Living a Destination
I look out the window watching dreams go by and lives moving towards a destination, and I wonder when my dreams will come and my life will move towards a destination.
I opened the door to a frantic knock. I was surprised to see Naruto sanding there, drenched. "What are you doing out in this weather? Don't you know that you could catch a cold?"
"Yeah, what ever. Grab your coat we have got to go now!"
"What? Why?" I was shocked to see him so upset.
"We'll tell you on the way. Now, haiyaku, we have to go!" It was weird that Naruto would randomly show up at my Philadelphia apartment, but for Neji to be there too? Something must be wrong.
When I arrived at the hospital room, fear struck me to the point of tears. My best friend was lying there, helpless and broken. The doctors weren't even sure if Saeka was going to make it, or some brain damage if he did make it. She had a swollen frontal lobe, some internal bleeding, her left leg was crushed, and her right leg and arm fractured. I, too, wandered if she would pull through.
Rinoa arrived at the hospital with Gaara and Shino following close behind. I looked up at Rinoa through my tears, and she was surprisingly calm even though her sister was the one lying in the hospital bed. "Who did this to her? Why would someone do this to her?" I forced the question past the lump in my throat. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know, but I asked the question anyway.
"Well, It was Itachi. Though I am not sure why, I am positive that he was the one who did it." Rinoa walked over to the window and blankly stared down to the street.
I jumped up out of my chair. "What!? I thought Sasuke had killed him. Are you sure?" The rest of the group looked at Rinoa with surprised eyes.
"Yeah, 100 percent." She said to me without ever looking up.
"Oh, he is not getting away this time." I stormed out of the room knowing that what I was about to do would surely kill me, but at this point I did not care. I was not going to sit by and watch my best friend slowly slip away into eternal darkness. I was going to do the impossible. I was going to find a way to kill Itachi.
I was a little shocked when Shino rushed up beside me. But I did not mind having someone with me on my quest. I just didn't expect it to be him. I figured that if anybody followed me that it would be Naruto. But Shino was also strong, so I didn't say anything.
Shino and I got in my '74 Mustang and then turned the engine over when I heard Naruto yell out the hospital door. "Bara-chan, please don't do this. You'll be killed!"
"Yeah well it's better than sitting by and watching Saeka die." And I sped out of the parking lot, not even stopping to see if there were any cars coming. I guess maybe it was just luck that I was not just struck by a car, or maybe I had some weird unknown inner sense that told me road was clear. But I did not think about that right now. All I cared about was finding Itachi.
"You know that what Naruto said is not far from the truth. And I hope you realize the full effect that this might have." Shino calmly stated, trying to protect me in his own Shino-ish way.
"Oh? And what are you, 'Mr. Mighty Protector'?" I never really understood why he cared so much for my safety. Its not like we had any feelings between us. At least, I didn't think we did.
Finally, I reached the state line of Indiana. We had been driving for eight hours
and had only stopped once to get a bite to eat. Shino was still staring out the window but I was getting a little fidgety. "You know, I don't think I have ever driven this long in my entire life."
Shino just smirked a little and then said "Well we are going to have to find a hotel soon cause you're going to need some sleep. And I can't drive stick."
"Yeah, you're a big help. So, We've got an hour before we hit Shelbyville. Once we get there then we can either stay at a motel or stay at my rent's place. Which do you want?"
"To save money I guess we could stay at your parent's house. I never thought of that." but there was something in his voice that told me he did not exactly want to stay there.
When we arrived in Shelbyville, I drove to a hotel. I wasn't exactly in the mood to stay with my mom and her new husband anyway. Him and I did not exactly mix to well.
I looked over at Shino when I put the "Stang" in park. He looked at me and smiled, and then opened the door and got out. I wasn't sure why he was so happy about staying at a motel, but I didn't worry about it.
I paid for the room at the Super 8. It wasn't spectacular, but it suited us just fine for the night. "So, do you want the left bed or the right?" I asked as I closed the door. He walked over and sat down on the bed closest the door.
"I was hoping that you choose that one."
"Why?" He asked with a twisted smirk on his face.
"Because the air conditioner is closer to the bed that I get. I sleep better that way."
"Oh, really. You do know that it is the middle of winter?"
"Yeah, but the air conditioner has a fan on it. That's the part I like."
"Oh. That makes sense," he replied as a light bulb went off over his head.
I flipped on the TV, and then sat down on the edge of the bed. While flipping through the channels, I noticed Shino staring at me. "What? Is there something on my face?"
"No." He said as he stood up. He closed the gap between the beds and then sat down next to me.
"Why do you always protect me, or follow me, or stare at me? Do you like me or something?" Just as I finished asking my question, he leaned over and kissed me. Before I knew what had happened, I was tangled in a chain of hot, passionate kisses.
As I laid in the bed closest the air conditioner, next to Shino's warm body, my mind ran through what had just happened. I would have never thought Shino and I would ever have a "thing" for each other. Before now, he gave me the creeps. After all, he was kind of "King of the Bugs". But now, it kind of added to his attractiveness. I never knew what his eyes looked like. But tonight I got to see all of him, and I loved every bit of it.
