After all, beauty is much more than skin deep.
Blood poured from Uchiha Itachi's side as he ran across the forest-filled mountainside, hair whipping in the wind. He struggled to control his ragged breathing, Hoshigake Kisame running beside him and Amegakure assassins—those still loyal to the deceased Hanzo's cause—trailing close behind them.
The Akatsuki continued fleeing, trying to find a more open place to fight. The forest was a perfect place for an ambush, especially considering they were unfamiliar with this particular one. But, after much dodging of weaponry and careful hiding, Itachi and Kisame momentarily lost their pursuers.
"There has to be an easier way to do this," Kisame growled. He and Itachi pressed themselves against respective trees. "Give me five minutes and I'll have them all shredded!"
Itachi didn't reply immediately, knowing his voice would shake if he did. His ribcage burned in protest. "We will need to work with what we have," he stated, collecting himself. "This forest cannot go on forever. We will continue on for a bit longer."
The shark eyed the panting Uchiha. Sweat dripped from Itachi's brow, betraying his hidden strain. Kisame's gaze rested on a growing splotch on the side of his partner's uniform. Even through the black material, he could see the bloodstain.
"They injured you?"
"I'm fine."
"Itachi—"
"I said, I'm—fine…" Itachi trailed off as Kisame yanked the Uchiha's hand from his side, revealing the tear in his uniform and the bloody palm of his hand.
"They've caught up." Kisame glanced to see the shinobi team closing in from all directions, even above. "We should get a move on. There will be no hope of finishing the mission if we do not leave quickly," Itachi said. Kisame grudgingly obeyed.
Minutes later, the Akatsuki stumbled on a clearing. It wasn't an open field, but a rocky cliff side with more woodland below. Nonetheless, the upper area lacked trees, so it was close enough. Now, their enemies couldn't hide themselves amid the foliage, and the Akatsuki could fight properly.
"Don't do anything reckless," Itachi murmured.
The taller man scoffed as he removed Samehada from its harness. "Speak for yourself."
The shinobi team had them cornered now, and the battle commenced. Half of the group attacked Kisame and the rest targeted Itachi.
Itachi captured his first opponent in the Mangekyou sharingan. Two others assaulted him with katanas, one already stained with his blood.
The Uchiha's limbs quivered as he parried the blades with a kunai. He caught a glimpse of a fourth ninja performing hand signs for a fire jutsu. With crimson eyes, Itachi copied him.
The twin fireballs met and devoured each other, canceling the jutsu. The unknown Ame shinobi began more seals.
Itachi copied two more jutsu, both of them water, before his vision darkened. Five hazy figures ran toward him, weapons raised. In this state, he was painfully aware he couldn't block all of them.
He closed his eyes, waiting for them to come just a bit closer. A tear of blood slid from his left eye.
Amaterasu!
A wall of black flames sprang from the ground, consuming three of the five ninja who hadn't jumped back in time. Screams ripped from his victims.
Itachi had no time to celebrate his victory as another wave of wooziness swept over him. He staggered back, one hand clutching his bleeding eye while the other remained glued to his side.
To make matters worse, the darkness engulfing his vision prevented him from noticing his foot placement on the edge of the cliff. His rear foot staggered back onto thin air and, with nothing to steady himself on, the Uchiha lost his balance. Hungry onyx tongues separated him from both help and harm. The next thing Itachi knew, he was falling.
Kisame's silver orbs widened as his half-conscious partner plummeted over the edge.
"ITACHI!"
"ITACHI!" A different voice screamed the Uchiha's name in his head, overpowering Kisame's. The face of a small raven-haired boy filled Itachi's mind. The child's innocent black eyes pleaded.
"Nii-san!" he screamed again.
Sasuke…
Itachi barely retained consciousness. Death sweetly whispered temptations to give up and let it happen, but he fought it. He couldn't die here.
With renewed determination, Itachi's hands fought the air current to form the tiger seal. But, before he could continue, pain shot through his lower back as a large tree branch with sharp, knife-like twigs interrupted his fall.
