Silver Ambivalence
*Just so you know, this is a Naruto fanfic. Don't own Naruto, just wish I did. Anyway, hope you like it, and please review!*
Chapter 1:
The moon illuminated the night sky, wrapping its fluorescent ribbons among the living and the dead alike. The trees whispered in the wind as their branches brushed against other branches. The chill of the December night air kissed the back of my neck, sending goosebumps racing down my arms. The world around me smelled solely of blood. The metallic scent clung to my nose, my mouth, nearly making me gag.
"Itachi, I don't see why we have to do the dirty work," I complained, pouting. "And I don't see why they wouldn't just let us take the jinchuriki. It would have been so much easier for all of us."
I could see Itachi's ghostly smirk, as if it was only just a pigment of my imagination.
"I don't know Gina," he said.
I was the only one that I knew of to be able to make Itachi show emotion. His cold demeanor was merely a mask to protect himself; I figured that out when I first became an Akatsuki member. Somehow Itachi and I got along right from the start, although he seemed to despise all the others. We first became friends, and then lovers. Who would've guessed?
"Quit complaining, Gina. I just want to kill you sometimes," Kisame said, his Samehada resting on his shoulder. "I don't know why Boss would let a twerp like you into the Akatsuki."
I glared at Kisame, my hand subconsciously landing on my katana. I smirked.
"It's been a long time since I had sushi."
"And it'll be a long time still until you have it again," he hissed.
"Enough," Itachi said warningly. We both shut up for exactly two minutes and thirty-six seconds. It was a record.
"Ah well," I sighed, finally, as I put my hands behind my head. "Guess our work's done anyway. Let's get the jinchuriki to the boss and be done with it."
Itachi didn't say anything, but picked up the boy. Kisame didn't say a word, but he gave me dirty looks as we walked. I ignored him and focused my attention, although I knew I was making it harder on myself, on the boy. He looked as if he was only about nineteen, three years older than I was, with black hair and brown eyes. My heart gave an irregular thump. Pain snaked its way to my core, and I refused the temptation of just kidnapping the boy and spiriting it away to a place no one could hurt it. I chased the thoughts away and closed my eyes, refusing to let my emotions and thoughts show on my face. Refusing for them to be seen by the world. I never liked the dirty work of picking up jinchuriki. Every time I did, it seemed as if my heart was stabbed over and over because of what I'm doing to the poor creatures. I refuse to think of them as humans because, well, I would go insane.
We finally arrived at the headquarters, the tower looming majestically over us. Its white-washed marble walls hid the blood of innocents that was spilled there. They hid the souls of the dead that were set free from their bodies. I grimaced, never liking the way it felt. The aura around it was stifling. As if it warned that once you came in, you would never get out alive. I supressed my urge to turn around and went inside, followed closely by Itachi and Kisame, my black cloak floating behind me like dark wings. The boss stood in the middle of the room, waiting expectantly. Itachi laid the boy down.
"Good work," the boss praised absently, looking eagerly at the unconscious boy on the floor. "We begin the extraction at dawn. You may leave."
The moment he said those words, I teleported out of the room and into my own. Amazingly Itachi was already there, sitting on my bed, though we both teleported at the same time. I really need to work on my speed more. I took off my Akatsuki cloak and sat on the edge of my mahogany bed, next to him. I laid my head on his shoulder and sighed, my eyes scanning over my bedroom. It was a deep blue, like the night sky, with silver sparkles that shone like the stars. The room was chosen specifically for me, and it was I that painted it this way. I always loved how the night looked. My bed and dresser were made of mahogany wood, as well as a full-sized mirror that rested against wall. The curtains were a lighter blue than the walls, but they looked perfect together. The large window they hid looked over the city in the Village Hidden in the Rain. It rained almost constantly here. Even now, raindrops beaded up on my window before they danced off and onto the ground five stories below. Silence entered and began ringing in my ears, bells that echoed in my mind, pounding against my skull. I reached a hand up and pressed against my temples, trying to quiet it.
"Are you okay?" Itachi asked, his smooth voice cutting through the silence.
"You know the answer to that," I whispered.
I got up and went to the mirror. I didn't feel like the beautiful girl I saw, with silver moonlight in her hair and the ocean in her innocent eyes. She was small; petite, yet curvaceous. Her midnight-colored kimono barely touched the ground, so dark against her pale skin as she stood unmoving. Barely even breathing. She was a statue of ice, with a warmth inside that threatened her very existence. Her blue eyes betrayed her need for warmth, for fire, though they knew it would destroy her, and that need drew her to Itachi. Fire and Ice. How could they coexist so perfectly? Her pink lips were turned up in a sorrowful smile, as if she was wishing something that would never come true. The moon. That was what the girl looked like. The silver moon that stood alone in the sky, forever beautiful and serene as it looked on at the bloodshed of the Earth below.
No, I was not the girl in the mirror. I was an emotional wreck.
"Itachi, why do we have to kill him?" I asked, turning towards him finally, tears threatening to escape. "Why?"
"You already know the reason, Gina," he said softly, soothingly. "You know what the boss wants."
"What? World domination?" My anger cut through my words unintentionally. My frustration clouded my mind. I looked at the mirror, hating my own reflection. "All this killing, for selfish reasons. Humph."
Itachi was quiet for a moment, merely looking at me in his calm, unemotional way.
"Why did you join then?" he asked in that quiet, yet demanding tone, of his. I turned to look at him, my eyes meeting his onyx orbs.
"I had nowhere else to go," I said quietly. I went back to my bed, sat down, and once again rested my head on Itachi's shoulder. I could feel his heart beat, the blood pulsing through his veins. It had a lulling effect.
"I hate having to kill them, Itachi," I continued, "I still feel it. Their hearts struggling to beat. Their lungs gasping for air. Their blood mingling with the ground as they feel their souls leave their body behind. I hate seeing their eyes cloud over with fear before death spirits their souls away."
Itachi smirked. "You're so poetic," he said, not accusingly. "Although I'm sure they won't mind being killed by you. You never hesitate to kill when you have to, but you always eat your heart out afterward. I don't understand you sometimes."
A smile suddenly formed on my lips, hearing this from Itachi, the number one mystery in the world.
"You're one to say that," I said playfully, sitting up to look at him. "I don't understand you at all."
I leaned up and brushed his lips with mine, causing butterflies to dance in my stomach.
"And that's perfectly fine with me," I whispered, breaking away and ignoring the sudden need rising up in my chest.
Itachi unexpectedly closed the gap between us, tilting my chin back and pressing his lips to mine; I shuddered happily, and I couldn't help thinking that hot and cold always make warm. I pushed this thought to the back of my mind and kissed back, my lips moving in perfect sync with his. His lips suddenly parted from mine, his onyx orbs promising mystery and passion. I pouted and reached for him, but he pulled away. He got off the bed and pulled something out of his cloak. My curiosity got the best of me and I sat still, waiting patiently.
Itachi knelt in front of me, his hands holding a small, black box. A chill went down my spine and into my toes. His fingers opened it, revealing a diamond ring that took my breath away. It had a million colors swirling inside each of the three jewels. The thin band was pure gold. I was speechless. My cheeks flushed and I stuttered, unable to make out a single word. Finally, I just stopped trying and I just looked at him and smiled, my heart ready to burst.
"Do you like it?" his voice sent a thrill through my veins.
"I-I...I love it!" I finally managed to say.
He smiled. A small, heartbreaking smile that sent my heart fluttering.
"Gina Suzuki," his voice was quiet, determined, lovely. "Will you marry me?"