Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

It seems like forever since I posted a Naruto fic, but since I've never done a pairing with this character, I want to try this out! Hurray for experiments!

Blind

Utena yawned as she stretched, walking through Amegakure no Sato, which was what her family name originated from, Ametamago. The constant rain didn't bug her, having had lived there throughout her life. Her eyes were halfway closed in weariness and boredom. She couldn't wait to get home and take a nap, even though it wasn't even noon yet. She'd just gotten back from a shift at Lord Pain's tower, carrying a rather heavy corpse in by herself. She didn't know what it was needed for, but she was pleased to serve Lord Pain, the god of the village.

The sound of something relatively heavy falling to the soaked pavement interrupted the constant pattering of the precipitation and she looked up. In front of her, about twenty feet, was a body. It was male, with long, about mid-back length, hair, dark from the wetness, pale skin, wearing a black cloak with red clouds. She glanced around quickly for any witnesses before approaching the prone figure. Crouching down, she reached out slightly, her other hand in her weapons pouch, just in case he was a ninja. She drew back the hair, to reveal a rather aristocratic-looking face, well-bred, but sallow-looking, as if he hadn't eaten in months. Dark shadows were under his closed eyes, stress lines under those. It was slight, but he was shivering as well, so she checked him for weapons, finding many on his person. He was a ninja, that was certain, but why had he collapsed in the middle of a ninja village?

Leaving herself to question this situation once she was at a safer location, she took his arm and hoisted him so he was on his knees before leaping through the rain, not stopping until she reached her apartment, which was quite high in the tower complex, although not nearly as high as Lord Pain's tower. She opened the door with her key and walked in with a little trouble, since her apartment was rather tiny, the entryway hardly big enough to fit her and her unexpected burden. Grunting a little, she hauled him to her bedroom, lying him on her bed (his wet cloak soaked the dry sheets) and beginning to take off his cloak. It was quite well-made, considering he seemed to be a rogue (he was missing his hitae-ate), it was thick and would usually fend off anything, but he'd probably been wandering through Ame no Kuni for quite a while for this to have been penetrated with the continuous rain. She took it and hung it up in her bathroom, over the bathtub, so it would drip off as much as possible before she used other methods to dry it. She then returned to her bedroom, only to find his eyes were open, albeit halfway.

At the sound of her footsteps, as soft as they were, he sat up, reaching to his empty weapons pouch. When he found nothing, he began patting himself quickly. His eyes narrowed when he still found nothing.

"I took the liberty of disarming you Sir," she explained, placing a hand on her hip. "I didn't need you attacking me the instant you woke."

His head turned towards her, but his eyes didn't move from their central position. His eyebrows furrowed a little before his face smoothed as he regained his composure at finding her location. "Who are you?"

She shook a finger at him. "That's not very nice, even if you are a ninja. It's proper etiquette to introduce yourself first before demanding someone's name."

His lips pressed in a hard line at her slight demand. He considered for a moment before asking another question. "Where am I?"

"Where are you? Couldn't you tell?" she asked in a sarcastic voice. To prove her point, she slid open the window, the sound of rain falling coming into the room. "Where else does it rain this heavy all the time?"

"I know I'm in Amegakure no Sato," he countered. "I want something more specific."

Utena huffed as she closed the window. "If you can't tell, you must be blind. Do you think a prison cell has carpet, a comfy bed, and other such things?"

His eyes narrowed at her insult to his intelligence but he knew that she was pointing out his ailment at the same time. "How could you tell?"

"Your eyes haven't moved since you opened them. I can also tell that you haven't been blind all your life, or else you'd move better than you have. So, unless you can know my exact location at all times, you can't fight me, and, by your emaciated body, you haven't eaten much in quite some time, if at all, which puts you at a further disadvantage."

"Why would another ninja take in an obvious rogue in this closed-off village?"

"If I'd left you there, you would've died from hypothermia or found by a less-friendly ninja, either way, you wouldn't still be in the world of the living. Pain-sama and Tenshi-sama hate intruders."

At this information he fell silent. While he was thinking, she went to the hall closet and got a change of blankets and sheets. She carried them into her bedroom before announcing, "We need to get you warm, so strip and wrap yourself up in this quilt I have."

He stiffened and stated, "I feel fine."

"I'm not turning the heater up to an expensive temperature so you'll have to do as I say. I can see you shivering. I'm also gonna make hot udon to warm both of us up and maybe some stir-fry. After, you can take a hot shower. Also, I'm not adverse to restraining you and taking your clothes off myself. You're not the first potential naked man I've seen. Besides, you can't tell if I'm looking at you unless I say something anyways. Not shy, are you?"

He frowned before pulling his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor with a splat, and she turned away, handing him the quilt when he needed it. When she turned back, he was standing, his wet hair dripping occasionally, especially his bangs that framed his face, wrapped in the quilt. She smiled a little at his obedience and dropped the dry sheets on the floor.

"Thanks. Just stay there while I change the sheets—"

As she passed him, he grabbed her, putting her in a headlock. Her eyes widened at the feel of his chilled skin against the warmth of her own. "What are you doing? I'm only helping you."

"I'll break your neck if you don't tell me exactly what your purpose is in bringing me here."