The rest of the trip to Arizona, the place where Itachi was "killed", was a lot more fun that it had been. The air between us was more relaxed. I was actually happy for once.
I broke down the door to Itachi's abandoned apartment. I looked around. It was clean. If fact it was spotless. There was no dust in sight. The windows were open to allow a dry, but cool, Phoenix breeze to enter. I did not expect Itachi to be here, and he wasn't, but I also did not expect the apartment to be in this good of condition.
I quietly closed the door, and then walked around the corner to the kitchen. The kitchen had a tiny little bar in the center and was open to view from the family area. It kind of reminded me of Will's apartment of a TV show, "Will and Grace." I was searching the apartment for any clues as to Itachi's current wear-a-bouts.
Just then I heard keys jingle outside of the door. "Oh, Shit. We better hide." We rushed down the hall and we hid in the bedroom closet. We heard the door close. Hearts pounding, we prayed that who ever was there would leave and soon.
Footsteps, only one set, became louder. Then suddenly ceased. The shadows in the crack of the door moved slowly. My senses at their heightened point, could not even hear so much as a whisper of a sound out of either side. Then I heard one word, one voice. "HAI"
The door flew open. Standing before me was none other than Itachi himself. I slammed my eyes to his feet. Shino was silently looking at me. Then before I could think of what to do next, I saw a single black bug crawl up Itachi's foot and then disappear behind his cloak.
"What a wonderful surprise to see you. To what do I owe this honor?" Itachi said with a smirk.
I wanted to reach up a slap Itachi, but took control of my impulses. "I think you know damn well why I am here. Though I did not expect you to be here."
"Now why wouldn't I be? My surroundings here are so perfect to hide my true identity. Though I am still curious as to why you decided to break into "my" apartment.
"You know why. I wouldn't even have know you were alive if you hadn't attack Saeka back in Philadelphia."
"My, My. I thought this country ran off of 'Innocent until proven guilty in a court of Law?'"
"ITACHI. YOU WILL DIE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO SAEKA!!!" I did a sequence of hand seals, but I was not fast enough. Before I knew it, Itachi's sword was at my throat. He could have easily just killed me, but it was not like Itachi to kill without getting a last word.
"You know, I thought beating up Saeka, the American Child Prodigy, and then slowly letting her die would soothe my want for a good kill. But now I realize that killing you would be even better, because I get to watch your boyfriend scream as the blood gushes from your helpless neck." Itachi let out a sly laugh.
I glanced over to Shino. He was crouching over, paralyzed by Itachi's powerful sharingan. I had not realized how powerful Itachi had become until this moment.
He was able to control both of us with little effort. It was at this moment that I feared more for Shino's life than my own. And then I remembered one tiny, but powerful detail that Itachi had not yet known about.
"Hey, you may get to kill me, but I doubt very much if you get the pleasure to watch it. When you first opened the closet. A small but powerful black bug was planted on you, and I think you know what that means." I said as I looked back up from Shino into Itachi's cold eyes. At that moment, I saw a streak of fear.
"Well, maybe then, someone will finally defeat me. But as for you, your time is up." The last thing I remember is Shino, screaming my name in painful sorrow.
Shino stood beside my grave. Tears rolling down his cheeks. He was glad that he got to show how he really felt before my time had ended. He wished that he could have stopped Itachi from killing me. At least my efforts weren't totally wasted. Itachi was now "officially" dead. Still, my loss was more than Shino could bear.
Shino did not want to leave. He wanted to stay by my side, forever protecting me from all the dangers of the world. He felt a weak hand grip his shoulder. There was no question about who it was.
"Shino, you're going to eventually have to leave. You can't stay here forever. She wouldn't want you to. I think you, of all people, would understand that."
"Saeka, you are the only thing that I have left of her." He forced through a shaky voice.
"Well at least she did not die for a lost cause. Itachi was finally killed. And this time we know that it is for real. So he won't be around to screw up any more lives."
"I understand all that. I just don't understand why it had to be her. I don't think I can handle this. I don't think I can go on without her. She was the reason I woke up in the morning, the reason I became as strong as I am today. But that still did not do any good."
"What is it about her that you remember most? Maybe remembering that will help you coupe with her loss, and also help you understand why she died the way she died."
Saeka suggested while trying to remember something about her best friend herself.
"I loved the way she looked at me. I think that I miss that the most."
"You know its funny, I was thinking the same thing."
It was then that he realized the whole reason I had died. The whole reason I had sacrificed myself. And that brought him to the thing that let him know that he had done his job. He looked up at Saeka. "I think I want to leave now." Saeka hugged Shino. Then, by his side, limped back to the car, and off they drove to face whatever challenges were to come their way. Never forgetting the sacrifice their friend had made when I realized that my destination was near.
Some lives are given, some are taken, but all lives have a purpose, all lives have a destination What happens on the journey defines who you are, not where you end up.