I do not own any Naruto characters or settings.  I only own my OC, Akuma Izoku.

This chapter does not contain any descriptions of blood or violence.  

I hope you enjoy the story of Izoku, Avenger of the Akuma Clan of the Village Hidden in the Shadows!

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Izoku exited the shop with Mr. Buki, the man locking up the cloth-covered door frame with a heavy chain curtain. She confirmed her shifts were daily and thanked the shopkeeper once again, waving goodbye as she ran off into the darkening street. Her expression turned grim as she ran through the village.

What do they plan to do in the invasion? Izoku thought darkly. How do they even plan to find me, let alone catch me?

The raven-haired kunoichi reached the second floor of the apartment and walked calmly to the room. She knocked on the door twice, stepping back as she heard some movement on the other side. A shirtless silver-haired shinobi answered the door.

“Yes?” He peeked out the door, opened just so a crack big enough to fit his head through was ajar. He wore his black mask and the matching strip of fabric fell loosely over his left eye, as usual.

“I'm here to see Shinku Shikon.” Izoku rolled her eyes.

Kakashi shook his head.

“Gomen'nasai, he's out at the moment.” Kakashi's eye filled with humor.

“Let me in, rojin.” Izoku pushed the door open, forcing Kakashi back.

“Easy there, tiger.”

He tousled his slightly moist silver hair; he must have just taken a shower.

“It's Panther-sama to you, misuta.” Izoku jabbed him in the chest with a firm finger. Izoku took off her shoes and walked into the kitchen. “I'm starving.”

Seeing the small bag of tea she had bought last night, Izoku heated up some water.

“Any plans for dinner then?” Kakashi leaned against the sink, facing her.

“Actually, yes.” Izoku looked through the cabinets to look for the matching tea cups that went with the teapot she selected. “I'm meeting two guys at Taste of In'ei in fifty minutes.”

“Two guys?” Kakashi choked.

“Calm down, baka.” Izoku rolled her eyes, taking out two emerald-green metal tea cups. “They know something about what the Kuraikage has been planning.”

“Couldn't you have talked to them when you had met them?” Kakashi crossed his outrageously muscular arms over his ridiculously fit chest.

Izoku swallowed, trying not to stare.

“Uhh...it would have looked suspicious.” Izoku glanced up, her violet eyes wide. “Like I was interrogating them or something.”

“But you are interrogating them.” Kakashi rolled his eyes.

“Yes, but I can't make it obvious,” Izoku snapped.

“Fine.” Kakashi walked to sit on one of the stools behind the counter. “Tell me when to get ready then.”

Izoku froze. The teapot screamed as the steam escaped the nozzle. She turned off the fire and slowly turned to the impossibly amazing looking shinobi, who gave her a look of absolute confusion.

“Un...about that...” she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. “I have to go out with these guys alone. See, they're under the idea I asked them out on a date, and I'm pretty sure they're already fighting over who's going to be the “top dog.””

“So basically...” Kakashi's sweat dropped. “You're going out on a date....with both of them.”

“NO!” Izoku squealed as she almost toppled forward. “Like I said, I'm going to interrogate them!”

“Uh-huh,” Kakashi puffed, “right.”

“I swear!” Izoku's cheek flushed as she quickly turned around to pour the tea into the tea cups. She gave one to Kakashi, leaning herself on the sink as she stuck her nose up in the air, her back facing him.

“No need to be so embarrassed,” Kakashi muttered, pulling his mask down and taking a sip of his tea.

“I am not embarrassed!” Izoku snapped. “I feel absolutely fine!”

“Uh-huh.” Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am absolutely sure!” Izoku barked at him, fuming.

“Really? So is that why you forgot to put the tea leaves in the tea?” Kakashi poured his cup of steaming hot water into the sink in front of him.

Izoku shrieked as her head snapped down to look at the colorless, clear contents of her tea cup.

Kakashi shook his head.

“Baka.”

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Izoku got dressed for the dinner, pulling out a black shirt with extra fabric at the wrist, the shirt flowing down to her hips; silky and loose on her shoulders. A pair of dark jean short shorts was also tossed on. She brushed her long raven hair and applied some makeup, generously left behind by Beam in the bathroom. She found a large silver hair pin with bright blue and red jewels, a white flower blooming like moonlight in the middle. Izoku pulled the back half of her long black hair into a loose bun and stuck the pin in to hold it in place.  She smoothed out her shirt as she walked out of the bathroom, walking down the short hallway and into the living room.  Hearing footsteps, Kakashi looked back from the couch.  His charcoal eye nearly popped out of its socket.

“Why are you wearing that?!” Kakashi rushed over to her and grabbed her bare shoulders.

Izoku puffed.

“What do you mean?” She raised a slender eyebrow. “I'm going out to dinner.”

“In that?” he barked. “You're showing half of the skin on your body!”

“That's how I'm going to be effective on the targets.” Izoku brushed him off, walking to the kitchen and pouring herself some properly made tea she had prepared right after her stupid first attempt. “They were ogling over me, so I'm going to use that for my own advantage.”