A spew of blood left the Uchiha's mouth, his eyes and mouth shooting open. He fell the rest of the way unconscious, resolution gone with his awareness.
He met the ground with a sickening thud. The shinobi lay still as a rock, almost managing to blend in as one. A crimson pool slowly engulfed his motionless form.
He was alive but barely.
A pair of sandaled feet padded through the forest as strands of pale blonde hair whipped in the breeze. Seventeen-year-old Hyuuga Akira grumbled to herself as she walked, a small half-filled plant container clutched in her left hand.
"Kaede-sensei… why did you have to send me to find more forest herbs?" The blonde stooped over to examine and then uproot another plant. "Why couldn't it have been someone else?" she finished with a sigh, rising to resume her search.
One of the proud students of Karasuma Kaede, the most accomplished healer in the Whirlpool Village and older sister of their village's political head, Karasuma Hayato, Akira only resented her training when it sent to the forest to restock the herb supply, an admittedly necessary, but boring task. She'd rather be in the clinic healing injuries, which she scarcely did with her current training program.
"Okay…" Whipping out a list from her pocket, Akira did a mental checklist. "I need two more Akebia, one more Suikazura, and at least one—"
The container flew from Akira's fingers as she tripped and instinctively brought up her hands to absorb the impact. She hit the ground with an echoing crash.
"Itai," Akira winced, gingerly pushing herself to her knees. Dammit, what made me trip? Her glaring eyes descended to a large, oddly-shaped rock at her feet. Akira blinked several times, wondering if she were seeing things.
Not a rock… a person? By the looks of it, he hadn't been lying there for long. Maybe a few hours. The Hyuuga girl inched closer and raised a tentative hand to check his vitals. She froze midway. Something red stained her hand.
Blood.
Akira quickly examined her knees and other hand to find she'd fallen into a puddle of the stuff.
The source of her predicament, at first glance, seemed dead already, but, upon closer inspection, a faint rise and fall to his stomach refuted her assumption. He looked much older than her with those lines beneath his eyes, but the rest of him was young. Long raven locks framed a pale, ashen face and a scratched out leaf headband adorned his forehead. Twin trails of blood ran from his mouth, and, oddly enough, another from his left eye.
He wore a high-collared black cloak with red clouds, which concealed most of his lower body, save for the gaping wound where a great deal of blood had already pooled and dried.
What happened? Akira wondered, her gaze ascending to a trail of oddly broken tree branches.
"He must have fallen," she said aloud. It would explain all the scratches, although someone with a knife or sword had probably mugged him at the top of the cliff and shoved him off for good measure.
Assessment completed, Akira acted. She hadn't spent hours training and pouring over textbooks just to let some stranger die. However, she would have to take him home to treat him. The village hospital was too far away, and her personal medical stash contained everything she needed. So, as gently as possible, Akira slumped the Uchiha onto her back and struggled to her feet.
He's heavier than I expected.
With newfound urgency, Akira started running. On the bright side, all his bones were intact thanks to the branches he'd run into on his way, although he would still bleed to death if she didn't hurry.
Her original mission of herb gathering lay forgotten along with the abandoned plant container.
Itachi's consciousness ebbed back to him in addition to the pain unconsciousness had so graciously smothered for him. As usual, his eyelids felt heavy and throbbed painfully, but not-so-usually, every joint in his body ached like he'd been asleep for a month.
Itachi's train of thought came to a screeching stop when he felt something cool and smooth being pressed against his lips. He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes yet, but, moments later, a refreshing liquid slipped down his parched throat. Come to think of it, he did feel rather thirsty.
Wait—
The Uchiha's eyelids flew open, revealing the brilliant red irises of his sharingan.
He sprang into a sitting position, momentarily hindered by a shooting pain in his abdomen. He ignored it, and, in the process, violently seized his attacker's wrist. But, before he could cough out a demand, he—literally—began coughing up whatever had just been poured down his throat, releasing her wrist in the process.
