Victorious Beauty

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Naruto.

~*~

Everything was normal until he popped that question.

"Karisumi, let's say I told you I loved you. How would you respond?" Karisumi was utterly shocked but she hid those feeling and replied smoothly.

"I'd say bullshit. You're only saying that because you think it'll give you some kind of power over me." Then she calmly sipped her tea without speaking to him after that.

But she couldn't stop herself from thinking, 'I wish you meant it Itachi.' He just sat back down and grinned. The two of then have been working together for five years now, in which time Karisumi learned that Itachi was a cold hearted bastard who thought of no one but himself. This was of course the main reason why she'd agreed to work with him. She never had to worry about him getting emotionally attached to anybody he met, making jobs go much smoother and easier. Karisumi wasn't officially part of the Akatsuki but she was fairly well acquainted with all of it's manners. Itachi trusted her with his life, and her's with him, but besides that the only real relationship the two of them seemed to have was business. Still, Karisumi couldn't help but feel like there was something more beneath the surface. At the moment the two of them were seated in a small restaurant in a town a little ways away from the Village Hidden in the Stones, Karisumi's first home. Not that anyone, not even Itachi, knew that. She worked hard to keep any connection to the place unknown. It wasn't the first time the two of them had gone out to dinner together and probably not the last. Karisumi seldom spoke but a kind of bond became formed nonetheless. Itachi stood.

"Let's go." She didn't reply, simply stood and followed him out of the restaurant. As she walked, Itachi talked, "Sleeping in the trees tonight?"

"No."

"Then where do you plan on going?" Karisumi winked at him, wondered if he got the message.

"An inn." He nodded.

"Fine."

It didn't take long to find a small place. Once inside, Karisumi didn't hesitate and walked boldly right up to the counter, Itachi slightly further back, but still by her side. An old man sat behind the counter, engrossed in his magazine. Karisumi waited a moment for him to notice then cleared her throat. He flinched then turned to look at her and pushed up his glasses. The old man's eyes darted back in forth from Karisumi to Itachi.

"So, that'll be one room?" He made an assumption that Karisumi was worried Itachi might kill him for. Strangely though, Itachi only leaned forward.

"Actually," Karisumi cut him off.

"Two rooms. Adjoining. With a lock." The old man took no time in complying.

He was clearly embarrassed and flustered, he got two keys and handed one to each of them before quietly saying the price. It was far more then he deserved but Karisumi handed the money over without complaint. She could always steal it back in the morning. Then she turned on her heel and marched up the stairs, Itachi trailing behind. As soon as they were out of the old man's earshot, he laughed. Karisumi turned to him.

"What's so funny?" Itachi stopped laughing and just grinned.

"You scared that old man half to death."

"That seems to be my specialty. Scaring people half to death." Karisumi sighed then continued, "I can never finish the job." He just grinned again.

"Don't lie to yourself, Karisumi, you've done worse then kill those you've fought." She shrugged.

"I dunno. I guess I actually feel a little guilty for picking on an old man. Things are getting pretty boring. We need another job." She stated.

"Things are boring, but I don't know if it's another job we need." Itachi said as Karisumi leaned her back against the door to her room and looked him in the eye.

"What do you mean by that?" He didn't reply.

Unless you counted being pined against a wall and kissed forcefully as a reply. A whirlwind of emotions flew through Karisumi. First shock, then relief, then... there's no other word to use but passion. It was what she always wanted even though she didn't know it. Karisumi let herself get lost in the kiss and the way his fingers slipped up and into her hair. She let her body go and allowed her own fingers to slip across his back and pull at his shirt. It was hard to stop, but she knew that someone was going to come walking down the hallway eventually and she didn't want to be here when that happened. Karisumi pushed Itachi off of her and, to her satisfaction, it was clear he was surprised. She grinned.

"What?" She said casually as if nothing had happened. When he didn't reply, she faked a yawn, "Well, I'm tired. Good night!"