“But –” Kakashi stopped himself and released his shoulders, tilting his head all the way back so he started at the ceiling. “Whatever.”

“What are you going to do?” Izoku asked him, leaning on the counter with one hand as she lifted up the tea cup with the other, taking a sip. “Ooh, this is good tea.”

Kakashi glanced over at her with a lazy, half-closed eye. The sight before him almost made him fall forward onto his face. She was standing there, leaning on one hand in front of her. Her hips tilted to the side slightly as she held up the green tea cup closer to her face, her purple eyes looking down as she smacked her lips together ever so slightly. The black silky blouse she wore hung off her shoulders, the loose fabric shining a pearl's sheen, dark as the glimmering night sky. Her makeup was done with a light hand; her smooth pale skin glowing and her eyes lined faintly with black eyeliner.

“I...I...” Kakashi stuttered.

Her violet eyes looked up at him with an innocent glow.

“What?”

“J-just come back soon.” Kakashi cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck and tilting his head to the side, hiding his extremely red cheeks.

Izoku cocked her head to the side, puzzled. She drank the rest of her tea and placed it in the sink. She tip-toed over to Kakashi and pecked him on the cheek.

“See you later, darling.” She winked at him. She slipped on some jet black ballet flats she found under the bed and leaped almost gracefully out of the apartment. Kakashi grumbled to himself as he heard the door click shut, holding his face in his palm as he sighed.

“Oi." He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That girl will be the death of me...”

Izoku ran along the cool streets, her long raven hair swaying from side to side and shining with a blue glow under the bright lantern lights. She caught some guys staring, mentally noting to herself this will be the most successful interrogation she will ever host. She reached the plaza and thought for a moment, then turned eastbound. Soon enough, she approached the restaurant.

“Kangei! (Welcome!)”

A man at the podium inside waved to her.

“Arigato!” She gave him a close-eyed smile, waving shyly with one hand and the other pressed against her chest. “I'm here for a party of three,”

“Certainly.” The man nodded, eying her.

Check me out again and I'll kill you. Izoku threatened inside her head as her white smile continued to shimmer on her pale face. The man lead her to a booth against the wall next to the window.

“Enjoy your meal!” He winked at her. She narrowed her violet eyes, unamused. Sensing this, the host just walked away, his eyes wide with confusion. Izoku waited for the two Chunin to arrive, ordering the food in advance and some tea. She took a sip of water as she saw the two shinobi arrive at the front.

“Oi! Oen-kun! Shien-kun!” she called to them, waving. “Over here!”

“Y-Y-Yoru-chan!” Oen stammered as he saw her.

“You look nice!” Shien scratched the back of his head as he approached the table. The two nin took their seats on one side of the booth. “How are you tonight?”

“Great!” Izoku beamed. “I'm a bit hungry though; I didn't eat lunch.”

“That's terrible!” Oen shouted, slamming his hands on the table. The noise in the restaurant was too loud to even consider some other people heard the pounding sound.

“It's quite alright.” Izoku faced her palms to him, her sweat dropping. “I just ordered for us, so I'm good.”

“Calm down, Oen,” Shien whispered to the brown-haired shinobi. Korosu picked it up, Izoku listening intently to what the two had to say. “You're just going to make me win easier.”

“Win?!” Oen scoffed. “Please Shien-kun, I'm going to end up with her.”

“Well you're not looking too well on that.” Shien rolled his eyes. “Considering you're acting like a five year old right now.”

“I'm a respectable nineteen year old Chunin!” Oen barked at his friend. “I can get whatever girl I want –!”

“Hey guys.” Izoku raised her hand timidly, sighing. “The food's here.”

“H-hai.” Oen scratched the back of his head, slouching.

They ate from the hot pot, Oen shoveling rice into his mouth as they ate.

“So.” Izoku leaned her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her clasped hands. She batted her eyelashes. “Tell me more about the Kuraikage and the Konoha Invasion.”

“You're still going on about that?” Shien raised an eyebrow.

“Urusai, Shien!” Oen slapped the dark-haired shinobi on the arm. He turned back to Izoku with a large grin. “Yondaime-sama plans to take over the village; she has an obsession over a 'perfect world.' In order to make her vision come true, she wants to rule over all of the villages and eliminate all of the Kages except for herself, of course. She plans to do this by using her very own weapon from the very village she rules over: the lone survivor of the legendary Akuma Clan.”

“What's the Akuma Clan?” Izoku asked, playing dumb.  Her head cocked to the side as she plopped a spicy boiled mushroom into her mouth; this action made Oen continue with full enthusiasm.

“They're a clan with the darkest kekkei genkai the world has ever seen,” Oen swallowed his food. “Their souls are sold to their own shinigami at birth, guaranteeing them a supreme power that rivals even the Three Great Dojutsu combined; they control another dimension infested by demons! Their clan jutsu can summon any demon according to which hand signs they use and the amount of Chakra they put into the jutsu; it's the only known technique to have multiple combinations and results.