Itachi did a double-take.
Wait, her?
"Great, just what I need!" she hissed, clutching her left wrist, which glared red with a finger-shaped bruise.
Itachi raised a dark eyebrow. He watched her opposite hand light up with a bright green glow, and, still frowning, she pressed her illuminated digits onto the mark.
A healing ninja? Itachi's vision finally focused enough for him to assess her features. His coal black eyes met the most brilliant pair of lavender orbs he'd seen since Konoha. Long strands of pastel blonde hair framed a delicate face currently contorted in an angry glare. He couldn't see too clearly, but from what he could guess, she looked to be about his age.
Eyes darting from side to side, Itachi examined his surroundings. He lay in a bed with light blue sheets and fluffy pillows, much like a girl would use. It even smelled feminine. The physical room was a standard Japanese bedroom with paper walls and a hardwood floor. Aside from the bed, there was a nightstand, dresser, desk, and closet. Paintings and kanji decorated the walls in addition to a dartboard protruding with kunai and shuriken.
Upon examining himself, however, new questions arose in Itachi's mind: what was he doing here, and why was he half naked with bandages around his lower torso?
A red stain seeped through the white linen, jogging his memory. He and Kisame had been running, one of the pursuing Ame nins had stabbed him, then he'd been stupid enough to ignore his limits and fell off that cliff as a result.
Itachi turned his attention back to the fuming blonde. Now how did she fit into all this?
"Where am I?" Itachi asked in the calmest tone he could muster.
"You're in the Whirlpool Village, and, more specifically, my house," she informed, still glaring.
Whirlpool Village? He knew about the Whirlpool country, but that place had been destroyed years ago.
"And what the hell do you think doing?!" she snapped, motioning to a small puddle of water on the floor intermingled with shards of what used to be a drinking glass.
What the…?
"I didn't save your life so that you could attack me and break my stuff!"
Much to his surprise, the girl did not turn to the shattered pieces. She instead reached for an overturned picture previously out of his line of vision, revealing a family photo of a little blonde girl with her parents. Despite her straight face, a glint of pain reflected in her eyes, but only for a second. Itachi knew that pain—the pain of someone who'd lost everything.
Her parents must be dead. An unfortunately common occurrence among shinobi.
Wordlessly, she replaced the frame in its proper place on her nightstand next to another picture Itachi made a mental note to examine later.
"As I was saying," she turned back to him with renewed annoyance. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"You can never be too careful," he replied coolly.
"Did you think I was trying to poison you or something?"
Itachi didn't reply this time.
Well, you can never be too careful.
"You were semi-conscious, so I was giving you water to keep you hydrated," she stated matter-of-factly. "I unfortunately don't have an IV lying around. Besides, do you honestly think I'd waste three days of work just for that?"
Itachi sat there for a second, dumbstruck. Did this girl not know who he was? Judging by his current clothing, she'd already seen his Akatsuki cloak, and, not only that, his face was in practically every bingo book out there. How could she not know his identity?
The blonde cleared her throat, bringing him back to reality. She seemed calmer, but then again, she had also forgotten the shards of glass on the floor. Still, he should count his blessings. At least, for the time being, he didn't have to worry about any bounty hunters jeopardizing his life.
"Well, I should probably start by introducing myself." Her lips twisted into a friendly smile, which, although genuine, unnerved him considering her previous mood. "I'm Hyuuga Akira."
"Uchiha Itachi." Judging by her personality, she would have said or done something by now had she recognized him, so why not use his real name? It would make for a more interesting tale to tell Kisame.
Speaking of the shark, Kisame was either on his way back to Akatsuki or searching for Itachi's nonexistent corpse. Knowing him, it was probably the latter. His stubborn partner didn't tend to believe anything unless he confirmed it himself.
"So I've been unconscious for three days?" Itachi finally said. Unsurprisingly, awkwardness lingered.
