Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Storyline, Kairi and Kaiyo belong to me.

Frozen Hearts and Dark Pasts - Part Two

Itachi growled in frustration as the tracks came to a dead end. He now recalled someone Kairi had been teamed with earlier commenting on her unnerving ability to vanish without a trace. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Ignoring the way her tracks said, he turned left and strode forwards, trusting his instincts to find the idiot he was forced to call a team mate.

Her fingers trembled as silver found ivory, bit deep and tasted crimson. The pain washed through her system, warming her, comforting her. This pain was familiar. It was soothing. Old wounds, reopened, gleamed in the moonlight.
I hate you.
Those words said it all. Kaiyo laughed at her from within her own reflection.
"Leave me alone…" she whispered. "Why me? Why choose me?"
"Kairi?" The deep, masculine voice reached her ears, but she didn't hear it. The silver moved again.
Kill me.
"Kairi!" Nearer this time. She managed to drag her attention away from the fascinating sight of crimson on ivory. Scarlet clouds on a black background were all she saw before she fell into darkness.

"Kairi! Kairi!"
She growled as her imouto burst through the door and collided with her.
"What do you want Kaiyo! Haven't I told you about just bursting in?" Furious scarlet eyes met with worried sapphire ones.
"I'm sorry… I only wanted to tell you that… well…" she pulled a stuffed black bear from behind her back. "Toshiya is fixed now."
Kairi's eye twitched as she glared at her sister.
"OUT! GET OUT OF MY ROOM, NOW!!"
Kaiyo fled with a scream, Kairi chasing her with a katana.

"Kairi! Wake up! For Kami's sake, wake up!"
Cerulean eyes, hazy with sleep, greeted him.
"'Tachi?"
"Of course it's me." He growled.
She frowned in confusion.
"How did you get here?"
"I found you. You passed out from your idiotic methods of losing blood and I brought you back here."
Kairi glanced around, and true enough, she lay in the clearing that she had left a couple of hours previously.
"Where's Kisame?"
"Keeping an eye out."
Nothing else was said for a long time.
"Why did you leave?"
Kairi glanced across at him.
"Why?"
"Just tell me." He growled.
"No."
"Tell me. Tell me what caused you to leave us, cover your tracks and carve yourself up."
Kairi curled up in a defensive ball beneath her covers.
"I was remembering."
Itachi leaned closer.
"Remembering what?" he pressed.
"Why do you even want to know? You never care about anyone!" she hissed in reply. Itachi sneered.
"I care when it affects the possible outcome of the mission I so happen to be carrying out with you. So tell me, what were you remembering?"
"Why I left Mist."
Itachi looked intrigued now.
"And why did you?"
Kairi sighed and turned to face him.
"I murdered my twin sister."

"That's all you did?"
Kairi eyed him distastefully. Itachi continued.
"All you did was kill your twin sister and two Mist-nin?"
"No." she replied, sounding utterly frustrated. "I've killed countless Mist-nin over the years, it's just never been pinned on me. Until I killed Kaiyo." She groaned in frustration, and punched a tree. The bark shattered and she left a huge hole in the trunk from the force of her chakra-laden punch. Kisame, standing nearby, moved a few feet further away from her. Kairi sighed and rested her forehead against the shattered bark.
"I see her in me. Everyday I look in the mirror and see her. It's like she's haunting me…"
Silence greeted her remark. Itachi shrugged, grabbed his bag and walked off. Kisame watched him go then followed suit. Kairi scowled. How he irritated her. That Uchiha. Growling to herself, and mindful of the throbbing in her arm, she grabbed her pack and strode after the two males.

"Why does it have to be the mountains? Of all places to send us, why the mountains?"
"Stop complaining Kairi."
"I'm not complaining! I'm merely doing so much as to contemplate our situation out loud!" She received a blank look from Kisame in reply. Itachi had remained silent throughout their exchange of comments. He half-glared at them over his shoulder, before continuing through the crisp whiteness that surrounded them. Kairi eyed the snow thoughtfully, scooping up a handful. She glanced at Kisame then at Itachi pointedly. Kisame looked shocked and shook his head. Kairi just grinned evilly, shaped the snow and threw it. The narrow mountain path resounded with the solid thud of it connecting with the back of Itachi's head. He stopped dead. Kairi froze. Very slowly, Itachi turned. His eyes were crimson slits. Kisame moved stealthily out of range. Kairi giggled nervously, moving backwards as Itachi stepped forwards, and then she was gone. Kisame studied Itachi thoughtfully as he turned around and continued back up the frozen path. It was unlike the Uchiha to spare someone who crossed him. If that had been someone else, they would have been dead before they could draw a breath. How comes this girl was special? Shaking his head slightly, Kisame followed his team mate along the frozen snow.

It was nearly midnight before Kairi risked returning to her team mates. Itachi had gone for one of his wanders and Kisame was quite happily snoring in his tent. Shrugging off her pack, Kairi settled herself before the fire, wrapping her cloak tighter around her. She pulled her knees to her chin and sighed. It was so cold and dark. Just like her life. She needed light in her world. She watched the fire dance in the breeze, vibrant oranges, reds and yellows entwining, the bright flames licking hungrily at the dark sky. As she watched the leaping tongues of flame, she felt herself drifting, relaxed and lulled into a peaceful state. With a gentle sigh, she settled down on the ground beside the fire and slid into a world of dreams.

He barely knew where his feet were carrying him as he wandered through the barren landscape. Snow crunched beneath his sandaled feet and the moon glimmered palely above. Icy blasts of wind threatened to tear him from his precarious path along the cliff top. He ignored the wind, the cold, the frozen water beneath his feet and focused his thoughts. His brother, Konoha, Kairi and his dead clan fought for the spot light. His thoughts rested on his clan, and that night so long ago. He remembered his brother's tears, and his last words to him. Itachi's brows now formed a 'v' as he thought of what had happened. His family depressed him, his little brother most of all. He stopped dead in his tracks as he discovered his feet had carried him full circle back to the campsite during his musings. His eyes rested on Kairi curled up contentedly beside the fire, sheltered by the large rocks to one side of her. His brows rose slightly from their frown at the sight of her sleeping so peacefully. What was it about her that made him feel better? More, relaxed? He crouched beside her as he thought back to earlier that day, and the snowball. There had been a playful shine in her eyes that had fled as soon as she'd seen his anger. His fingers froze, just centimetres from her cheek as she shifted in her sleep, frowning slightly. He moved back until he was sitting against the boulder. He wanted to see that look again, that look where all pain and sorrow was forgotten, for a time at least, replaced by childish playfulness. He groaned lightly. This was the last time he was getting himself paired with this girl. She distracted him.