With that, Karisumi unlocked the door to her room and shut it behind her. She didn't bolt the lock though. It wouldn't make a difference.
Then all the casual calm was gone. She threw herself on the bed, suddenly feeling very dizzy. It had all come out of nowhere. Everything was to fast for her to prepare for. Every step she took was on uncharted grounds.

"I don't know what I'm doing."

It wasn't that she didn't know anything about relationships. Plenty of men had asked her out to dinner, or tried to see if a one-night stand or something like that would happen. But none of them were interesting. And none of them were Itachi. Karisumi opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling above her. It was plain and simple, just as she expected. She stared at it for a few more minutes with her mind still whirling. After a little time, she began to wonder how she would ever go to sleep that night. Then, she was out.

~*~

Karisumi woke up two hours later, lying exactly where she had fallen asleep. Sitting up, she surveyed the area around her. It was exactly as she left it when she had passed out. Karisumi sighed. Now she felt completely wide awake. Her eyes drifted aimlessly about the room for several seconds before resting on the door that connected her room to Itachi's. Why had she asked for adjoining rooms? She tried to think back, but it seemed that a reason didn't exist. When she'd asked for the rooms, she was already annoyed at the old man behind the desk for assuming... well, things one shouldn't assume. Then an idea sneaked into her mind. It had been quieter then a ninja and was not about to get out. One part of her mind said, "Go on. Go into his room". What harm could it do? Besides, he was the one who kissed her in the first place. It'd be ridicules for him to kick her out. The other half of her brain, the more rational half, told her that the very idea of going into Itachi's room was stupid. It'd be better to simply reject him so that she could remain emotionally distant and become a stronger ninja in the end. The irrational part of her mind won out in the end. Karisumi silently slide down from her bed, easily sidestepping creaky boards to make her way to the door. As she had requested, there was a lock. Each room had it's own door. She opened her door without resistance then set to the task of picking the lock to Itachi's room. As she had thought, it was a poorly made lock. Picking it took her no longer then five seconds. Still silent, Karisumi walked to the bed and stepped up onto the edge.

'Just as I'd expected.' She thought, seeing Itachi's open eyes met hers.

"Hey." She said. Itachi didn't move. Neither did you.

Karisumi tilted her head to the side, with fake curiosity. She always had had a feeling that Itachi had loved the head tilt, so now must be the time to use it.

"Can't sleep?" She asked him. With this the tension broke. Itachi grinned up at her.

"Took you long enough." He replied. Karisumi just shrugged.

Moving forward, away from the edge, she placed one leg on either side of him, straddling him with the flexibility only a ninja had.

"Sorry. I feel asleep."

With that, she leaned forward to kiss him again. If she'd been comfortable before, she was totally at home now. Safely inside Itachi's room, she had no reason to worry about anyone catching the two of them in the act. With a start, Karisumi realized that she was letting her mind drift. She let her thoughts and eyes focus on Itachi. He was bare chested, the blankets covered the lower half of him but she had guessed he was wearing underwear. His skin felt cool compared to her's. It made sense, she had always thought of him as a cold blooded reptile. Karisumi laughed inwardly. Then his hands were around her shirt, pulling it off with ease. She didn't resist. Reaching for the strap holding her bra in place, Karisumi pulled it loose and tossed the bra aside. She were no longer straddling him. Itachi's lips had now made their way to her forehead. She pressed her hand against his back. Letting her fingernails scratch against the surface, she forgot any reserves. Karisumi pulled off her short shorts so that only her underwear remained, then moved for that as well. To her surprise though, it was Itachi who stopped her.

"What?" She was a little annoyed that he'd tried to stop her. It was him who started this after all. Feeling a slight change in his breath on her shoulder, she guessed that he was sighing.

"We have a problem." He said at last.

"Oh really? What's that?" She allowed a little bit of bitterness into her tone. Itachi stopped all that with his next comment though.

"I don't have a condom."