"Yeah… on and off." The awkwardness reinforced in Akira's tone. Itachi secretly hoped he hadn't talked in his sleep. "I managed to heal most of you injuries, but the wound on your stomach is rejecting my chakra. Do you know if you were injured with a poisoned weapon?"
Itachi thought back to the Ame nins he had fought. They were professionals. Of course they would poison their weapons.
"Most likely," Itachi replied. He couldn't come off too sure. She might ask more questions.
Her shoulders hunched in disappointment. "Just as I though."
"How am I still alive if I was poisoned?"
"Well, I know enough to make an antidote that counters the basic effects, but every time I try to heal you, the poison causes your body to reject my healing chakra."
"So basically I have to just sit and wait for this to heal naturally?"
"Not exactly. Your body is rejecting both my chakra as well as your body's own healing. It hasn't shown any improvement these past few days. In the least, I managed to help close it, but otherwise, you're stuck."
"And I could easily open it and bleed to death if I'm not careful," Itachi finished.
She smiled wryly. "Good to know you catch on quickly. If my theories are correct, you're now a glorified hemophiliac."
Itachi sighed, running a hand through his loose raven hair. This was getting complicated.
"Um, Itachi, was it?"
"Hn?" He mentally flinched at her use of his first name.
"I think I could make a better antidote for you, but it's going to take some time. I did the best I could on short notice, but I've never seen a poison like this before. I know it'd be inconvenient, but—"
"I have to stay here for a few days while you research the poison?"
"Depending on how complex it is, maybe even a few weeks. Sorry to say, but I'm no miracle worker."
Itachi didn't need to say anything for Akira to know this option displeased him. He knew healers in Konoha who could do better work in half that time!
"Hey, it's either that or bleed to death. Take your pick."
An image of Sasuke flashed through Itachi's head. As pleasant as bleeding to death sounded, he would have to grin and bear it. It would allow for some much-needed time to rest his sharingan.
"I accept your conditions," he said stiffly.
"Good then." Her face broke out into a grin. "Are you hungry?"
"Somewhat." Actually…
Side-stepping the shattered mess she had yet to clean up, Akira made her way to the door.
"Wait here. I'll be right back," she called, turning her head. The Uchiha's eyes, now crimson again, followed her until she walked out of sight.
So far, she seemed like a kind, bubbly person prone to mood swings. Undoutedly, his least favorite type of kunoichi to be around. Falling back onto the pillows, Itachi closed his eyes, mentally picturing Sasuke's face again.
What had he just gotten himself into?
"Damn…"
Kisame gazed up at the trail of broken tree branches leading back down to where he stood. Beside him lay an obvious imprint where Itachi's body had been. The proof was in his pocket. He'd found Itachi's Akatsuki ring as well.
But where had he gone?
After examining the evidence, the shark deduced two possibilities. One, being that Itachi had died here and some kind soul had been courteous enough to give him a proper burial, or—considering Kakuzu—they'd been smart enough to make use of the criminal's death and turn him in for a bounty.
But someone may have found Itachi in time. He could potentially be alive, but battered from his fall. The first choice was such an unfitting death for such a powerful man, but, then again, his second thought sounded absurd. As if the chance of Itachi being saved wasn't slim enough, but the mere image of his partner at the mercy of another human being brought an ironic smile to Kisame's lips.
Itachi had to be dead, but where was his body? Kisame couldn't, in his right mind, return to Akatsuki without proof of Itachi's death. Besides, even if he did, Pein would send him back to find some evidence, knowing their leader.
In spite of himself, Kisame chuckled.
Even in death, that Uchiha still caused trouble for him.
A mildly pleased look reflected in Itachi's eyes as he chewed a mouthful of fried rice. That kunoichi had been taking her time, and he just found out why. She'd gone completely overboard with making him breakfast. She hadn't just cooked a meal, she'd prepared a mini-feast! But at least the taste was pleasant. Certainly better than anything he'd eaten at Akatsuki, save for the occasional stick of dango. She'd even made dessert.
