finally settled in their room, although for a short while. It was then when Kisame asked the latter if he can come with him outside and have a couple of Sake to make the night complete at least for once.

Itachi could only sighed but he agreed only on the condition that He would not touch or bother any bottle of Sake to drink. In fact, the Uchiha himself does not even drink to begin with. He valued his health more than anything related to drinking or smoking. He was a self-disciplined person.

Kisame on the other hand, wanted to go out for awhile because staying inside the Inn might make him crazy. Plus, He hadn"t have a bottle of Sake for a long while and now was the right time for him to enjoy.

There was a noodle shop which was just a few blocks away from the Inn, the particular shop was also the nearest and it had Sake as one of the drinks available. The blue skinned man wasted no time as He headed to the shop dragging his Uchiha friend along.

As for Itachi, the next thing he knew, He was just staring and observing his blue skinned friend who was enjoying his drink to the fullest and He was even chatting with some customers who were drinking Sake as well.

The laughter could be heard around the shop. It was already night time as Itachi felt a bit little drowsy. He even yawned for a little bit sensing that his mind was ready to rest for the night. He then gave a look at the latter who was still drinking his Sake and chatting with the customers.

Itachi sighed. He wondered on when this was gonna end. He really wanted to lay down on fluffy bed back at the Inn. He then tried to think of any ways possible for him to stay awake for the next hours. After a moment of thinking, He finally found a solution.

The Young man then stood up from his seat. He was going to take a walk around the village so that he would keep his mind busy and help him stay awake.

"Hey Itachi where are you going"? A sligtly drunk Kisame asked.

"I"m going for a little walk outside." Itachi simply replied as he left the noodle shop for a stroll around the small village.

(LATER ON)

The night continued as the full moon was in its glory, giving light throughout the darkness that spreaded across the land.

Itachi gazed towards the moon as he was mesmerize of its beauty. Along with the stars twinkling at the same. He considered this a very perfect night although at the very same time, thoughts were clouding his mind.

He would always remember a memory everytime He found himself in a scene like this. Back then when his little brother was just an infant, He would always bring him outside of the house so they could watch the beautiful night sky.

It was a way for the infant Sasuke to calmed himself from crying and it did actually work.

Itachi gave a sad smile. He really missed his little brother and he was worried about him everyday and since he went on to betray the village and joined the snake, it made the situation more worst. Orochimaru was this kind of guy who was obsessed of obtaining every power that he could get his hands into. The snake was clever on comvincing people to join his group.

Itachi sighed yet again. He had to admit that sometimes he felt clueless and didn"t know what to do. He would often wished that his parents were here to guide him and He also didn"t like to be alone all the time. He was just good on hiding his true emotions.

As his strolling continued, He stumbled upon a gathering of some villagers by the small lake ahead. He also noticed that the villagers were consist of families and they were all heading into one place. Curiosity had took over him and He decided to go along.

By the time He arrived at the small lake. He was then greeted by a wonderful and beautiful sight. There were majestic lights appearing in the middle of the sky above the small lake. It was an Aurora Borealis, according to the Uchiha"s knowledge. Although, He wondered why it was appearing at a place like this when this kind of phenomenon only appears at a high alt.i.tude places.

He then tried to observed the lights further more and noticed something different about it. He described it as something more ethereal, it was slowly moving like streams of energy, and it was so majestic that the villagers were just in awe.

Sensing that this was no ordinary Aurora Borealis, He began to wonder on what was this kind of phenomenon right in front of him. It was just too beautiful.

"What you see there young man is none other than the life of this world." A voice of an old man said.

Itachi then snapped from his thoughts as He then turned to his right to see an old man who was accompanied by his grandson.

"Life of this world?" Itachi asked.

The old man simply nodded." Yes, It is the life that sustains this world and gives everything a purpose." The old man said. He was also gazing at the mesmerizing site.

"A purpose?" Itachi muttered. This was new information to him. Why he wasn"t aware about this?

The old man simply nodded." Yes wihout it, we won"t be standing here right now." He slightly chuckled.

