There are few things in life that ever genuinely caught San Ichikari off guard. In fact, she could probably count on one hand how many times she had been truly and pleasantly surprised at something. She keeps at arm's length from people, and they stay away from her. She liked it. It was part of the reason she didn't mind so much that she had to be kept so far away from the rest of society – as if she was welcome in the first place. For the past few years, her only constant company had been the birds the fed on a regular basis, the mountains and dark clouds around her, and the old piano in the corner of her tiny living room. It was almost pleasant enough to forget it wasn't meant to be a home.

The only interaction she had with the outside world was when Sasori, her best friend and someone she considered her big brother, brought her food and sat to chat with her for a few minutes one day out of the week. She found herself looking forward to Sundays when she could have a decent conversation with the unusual man. San knew the feelings were most likely one-sided, but she never minded. The fact that he took a little time out of his schedule to talk to her (he was a very punctual man and hated waiting or making others wait on him) was enough to garner her attention.

Everything was a routine and expected, and it had been for years.

What did surprise her, however, was the pair of eyes she came face to face with when she opened her front door on a particularly rainy Sunday evening.

The visit wasn't exactly a serendipitous one. The last person she ever expected to see grace her little shack in the middle of the dark forests of Amegakure was her childhood friend, Itachi Uchiha. He stood there in the rain in all black clothing and his hair thrown in a messy ponytail, an unreadable expression on his face. At first glance, he had barely changed in the years it had been since she last saw him. Upon further inspection, however, she noticed the signs of maturity. His face was thinner, more masculine. The sleep lines around his eyes were deeper and he showed obvious signs of fatigue, but the most surprising thing about him was the very faintest hint of happiness on his face. If her memory served her correct, that was something that didn't happen quite often.

Neither of them had spoken a word; they just stood there and took each other's appearance in. He looked her over as well and noticed she looked relatively normal. A bit skinnier than last time, but still very much herself. Eventually, though, the frigid wind prompted her to motion for him to come inside, albeit a little reluctantly, and after preparing a hot cup of tea for him and putting away the food he brought her, they sat in tense silence while avoiding eye contact.

So many thoughts were going through San's head, but the main concern that stood out was the whereabouts of her dear friend. If someone else had been sent to visit her on the days that were specifically reserved for Sasori, then something was wrong. He could have been stuck on a mission that required him to be away for some time or been injured. However, something in her gut kept pulling her mind in the direction of the worst-case scenario.

She hadn't heard him call her name the first time, the sound barely above a whisper. Only when he spoke a little louder did she look in his direction.

"You look well."

San only frowned at that, giving him a single nod before taking a long sip of her drink. He knew she hated small talk. That much hadn't changed.

He sighs and puts his cup down, the air around them growing noticeably thicker from the conversation soon coming. He figured she already knew what was going on just by context alone, and that expression of grief and vexation across her face gave away her anxieties.

"San –"

"Why are you here, Itachi?"

The tone in her voice effectively silenced him, not expecting the venom laced in her words. Her gaze was icy despite her eyes' unique fiery red, and for the first time in a long time he felt uneasy. Of course, she would bring that out in him; she was the only person that could. Even when they were teenagers, he always felt sorry for anyone that was the target of her scrutiny. In those moments, he wanted to tell her everything without holding back.

"There has been a change of arrangements," the man said. At the lift of her brow, he decided to elaborate. "Sasori will not be coming here."

"You say that as if that's news to me," San said coolly, taking a sip of her drink and remaining on guard, her mind running through every possibility as to why he could be there while avoiding the obvious. "I've evaded everyone unexpected over the past few years. I would say I'm doing an excellent job, save for this one instance."

"I suppose you're right."

The air was strained after the short exchange. There were many unsaid words in between them that were just begging to be brought up, but neither of them knew how to deal with it. They wouldn't know where to start. That alone was enough to keep their guards up. Him, because with her animosity towards him he could have walked right into a trap, and knowingly so. Her, because... well, he was Itachi Uchiha. Even if she were to plan to attack him at arm's length, he would still be five steps ahead of her.

The silence became unbearable after a while, and San decided to stand up and put her cup in the sink, using the momentary isolation to put her hand over her heart and will her heart to stop its insanely fast beating against her chest.

As soon as she was out of sight, Itachi sighed quietly. On top of this news, he knew that she wasn't exactly happy to see him. What he did to her was going to leave lasting scars, - more mental than physical - but he never stuck around long enough to see the result of what he had done. He also knew that she had no memory of the particular night that she changed – when it was decided that she would be bound to this place in the middle of the woods. Being kept busy with missions from the Akatsuki was enough to take his mind off it, but it was something that always haunted him alongside many other things. It would have been easier if she knew everything, but he was never so lucky. Knowing that she was kept away and safe was all that mattered.

"Damn it," she whispered, the emotion she was trying so hard to conceal reflecting in those two words. There were so many thoughts going through her mind that she didn't know what to do with herself. This careful routine she had fallen into was disrupted and the realization of everything made her need to get away.

Quietly rushing to her room without a word to Itachi, she went to her closet and reached for the box sitting at the top rack, putting the box on her bed and opening it to reveal an unused cloak resembling the man in the other room's. The main difference between theirs and the one in front of her was it ripped in several places and stained in blood.

Almost as if on cue, she felt a disturbance in the air, clenching her jaw when she felt the onslaught of powerful chakra around her. The day was just getting better and better.

"You guys came for me, huh," she said out loud. When she looked back at her doorway, Itachi was standing there with his eyes stuck on the floor. "I know they're here. Tell them to come out."

A/N: So I 100% forgot I even had a FF account.

I've had San, as a character and idea, in my mind for years - since I was a little kid, actually. When I was just getting into my double digits, me and my sister came up with our own Naruto characters and actually pretended we were kunoichi living in Konoha. We had our own relationships, made up stories, went on our own missions and everything. There was a time when I wrote fanfiction with her on Quizilla (I know, I'm ancient).

I've also had an unhealthy obsession with Itachi Uchiha since I was in elementary school.

Even when I stopped paying attention to the anime when I was a teenager, San was always at the back of my mind and I doodled her on occasion, and I've always kept up with Itachi's storyline even when I wasn't watching or reading the series anymore. A few weeks ago, I came down with the worst flu I've ever had and the medication I was taking kept me up for days without even an hour of sleep. Coincidentally, that was around the same time I started really getting back into obsessing over Itachi Uchiha's overall characterization and I got hit with a burst of creativity I haven't had in almost two years. This is what came out of it! It'll definitely be an ongoing story and I won't abandon this one like I've done countless other fanfics. If this goes well, I'll probably upload this onto AO3 (under the same username) as well.

Also chapters will be updated within a week or two of each other, so make sure to follow the story for updates!

I hope you all end up enjoying this.