"I may have gone a bit overboard." Akira laughed, nervously tapping her index fingers together. "I live alone, so I don't get many chances to cook for others."
"Hn." Itachi only half-listened to her ramblings. Why did women always have to be so chatty? Thankfully, Konan was an exception to that rule, but then again he would not be spending the next few days with the stoic paper kunoichi.
"Hey, are you even listening?"
He was stuck with this oddly hair-colored Hyuuga.
"Hn."
Akira twitched at his redundant answer. This was going to be a long recovery.
Two days passed, and, throughout that time, Itachi and Akira's personalities clashed nearly every second while Itachi made his best effort to heal as much as he could with the traces of poison plaguing his system.
On the first day, the Uchiha found the strength to get out of bed and take a shower, which Akira discovered after finishing her poison research for the day. She'd been initially alarmed upon finding her room empty and her bathroom mirror fogged from hot water use, but soon found Itachi on her living room couch, one of her books on medical herbs in hand.
Itachi made a personal commitment to contribute to her research as much as possible to avoid being dead weight while Akira did all the work and expedite creating the antidote. It was the second day now, but they were getting nowhere.
"Have you tried adding this to the mix?" Itachi suggested, pointing to one of the illustrations.
"Yes. Nothing happened," Akira said, defeatedly examining the seal in front of her. Every drop of every antidote she tried so far had done nothing to extinguish the sample of poison she'd placed on the seal.
"Hn."
The two sat in silence.
"Ita—" Akira began.
Knock knock!
The Hyuuga girl blinked in confusion at the interruption.
Knock knock!
"You should probably get the door."
"Y-yeah, right…" Akira found herself stuttering. "Stay here. I'll just be a minute."
Her cheeks burned red as she briskly walked toward the noise. I'm probably just frustrated because we can't make a decent antidote, Akira reasoned, brushing off the emotion.
A smile graced the Hyuuga girl's lips when she recognized the chakra presences behind her door. She slid the wooden blockade open to reveal her teammates.
"Kaname, Eri!" Akira's smile grew as she greeted the kunoichi. "What brings you here?"
Kaname, the more extroverted of the two, stepped forward, her emerald eyes glinting beneath rich copper bangs. "We came to visit you! We haven't seen you all weekend!"
Akira nervously smiled at her friends. Her mind flickered back to Itachi awaiting her return in the study, but, after meeting Eri's soft chocolate gaze, she forgot all thoughts concerning the Uchiha. As long as he stayed there like she told him to, she shouldn't have to worry about her friends finding him.
She shuddered to think of what would happen if Kaname and Eri discovered her having a male roommate for the next few days. She planned to tell them, but just not now.
"Sorry, guys. I've been busy lately," Akira admitted, convincing herself that taking care of an egotistical Uchiha was actually very hard work. Technically she wasn't lying through her teeth. "Why don't you come in and I'll make some tea. We can talk or study or whatever, I guess."
Eri smiled back as she brushed a strand of wavy ebony hair behind her ear.
The three of them now sat comfortably around Akira's dining room table, cups in hand.
"That's the stuff!" Kaname sighed in contentment after taking a refreshing gulp. "So, Akira, what have you been up to?"
"Nothing really," Akira said as she poured the steaming liquid into Eri's empty cup before filling her own. "Mostly research."
Please, Itachi, just stay in the damn room! Akira pleaded as she "calmly" set the teapot down on the table. "Well, enough about me. How did you guys spend your day off?"
Their sensei, a middle-aged woman named of Kaede, had conveniently cancelled healing class for them that Friday, the same day Itachi regained consciousness. It had been unexpected, but fortunate for Akira.
"I slept in!" Kaname declared.
"How about you, Eri?" Akira turned to her more soft-spoken friend, whose fingers delicately wrapped around the ceramic cup for warmth.
"My parents had a bit of a dilemma with someone trying to break into their house," she said before taking a sip of her tea. "Thankfully, nothing was taken, but I still dropped by to see them."
"Leave it to Eri to always help someone in need!" Kaname grinned. "Although it sucks that you couldn't enjoy your vacation fully."