"I'm a medical ninja, I'm helping because you're not in top form and I'm not particular in who I heal. I've healed rogues in the past so I'm not prejudiced against them."

"You won't turn me in to this 'Pain' or 'Tenshi' while I'm off guard?"

"They probably already know you're here, but if they haven't acted by now, they won't. They don't think of you as a threat."

"Will that change if they sense me getting better?"

"No, if you don't cause any trouble. Now…would you let go please?"

There was a pause then he let her go, allowing her to change the sheets as he rewrapped himself in the warm blanket. She took his wet clothes and the wet sheets to the tiny dryer next to her linens' closet, throwing the load in and putting them on the low-heat cycle, just in case high-heat damaged his clothes. She then went back to him and prompted, "Follow me, the kitchen's this way."

He did so, shadowing her footsteps. It was a short walk then she slid open the wood door to the kitchen/dining room space, where he settled at the table while she cooked the warm meal for them both, his eyes closing at the homey sounds of the stir-fry and the boiling of the udon. She began to hum a little as she prepared each dish, taking out bowls to put the soup and stir-fry in, placing one bowl and a pair of chopsticks in front of him, setting the bowl of stir-fry in the middle of the table and her own bowl of udon and chopsticks on the other side. She knelt and placed her hands together. "Itadakimasu," she murmured then picked up her chopsticks and began to eat her udon first.

He did the same except he ignored the chopsticks and picked up the bowl, beginning to drink the broth first. She watched him do so until the broth was gone, then he picked up his chopsticks and began to fish out the noodles, tempura shrimp and scallions inside the bowl, eating quite messily. It was almost painful to watch. After he dropped his noodles yet again, she moved so she was next to him and took his eating utensils away.

"I'll help you until you get used to eating without your eyes. It hurts to watch you struggle."

He frowned but let her feed him, giving him a generous share of the stir-fry after the udon was gone. She then stood, urging, "Come, you can shower while I clean up. I'll lead you to the bathroom."

He shadowed her again before he admitted, "I am unfamiliar with the layout of your shower, and I've never showered since I've lost my eyesight. I…require aid."

She didn't even blush as she nodded. "All right. Stay here while I prepare. This might be difficult without getting soaked."

Hurrying, she let the dishes soak and washed the table, before getting some towels to help mop things up when the shower was done. As a medical ninja she was professional when she had to do anything to take care of her patients, so she wouldn't allow this to affect her, especially since he was gaunt to the point of being skin and bones, most of his healthy weight leeched off from his time of starvation. She went back to the washroom and took the quilt, folding it neatly and placing it in the hall, then wrapped a towel around his hips, helping him step into the shower.

She washed his shaggy hair first, using normal shampoo and conditioner, not her scented ones, because she knew he wouldn't appreciate smelling like flowers later. She worked all the knots out carefully, commenting, "I'll have to trim this well tomorrow, looks like you haven't had it cut properly in years."

He didn't answer, since she hadn't asked him if he needed a trim. His eyes were closed against the soap suds so they wouldn't hurt them, but he gritted his teeth as she soaped up a sponge and began scrubbing his body, it running everywhere that wasn't toweled on him. He kept still as she washed him, but he needn't have worried, her fingers were thorough but impartial, although they lingered on his bones as they jutted out painfully against his skin. He could tell she was concerned over his extreme low weight, and he didn't even have to see her face to know that. The wordless touches were enough. She finished off by drying him well so she wouldn't have to worry about him catching a cold. She left him for a moment then turned on a hair dryer, and he closed his eyes so she could use it without drying them out. After his hair was acceptably dry, she tied it back to keep it out of the way and then sat him down, probably on the toilet, judging by the temperature. He then felt her take his hand and began to clip his nails.

"I can do my own nails," he insisted, but she didn't relinquish his hand.

"No you can't. Your nails are all jagged from being broken and not clipped right for too long. Until you get used to the right length of your nails, I'll be doing them for you." She then giggled.

"What's so funny?" he demanded with a frown.

"I could paint your nails during this and you wouldn't notice until too late."

"It doesn't bother me. I've done so before."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Before I lost my eyesight, I painted all my nails deep purple. Everyone in the group I was in did in one color or another."

"Okay…that's weird."

He smirked a little at freaking her out.

After that, she went and got the largest robe she had, which would more likely than not fit him. She helped him into it, before leading him back into her bedroom, where she told him, "Lay down."

He did so, and she spread the sheets and quilt over him to keep him warm. She then ordered, "Get some rest, I'll be back in a few," and left the room to finish her chores.

He closed his eyes, listening to her bustle about washing dishes, folding clothes, putting away sheets, using the hair dryer for a long while in the bathroom (she was drying his cloak) and re-entering the room. She undressed and put something lighter on, flipping the covers of the bed down. He tensed a bit at the chill as he murmured, "What are you doing?"

"I have to make sure you warm all the way up, so I have to share body heat to ensure your immediate health," she murmured back, cuddling close and pulling the blankets up past their ears. She relaxed and attempted to fall asleep by slowing her breathing. He began to do the same and was about to drop into slumber when she breathed, "I guess it was really my fault for not introducing myself first…I'm Ametamago Utena."

"Uchiha Itachi."

"That's a nice name…"

And there's chapter one! I really like this story and hope everyone who reads it does too! :D

Please review!