        "I hear that the lone survivor was just five years old when she used that jutsu to kill two of the best ANBU of In'ei at the time. Supposedly she used this Phantom Katana thing that only a few members of the Akuma Clan actually possess; she then escaped In'ei on a rare and legendary demon called a Hellhound.”

“Yeah.” Shien nodded. “Hellhounds are supposed to be extremely difficult to summon because they're unpredictable and picky about who their master is; she's claimed to be the most talented and genius kunoichi there was ever in the history of the Akuma Clan, and possibly the entire history of the Hidden Shadow Village. Unfortunately, she was never to be seen again after the day she escaped In'ei.”

“What was her name?” Izoku clenched her teeth.

“Akuma Izoku,” Oen muttered her name slowly, letting the words bite his tongue as his voice grew gritty with a grim tone. “It's a name that's feared by all the villagers of In'ei, and it's even forbidden to even bring her up on normal days.”

“Normal days?”

“It's the Festival of Hogo-sha,” Shien explained. “Our Panther Demon loves violence, so this is the week any sort of violent rules can be broken.”

“I see.” Izoku nodded, understanding now why Kakashi wasn't arrested on the spot for mortally injuring the two Chunin at last night's brawl. “So how exactly is Yondaime going to find her?”

“There have been rumors.” Oen leaned into the table, his hand covering the side of his mouth, whispering. “That Akuma-sama has been sighted in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A large group of ANBU have been deployed to Konoha, but so far, no good reports have come back.”

“Are you even sure it's her?” Izoku clenched her fists.

“Hai." Shien nodded again. “We've actually never seen her ourselves; there are no pictures of her or anything. All of the ninja who are finding her now have to go off of descriptions and rough sketches on what she would look like today. Shikashi, one of the ANBU who saw her the night she escaped confirmed with full enthusiasm it was absolutely her.”

“I see.” Izoku murmured once more. “So what's the plan to capture Izoku?”

It was odd to say her own name to strangers, role playing as another person.

“We don't know.” Oen shrugged. “Yondaime-sama has that plan inside her head. Who knows what she'll do.”

“Hai.” Izoku sighed.

“Demo,” Shien interjected. “I do hear Yondaime-sama is the strongest Kuraikage in history. She'll stop at nothing to capture Akuma-sama. She's ready to deploy the rest of her more experienced ANBU to Konoha; that's why she's demanding more Jonin and ANBU members.”

“Check please!” Oen waved to the table's waitress as he slumped back onto the booth, stuffed.

“I got it.” Izoku reached into her pocket and pulled out some money.

“Oh no.” Shien shook his hand at her. “We've got it; we're the men.”

Izoku boiled.

What is up with men? she snarled. Do I look vulnerable or something?

“Arigato!” the waitress said as she bowed to the two Chunin who gave her the money.

“Do you want to watch the fireworks with us tonight?” Shien asked as they all stood up and left the restaurant. The night air was cool and chilly, their breaths could be seen each time they exhaled. Izoku rubbed her arm for warmth as she shivered.

“Not tonight, but thanks.” She gave them another close-eyed smile. “I have to get back to my boyfriend; he's been waiting all night for me.”

“B-b-b-boyfriend?!” Oen screeched, yanking at his brown hair. Shien's jaw hit the floor, his eyes wide and his skin pale.

“Hai.” Izoku smirked. “You've seen him around, right?”

“I don't know,” Oen muttered, drooping his head. “What does he look like?”

“Silver hair.” Izoku put a finger against her glossy pink lips. “He covers his left eye with a strip of black cloth, and he wears a mask that covers his mouth and nose.”

“Shinku Shikon the Traveling Shinobi?!” Shien clawed at his face.

“The man who singlehandedly defeated Boko-san and Osou-san, the Tatakau cousins?!” Oen turned to his friend, his mouth gaping.

“Hai, that's him!” Izoku giggled. “You heard of that brawl?”

“Yoru-san.” Oen turned to her, ridged. “Everyone has heard of that fight! It was the first time anyone outside In'ei has defeated a Shadow shinobi; let alone two Shadow shinobi!”

“They were only Chunin.” Izoku waved her hand at them, walking away.

“We're Chunin!” Oen barked at her, jabbing an accusing finger at her. “You did this on purpose!”

Izoku twirled around, her hair flying around graciously as she bit the tip of her finger, her head dipping slightly downward.

“I did what on purpose?” she mumbled, her glossy pink lips pouting. Her violet eyes shimmered brighter than the stars in the night sky and glowed warmer than the flames inside the paper lanterns that lined the streets.

“You...you...you...” Oen's eye twitched.

Shien leaned on his frozen friend, his head hung low as he sighed.

“Guddonaito, Yoru-san...” he muttered.

“Guddonaito, Shien-kun!” Izoku giggled. “Guddonaito, Oen-kun!” She skipped away as her long, silky raven hair swayed from side to side, the two Chunin groaning as they watched her merge into the growing crowd of the third night of the Festival of Hogo-sha.

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