Eri shook her head. "It was all resolved, so I don't regret it. They are my parents, after all."
"Still, that was nice of you," Akira pointed out. "But at least you had the weekend. What'd you do then?"
"Housecleaning," Eri replied. "After my usual training, of course. I studied a bit before bed, too."
"Sounds eventful enough." Kaname shrugged. "Rather than training, I rested yesterday. I should get back into my usual routine today, but Kaede keeps us so busy with homework!"
The three of them continued catching up, and, due to the casualness of it all, Akira began relaxing. But, just as Kaname brought on the topic of "How come there aren't any good men in this village?" Akira suddenly became painfully aware of their seating arrangements.
For one, Eri had her back to the doorway leading to the hallway, and Kaname, who still blabbered on, sat to her left. Akira faced the doorway, her jaw on the floor. A certain Uchiha had come out to see if she was done talking yet.
It was everything Akira could do to keep from screaming. Just when she'd managed to forget her worries for a few short minutes, this idiot came waltzing back in! Now she not only had to worry about her friends seeing him, but she also had to figure out a way to get him back into her study and make him stay there without her friends knowing.
"Akira, are you all right?" Eri interrupted the Hyuuga girl's thoughts.
Her face had been clearly displaying her feelings of intense rage. "Oh, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking about something unpleasant," she covered, waving her hand for emphasis. "What was it you were saying again, Kaname?"
While Kaname continued and held Eri's attention, Akira took advantage of the moment to glare death at Itachi. Jerking her head to the side, she made an expressive gesture with her eyebrows and clearly mouthed, "Get out!"
He didn't budge.
"Eh?" Kaname noticed Akira's antics from the corner of her eye. Like any normal person, she looked over to see what the problem was.
Then all hell broke loose.
Kaname yelped and proceeded to fling the first object she could grab, being her cup, at the Uchiha. He smoothly sidestepped, and the cup shattered against the wall, further infuriating the Hyuuga girl.
"Not again!" Akira groaned. Itachi had already broken a drinking glass. At this rate, she would need a new set of dishware by the time this was over. "Kaname, stop it!" Akira jumped to her feet and ran into front of Itachi, her arms extended.
"Akira, who is this?" Eri inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Um…" Akira trailed off, her speech failing her. How exactly was she supposed to explain this?
"A word!" Akira seized Itachi's wrist and dragged him into the hallway.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she hissed once they were in privacy.
"Your minute turned into an entire hour," Itachi stated. "I was wondering when you were planning to return."
"As if it wasn't obvious! Haven't you ever heard of social graces? And would you mind not scaring my friends?"
"It was not 'obvious,' as you say," he replied. "And considering the amount of time they've been here, I'd assumed you mentioned me."
"Mentioned?" Akira seethed. "'Mentioned,' you say? 'Mention' what exactly? That I found some ungrateful drag queen bleeding to death in the woods, and, out of the kindness of my heart, I decided to save his life, but turns out he can't leave just yet? Yeah, like they'd believe that!"
Itachi's mouth twitched into a rare expression. "Ungrateful drag queen?" Even Hidan didn't have the nerve to call him such names. He maintained his composure through a dark glare.
"I do not appreciate such name calling—"
"Sorry to interrupt, but what the hell is going on?"
The pair turned to see Kaname and Eri poking their heads through the doorway.
Akira palmed her forehead. What had she done to deserve this?
"Itachi, listen carefully. Go into my room and stay there while I explain this complete misunderstanding to my friends." She scowled for emphasis. "Is. That. Clear?"
Itachi held back a sigh. He held no desire to further drag this out in the company of others. "Don't take too long." His parting words echoed in Akira's mind as she turned back to Kaname and Eri.
"Um… could we go back into the other room?" Akira requested, pinching her index fingers together.
It required a considerable amount of self-control for Itachi to calm down as he barricaded himself in the Hyuuga girl's room. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so flustered. He could see where Akira had gotten her temper from, or at least who one of her influences was. That brown-haired friend of hers also had quite the throwing arm.