Itachi was abit confused right now. What was this "Life" of this world that He was talking about that?

"Tell me Young man, are you not from this village?" The old man asked.

Itachi nodded." Yes sir, I came here with a friend and we are both travellers." He simply explained. He also told the latter that they were staying at the local Inn for the night.

"Oh I see." The old man said.

"No wonder everyone has forgotten all about it." He added. The old man pointed out that everyone was busy fighting and engaging wars that they have forgotten about the life of this world that their living in. He would go on to explained to the latter about the origins of this life energy.

He told the young Uchiha that this life was known as the energy or lifeforce of the world. During time of creation, the great Kami-sama created this world and breathed life to it by giving this powerful ethereal force which acts as the world"s life energy. Without that life energy or force, the world won"t survive and the people with cease to exist.

"Interesting." Itachi muttered. He also wondered on what Chakra has to do with this life force or the connection to it.

"Some say that this life energy contains all the memories of our loved ones who had pa.s.sed on to the Pure Land." The old man explained.

"They say that when we pa.s.sed on, Our physical energy will become one with it." He added. Noting that every people directly came from the life force from this world.

"And what is the Pure Land?" Itachi asked.

"The Pure land is a place where everyone goes to when a person pa.s.sed on. It"s a place only filled joy and happiness." He simply explained.

"I hope to meet my loved ones there when I pa.s.sed on." The old man smiled.

On the other hand, Itachi could only smile. He heard stories about the Pure Land. He wondered if He can still go there when his time comes. Would He be accepted there? Do even people that lived a life of danger would be allowed in that very place?

"Young man."

Itachi then snapped from his thoughts as the old man called him yet again.

"Here"s my advice, remember that there is always hope for anyone to redeem themselves. So never lose that hope and Live your life to the fullest." The old man said as he gave the latter a smile.

Itachi on the other hand just simply nodded. He was actually thinking of leaving the organization but a part of him told him not to. He then remembered that he had a purpose and that was to protect his village and he knew that he was doing the right thing.

When his finally time comes, He would say that He did what He had to doand He would be allowed enter the Pure Land to reunite with his loved ones.

A little while had pa.s.sed and the Majestic Phenomenon slowly faded away, the moon was back in charged as the source of light throughout the night. Everyone, including Itachi had headed back to the main village.

(LATER ON)

By the time He got back to the noodle shop, He was then greeted by his blue skinned friend who just now sleeping on the counter as a result of his drinking. He was also the only left at the shop as the rest of the customers had already left the area.

Itachi just shook his head and sighed. "What happened here?" He asked.

The noodle shop owner would then explained to him that the latter had took two bottles of Sake and as a result, the blue skinned man unknowingly slip down to unconsciousness.

"Plus He had not pay for his food yet." The noodle shop owner explained. He was also closing the shop down but since the last customer was still here and was now sleeping, He wasn"t able to.

Itachi sighed yet again." Don"t worry, I will pay for his food." He a.s.sured the latter that he will pay for his friend"s bill.

As the night continued, the young Uchiha found himself carrying the unconscious snoring Kisame on his back.

"He"s really heavy." Itachi commented on his thoughts. He wished he could have prevented this outcome but he knew it was too late so he had no choice but to do a possible back breaking task of carrying him.

Itachi then shook his head and sighed. The only thing that He could do was to immersed himself with his own thoughts so He that he wouldn"t feel the struggle of carrying his friend.

Days had pa.s.sed since his last encounter with the raven haired girl. The leaders of the Organization called for an emergency meeting and told everyone to stopped their recent activities and stay in low profile for the time being, Hence why He and his friend were on civilian clothing.

He thought about the raven haired girl once more, Could she really be his niece from the future? If it was, then who"s the girl that his little brother was gonna marry in the future. There was so many questions running around his head. The only way that he can think of right now is by visiting the girl once again in the village so that he can get proper answers that he wanted and also get to know her more.

Looks like Things had gotten more interesting right now.

CHAPTER END

AN: Thank you for reading the special short chapter :)