Sorry about the lack of consistent updates. College is wreaking havoc upon my writing time. Anyway, hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Let the World Crash

'Take a look over your shoulder.

I'll be standing there.'

Chapter Two

Hana found herself insanely happy for the meaningless chatter Tobi provided. It was a way to keep her mind off all that she had left behind..and the fact that, of her free will, she was walking into the lair of Konoha's number one enemies. She took a breath of the forest air around her, noting the silence. Her enhanced nose couldn't detect any life-forms in this area, aside from the two missing-nin she traveled with. Though, she didn't blame the wildlife for staying far away from the Akatsuki base.

One moment, she was walking through the forest, the next stone walls were closing in around her. She hadn't even sensed the genjutsu that must be cloaking the entrance to the base. It was a further sign of how out of her element she was. Her hand fisted around the black and red cloak she carried. She was not about to turn back when she was so close, even if she could. The lithe woman studied the walls around her, noting signs that they had been created using ninjutsu. The blond nin's headband identified him as originally from Iwagakure, in the Stone Country.

"Were you the one who made this place?" she asked.

"I did," the voice right beside her ear caused her to jump and slam into Tobi, sending them both to the ground in a flurry of tangled limbs.

From her position on top the whining masked nin, she looked up at a man unlike any she had ever seen before. His body was half black and half white, and he possessed flat golden eyes. The thing which truly set him apart, however, was the leaves which curled around his body, as though they were part of him. She wrinkled her nose. He even smelled like a plant...and blood, but all the Akatsuki smelled of that, even the hyper nin beneath her.

"Tobi would greet Zetsu-san properly, but he is unable to," Tobi whined.

Hana started to rise to her feet, but froze when the plant nin licked his lips. Deidara suddenly stood between them, reaching down to haul her to her feet. He made no move to help his partner, who was clumsily attempting to get his own feet beneath him.

"No eating her, yeah. She is Itachi's guest," the blond stated.

Her brown eyes flickered to her protector. Eat her? Was he...serious? Hana felt suddenly ill. As though sensing this, or perhaps just wanting to get away from the plant nin, Deidara dragged her down the corridor. Tobi was still lying on the floor when Hana dared a glance back. She turned her head back to Deidara, frowning as the smell of ocean suddenly carried to her.

"You must be the one distracting Itachi-san," a deep voice rumbled from behind her.

This time her startled leap brought her into contact with Deidara, who staggered but managed to keep them both on their feet. She turned to see who had surprised her and looked up, and up, and up. This nin was surprisingly tall, with blue skin and what looked like gills on his cheeks. His small eyes were white and his teeth pointed, making him look like a shark.

"Kisame-san, do you know where Itachi is?" the blond asked.

His foot was throbbing where the kunoichi had stomped on it and he was in no mood to drag her all over the base to find the Sharingan user.

"I'm here," the silky tenor was touched with a barely-detectable hint of irritation.

"She's all yours, yeah. Good luck, Leaflet," Deidara said before limping down the hallway.

Kisame circled around toward the voice, cold eyes evaluating her as he went. Hana stood frozen, suddenly afraid to face the man she had followed all this way.

"She doesn't look like your type, Itachi-san. You usually go for the sophisticated kind," the shark nin said.

His partner did not respond, and Kisame took the not-so-subtle hint. Itachi wanted to be alone with the girl. The shark nin pitied her for a moment before walking back the way he had come.

Silence filled the hallway, broken only by the quiet sounds they made as they breathed. Slowly, Hana turned her head to look over her shoulder. Itachi stood there, wrapped in a new Akatsuki cloak which was buttoned all the way up to hide the lower half of his face. His ruby eyes were fixed on her, easily as cold as the white eyes of his partner had been.

"Why did you come?" he asked quietly.

.o0o.o0o.

It physically hurt somewhere deep inside his chest, seeing how the darkness in which he lived had quenched some of the vibrancy that had first drawn him to her. She was frightened, that much he could tell, but her brown eyes were filled with quiet determination.

"I never promised to forget about you," she said, "And I couldn't even if I tried."

He half-way turned from her, to hide the way the heart he denied existed had leaped with hope.

"You don't belong in this place," he said.

Boldly, she moved closer to him. He stilled as her calloused hands lifted, ruby eyes watching detachedly as she unhooked the top buttons of his cloak. She didn't stop until the entirety of his face was exposed to her perusal. One of her hands moved as though to touch his face, then stopped as she changed her mind.

"I belong wherever you are, Itachi," she whispered.

The air between them became suddenly tense, as though the very walls had heard her and now listened for his response. He closed the few inches that separated them, wrapping one of his arms around her waist. An instant later, they stood in his bedroom. He didn't give her time to take in their new surroundings, instead crowding her space and backing her into a corner.

"You don't know what you're committing yourself to," he said lowly.

She was being an impulsive fool--or in other words, an Inuzuka. He had to make her see that this was no place for her. He...didn't want to lose her.

"I made my choice when I left Konoha. I chose you-" she said.

He knew she would have said more had he given her the chance, but something in him had snapped at the words. It was his turn to be impulsive, just for once. Itachi bent his head and caught her lips with his. There was no gentleness in him; he crushed his mouth to hers as though trying to meld them together. Hana responded with equal passion, hands lifting to thread through his hair. Her fingers tangled in the tie which held the long strands back and she yanked it out, freeing the raven strands. His own hands had slipped around her waist, surprisingly careful in contrast to the fierceness of his kiss.

The missing nin pulled back, releasing a shuddering breath as he rested his forehead against hers. The world had lost some of its focus, meaning that he had deactivated his Sharingan sometime during the kiss. He didn't even know when.

"You have a dangerous affect on me, Inuzuka Hana," he admitted softly

The words seemed to bring her back to earth, for her brown eyes focused on him at last.

"Bad dangerous or good dangerous?" she asked.

He brushed a kiss against the spot where his forehead had been resting before turning to hunt for his hair tie. The long strands were tickling his nose and falling into his eyes. He located it and glanced back at her, finding that she had taken his silence in the way it was meant.

He wasn't sure yet.

Please take the time to click the little blue button on the bottom left and leave me a review to let me know what you thought!

Akai-sora: Yes, Tobi will have a bigger role in this story. He's such a fun character. :D

Bookworm007: It's definitely going to be interesting!

SmallButPowerful: It's not just in Naruto. I've seen opposites attract in real life too.

Greensapphire: Thanks for the encouragement. Glad you're enjoying the story.

Animegirl1o1: Thanks for the review!