The Uchiha plopped onto the bed as a sudden wave of dizziness overtook him. Now his head was spinning in addition to his throbbing wounds.
To distract himself, Itachi fixated his attention on Akira's nightstand. Two familiar picture frames caught his eye. He recognized the first as the photograph he'd accidentally knocked over upon waking three days ago—the one of Akira's likely deceased family. Akira looked roughly ten-years-old in this picture. Her hairstyle was the same waist-length braid as present-time, but she had a certain radiance about her lost in the girl he knew today.
Her father's eyes matched hers. He was undoubtedly the proud donor of her Hyuuga genes. He looked like a Hyuuga, with his facial structure and long dark brown hair, but, unlike most Hyuugas Itachi knew, he had a softer, more fatherly expression on his face.
Her mother looked more like her, although her eyes sparkled blue instead of lavender. Their hair colors matched, but her mother's hair length fell shorter than Akira's, and she donned a ponytail instead of a braid.
From one glance, Itachi could already tell why Akira missed her parents so much. With a family like that, who wouldn't? Even with his poor eyesight, he could see their love for each other.
His gaze lingered on the picture. The longer he stared at their faces, the more he felt like he'd seen them before. Had he brushed by them on a mission, perhaps? Unlikely, though, considering he'd never heard of this tiny water village before.
His musings cut short when he turned his attention to the second photograph. This one also had Akira, but the two girls he'd seen sitting at the table replaced her parents.
The three of them looked about twelve, whereas they were more around seventeen now. Akira's copper-haired friend stood to her left, clad in a green dress and pale brown apron. Her angular cut bangs leaned over the left side of her forehead, the pointed strands covering one eyebrow while the remainder of her hair pooled down to the small of her back.
The more shy-looking girl, Eri, stood to Akira's right. A soft smile graced her lips while innocent, deep brown eyes stared back at him. Her hair looked soft and wavy, but not overly curly. It reminded him of Kurenai's hair. Her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved red shirt and black pants with a standard kunai holster and bandages fastened to her right leg. Simple, but practical.
The three of them looked more shinobi-like in this picture than they did today, which Itachi blamed on their lack of headbands and weaponry. Each girl donned a cloth embroidered metal plate with an engraving he had never seen before: three swirls connected in a way that made them resemble whirlpools.
"So, let me get this straight," Kaname began, rubbing her temples to soothe an impending headache from information-overload, "you found that guy unconscious and bleeding to death in the middle of the woods?"
"Yep."
"And you saved his life…"
"Yep."
"And these past few days, you've been busily searching for a cure from a poison that's preventing this Itachi from making a full recovery?"
"Yes!" Akira finished, exasperated.
Both of her friends gave her dubious looks.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"When did you plan on mentioning this?" Eri inquired.
"I didn't want to tell you guys about this until he woke up, well, in case he, you know, died…"
"But he's awake now," Kaname remarked, frowning slightly.
Akira sighed. This conversation was far from over.
"He woke up on Friday, and since we didn't have any official training scheduled, I figured I'd tell you this Monday."
Another set of dubious looks.
"Okay, so I was considering it," Akira admitted. "But really, I wasn't trying to keep secrets. I just didn't want you to worry about me."
A comforting hand touched Akira's shoulder. "We believe you, Akira," Eri assured. "We just don't want you to get hurt."
"Not just that, I want one, too!" Kaname added.
Akira froze. "What?"
"Oh come on, Akira, don't tell me you haven't thought about it. Good men like that don't just fall from the sky!"
"Off of cliffs, maybe," Akira muttered before returning to her normal tone of voice. "Kaname, I haven't got the slightest interest in that moody Uchiha."
"But he's so handsome!" Kaname protested. "Not only that, he's got a sexy voice!"
Akira's cheeks bloomed with color. Admittedly, Itachi wasn't a bad-looking man, but she would never quite label anything about him as "sexy."
"Kaname does have a point, you know," Eri said.
"Eri!" Akira gawked at her friend. Kaname she would understand, but she hadn't thought Eri capable of even agreeing with such things!
"Well, one way or another, you'll have to properly introduce us some time," Kaname said, winking suggestively.
Akira rolled her eyes. "No."
"Oh, come on. You mentioned he might be here for a while."
"Itachi is here for healing purposes and healing purposes alone."
"That could change," Kaname pointed out. Eri giggled like a schoolgirl.
"You know what, see you guys tomorrow," Akira said flatly. "I have an impending problem to deal with that begins with cleaning up a broken cup and will most likely result in someone's death!"
"Tell us all about it tomorrow!" Kaname called as she and Eri slipped on their shoes.
"Good luck," Eri added.
The door shut and her friends left to head back to their own houses.
"I'm certainly going to need it," Akira mumbled as she walked away to find a broom to clean up the shards of ceramic. She finished this task in a matter of minutes. Now to attend to the second half of her problem.
"Itachi?" Akira whispered, tentatively opening the door to her room. She noted a black blob in the shape of a man collapsed on her bed. "Itachi?" she called again.
That was odd… she didn't think he'd fall asleep so quickly.
She inched forward, making sure to keep both hands up in case he suddenly woke up and tried to bruise her wrist again. Thankfully, nothing happened.
Akira placed a hand on the Uchiha's pale forehead. He seemed warmer than usual. She glanced away for a second to check the time. Her heart nearly stopped when she looked back to find two narrowed black beads meeting her gaze.
"What are you doing?"
"Eh?" She still had her hand on his forehead.
"Checking your temperature," she replied casually, trying to ignore the raging blush on her cheeks. Dammit, she'd honestly thought he'd been asleep!
"Your friends are gone, I take it?"
"Yep, and next time they'd like a proper introduction. Looks like you got lucky."
"Hn."
Akira tried to think of something else to say, but Itachi beat her to it.
"That Kaname friend of yours is quite a character."
"I'd appreciate if no one else broke any more of my dishes, though."
"Shouldn't you know it's rude to talk about people behind their back?"
Akira froze. "Come again?"
A smirk played on Itachi's lips.
Oh Kami, he didn't. He'd overheard Kaname's "sexy" comment, hadn't he?
"D-don't hold it against them. They're teenage girls! It's normal, right?" Akira reasoned, trying but failing to hide her worsening blush.
"As are you."
"Shut up. You've got a slight fever, and you need to rest before I knock you out. Besides, I have more research to do, not to mention homework for tomorrow's class!"
"Whatever you say." His eyes still seemed to be smirking although his lips weren't.
Akira let out another sigh, mentally wishing she'd thought to close the door upon dragging him in here.
"I'll wake you in an hour for dinner. Until then, Itachi, please try to get some rest. Both of us should stay out of trouble that way."
"Hn."
"Hn." Itachi's eyes were closed, but he knew Akira twitched. For whatever reason, his short answer frustrated her. She exited the room and closed the door softly behind her, isolating Itachi.
To be quite honest, Itachi felt quite flattered at her friends' comments. Although this wasn't the first time he'd been called such things, he knew not to let it go to his head. They reminded him of a bunch of giddy, naïve schoolgirls, somewhat akin to his former fan club in Konoha.
As for Akira, that girl possessed such little control over her emotions that Itachi wondered how she had managed to make it this far as a kunoichi, at least in the word he grew up in. Maybe it was just a façade, like the one he always put up. He hoped, in the least, there proved to be more to these kunoichi than met the eye.
As Itachi's consciousness ebbed away, a single thought still weighed on his mind. Ever since he laid eyes on that family photo, he couldn't shake the familiar notion he felt around Akira. Surely he would remember meeting someone with this much attitude.
Even in his feverish state, his mind and deduction skills were sharp. So why did he have this strange, unexplainable feeling about the girl?
Well, it's a start. If you have nothing nice to say, please keep it to yourself!